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Unitarian Universalist Association Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
December 2010 Young Adult Newsletter
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 Letter from the Editor
It IS the thought that counts.
Dear Friends,At this time of year it is easy to forget how fortunate and gifted our lives are. Even if we don't consider our present situation perfect, most of us are are generally surrounded by love and material comfort. In 1863 when the United States was at war with itself, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November a national day of thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day. From a day dedicated to valuing national unity, Thanksgiving has become a time to take stock of how loved we are and to celebrate the many gifts in our life: family, friends, a warm home and table heavy with food. With Thanksgiving we enter winter nourished in body, our souls warmed by the love of those close to us, fortified before the coldest and most inhospitable time of the year, ready and able to turn our thoughts to others.During this season of giving and receiving, please reflect upon the true wealth of your existence and how you can share that wealth with someone in need. The true value of the gifts we give and the gifts we receive is in the love and compassion they symbolize and it really is the thought that counts. So feel generous, be generous, and spread your love around!In other news, we hope you are inspired to form or participate in a Common Read group and also to add your voice to the virtual discussion on the Facebook "Common Read - The Death of Josseline" group page. And be sure to peruse the Events and Announcements sections which include information and links for conferences, grants and more! Happy reading!
The UUA Youth and Young Adult Ministries Editorial Staff
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 | | Rev. Dr. Monica Cummings |
Pastoral Message
Holy Days
Hi Family,Happy Holydays! In the month of December, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas and Kwanzaa will be celebrated. However you experience the holiday season, I wish you serenity and safety in the last month of 2010. During this final month of the year, I encourage you to make a special effort to reflect on the past year and note whether or not you achieved the goals you set, what challenges you overcame and the relationships you maintained. Then ask yourself, "What do I want to achieve in 2011?" Is there something you wanted to do this year and delayed doing? Are there things you did this year that you want to leave in the past? Are there relationships you want to nurture or let go of in the coming year? I encourage you to begin creating the tomorrow (or 2011) you want to have today. Finally, I invite you to reach out to family and friends who may be struggling with illness, unemployment or depression during this holiday season, when the social and cultural expectation is for people to be happy. Conversely, if you are suffering with depression, please reach out for support. For Youth and Young Adults of Color who are interested, I have a list of UU ministers and religious professionals of color who are willing to provide chaplain support during the holidays. Please contact me for a list of their names. You can message me on Facebook at Monica Cummings, email me at mcummings@uua.org or leave a comment for me on the YaYA of Color blog, "UU Living Mosaic."
Living My Faith,Rev. Monica |
What's your message?
The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries calls upon everyone to make it better for LGBTQ youth and young adults and is developing resources to help, including video messages.View all of our videos or click on the links for each message:
   The Office of Youth and Young Adults The Reverend Dr. Monica Cummings The Reverend Meg RileyIf you want to participate, send us your video! Please keep it two minutes or shorter and be sure you have the permission of all the people appearing in the video. Email us for information on how to upload your video and thanks! |
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SB1070 + Prop 8
Update 12: In motion
(source for graphic: http://colorlines.com)
SB1070No decision yet by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments from the federal government and the state of Arizona over the anti-immigrant law SB 1070 on November 2. The appellate court is examining U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton's decision to enjoin its most controversial portions back in July.An article in the Phoenix New Times describes the hour-long hearing at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco as signaling "a mixed bag for both supporters and opponents of Arizona's harsh anti-illegal-immigrant law." A Story in the Washington Post claims that "deep skepticism" by one judge about the Obama Adminstration's challenge to the law makes it "uncertain" that the federal government can stop the law from taking effect. That and similar articles point out the heavy criticism of the government's position by Judge John T. Noonan Jr. on the issue of police checking a person's immigration status. The Arizona Republic quotes state Senator Russell Pearce, the law's primary advocate, as saying the hearing "went fairly well." On the other hand, two of the judges on the panel suggested that the law's requirement for immigrants to carry ID and penalties for those working illegally would not fly. "This is going to be a mixed verdict," says one California law professor in a Los Angeles Times blog post. (Full story.)The DREAM Act is likely to come up for vote before the end of this year during the "lame duck" session of the U.S. Congress. Call your Senator and urge her/him to vote for passage of the bill.Prop 8On Monday, December 6th the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments of Judge Walker's historic ruling in Perry v. Schwarzenegger finding Prop 8 unconstitutional. Attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant debated for and against Prop 8 for more than two hours before a three-judge panel. The hearing focused on the questions of standing, asking if the plaintiffs had the right to challenge Judge Walker's ruling, and whether Prop 8 violates the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Watch the hearing.)
The court is expected to give its opinion in a few months. Experts expect the Appeals Court opinion to be challenged and that the earliest the United States Supreme Court would hear the case is in 2012.
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Faiths Act Fellows
"Inspiring, challenging, life-changing..."
Those are just a few of the ways Faiths Act Fellows describe the hugely positive force faith is in the world through an exciting, demanding, motivating and moving experience.
The Faiths Act Fellowship, a program of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in collaboration with Interfaith Youth Core, is a year long paid opportunity for young leaders to work toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to end the scandal of extreme poverty.
Faiths Act Fellows train during one month in London before being placed in pairs and matched with development organizations and NGOs in their home country. Faiths Act Fellows are in local communities throughout the world, where they work for eleven months building partnerships across faiths, mobilizing communities in support of the MDGs and developing their own interfaith leadership skills. Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 27 and citizens or legal residents of Canada, India, the United Kingdom or the United States.
Join our global mission! Apply to be a 2011 Faiths Act Fellow or recommend someone for the program.
"Being on staff is about making kids' lives
just better..."
If the idea of working in a close-knit community where the mission is to broaden and enrich the lives of young people, Camp Unirondack is for you. Camp Unirondack is looking for young adults who are certified lifeguards or have a specialized skill that contributes to creating a positive experience for campers and a wide range of talents is welcomed.
Leah Simpson, a longtime camper and 2009 and 2010 summer camp staff member, reflects on her experience: "being on staff at Unirondack is incredible. You are surrounded by friends in a safe, loving place, and have the opportunity to extend that feeling to both campers and staff. (The) Camp has a large impact on a person; it can affect how you think about situations in the "real world" outside of camp, and is an excellent way to keep things in perspective. Being on staff is about making kids' lives just better."
In addition to counselors, Camp Unirondack seeks people to join their kitchen and maintenance crew.
If Unirondack sounds like the type of place you'd like to work, then visit the Camp's website, download an application form, fill it out, and email or snail-mail it in. You can also contact the Director. Applications for Summer 2011 are being accepted now! |
 Campus Ministry
Say no more...
Campus Ministry Groups Approved to March in Opening Celebration Banner Parade at GA 2011!
Campus ministry banners will not be hung in the convention center after the ceremony. GA will be held June 22-26 in Charlotte, NC. Check out general information on GA or information on financial aid and stay tuned for information on young adult scholarships in future newsletters.
So if you've got a banner dig it up and wipe off that dust! Don't have one? Now's the time to make one! Don't have one and don't want to make one? Request a UU campus ministry banner from the UUA's YaYA office! (We've got you covered!) Send Kayla an email, and she'll bring it there for you and your group to have and proudly represent! Yes, this is a free giveaway folks, consider it our holiday gift to you!
Become a "Stop The Hate" Trainer for Your Campus
The Stop The Hate Train The Trainer Program supports colleges and universities in preventing and combating bias and hate crimes on campus as well as fostering the development of community. Learn new and innovative tools to take action on hate crimes and bias-motivated violence issues on campus. The Stop The Hate training manual and three-day, 18-20 hour Train The Trainer program is the only resource of its kind specifically for college campuses and was developed in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, Association of College Unions International, Campus Pride, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Wilbron Institute, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence. Register here!
Testimonial (Yay! - Ed.)
Wondering why campus ministry is important? Read this reflection from college student Kelsey Eskrich on what campus ministry brings to her life: "The Titan Unitarian Universalist meetings every Sunday night are one of the only things in my busy college life that remains stable. I can relax, reflect on my week and spend time with people that share similar values and beliefs and have interesting/thought provoking conversations with."
Kelsey Eskrich
Junior at University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Co-president of Titan Unitarian Universalists (campus UU group)
Interested in starting a campus group in your community? What a perfect New Year's Resolution! Contact Kayla for more information on how.
Please remember to share this information with colleagues and friends!
All my best,
Kayla Parker
Campus Ministry Associate
Ministries and Faith Development
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Events
Opportunities
Trainings
Gatherings
 2011 Faiths Acts Fellowship. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation with the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) seek candidates aged 20-27 to serve a one-year fellowship to help eradicate extreme poverty.
Cuba Fellowship: African American Youth and Afro-Cuban Connection A fellowship for young adults aged 18-24 whose ancestors were forcefully brought to the Americas by way of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and who have demonstrated interest in Afro-Cuban culture. Recipients will engage in research, build positive relationships with Afro-Cubans and connect communities in Cuba and the U.S.
Common Read "The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands"
This month the UUA initiates the Common Read project. Participants are invited to read and discuss the same book in a given period of time. A Common Read builds community within congregations and among Unitarian Universalists by giving diverse people a shared experience, a shared language and a basis for deep and meaningful conversations. Purchase Margaret Regan's book in hardcover or paperback from the UUA Bookstore. The book is available in hardcover at public libraries.
Dynamic Youth Ministry geared toward Unitarian Universalists.
This online course grounds students in theological, ethical and programmatic aspects of youth ministry, building youth ministry that is a vibrant, robust and flexible part of every congregation. Learn about youth leadership and spiritual development, professional support for youth advisors, adolescent life issues, multigenerational community building and various models of youth programming. To register, reference course number "EDFT-8462" in an e-mail to mdowdell@ses.gtu.edu and bruetersward@gmail.com.
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Announcements
Association-wide
International
Regional
Local
Camp Unirondack Seeks Summer Session Staff, June 26 - August 27, 2011.
Unirondack is a community that is shaped and re-shaped each summer by its staff members, campers, and volunteers. What truly makes us unique is the energy, caring and creativity of the people who call Unirondack home. At Unirondack we live the values that are inherent in Unitarian Universalist principles - acceptance, compassion, and decision-making through the democratic process. Campers and Staff who have spent a weekend, a week or a summer at Unirondack yearn to and return again and again, for Unirondack is a special community that allows us to be ourselves while being part of something greater. For more information contact the Director@Unirondack.org.Join a UUA Board Committee and represent the diversity of Unitarian Universalism.
The UUA relies upon energetic, committed, visionary UUs to serve the twenty-plus committees, panels and task forces that work with staff and the UUA Board to carry out the mission of the Association. We are eager to draw volunteers from the rich diversity of our movement: diversity of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity, age, geography, skills and vocation.
The UUA seeks congregations diverse in size, location and culture to field test a new 12-session program, "A Place of Wholeness." Framing a Unitarian Universalist identity as both inheritors of a strong faith tradition and co-creators of that faith's future, the program guides youth towards understanding their place in this interdependent religion of love, faith, hope, reason, freedom and tolerance. For information or to apply, please contact Ministries and Faith Development by email at fieldtest@uua.org or call Alicia LeBlanc at 617-948-4371.
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 Resources
Books
Videos
Website
Organizations
Resource - "Standing on the Side of Love Activist Toolkit" - download application for your FREE memory stick!
This toolkit gives you the tools to further the Standing on the Side of Love campaign in your community and it comes on a cool memory stick!
Video - "A Religion for Our Time, Episode 12: Worship that Rocks!" The twelfth episode in the "A Religion for Our Time" series shows First Unitarian in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attracting a diverse group of worshippers through a contemporary Sunday afternoon service.
As the sanctuary becomes more and more crowded during the two Sunday services, congregation members have a decision to make. They didn't deliberate over whether to add another service, but what kind it should be. Their survey suggested contemporary worship, and now the congregation rocks out with the house band each week. "When I put together a service, I look not only for music that will be energetic," explains Vance Bass, contemporary worship director at First Unitarian. "I also look for music that encourages a sense of community, both in terms of the lyrics, and also in terms of the encouragement to stand up and clap, sing along, dance in the aisles."
Grant information for Young Adults working with Youth - Youth Project Grants
Grants are available ranging in value from $200-$2,000 to help support congregations and districts by creating opportunities for youth, including service and spirituality projects. |
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Evolution
We are working on making your newsletter more fun to read and use, with more opportunities to get involved, connect with other UUs and deepen your faith.
Let us know what you think! What's missing? What are you tired of seeing?
E-mail us at youngadults@uua.org
Keep reading - let's evolve together! 
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