all Young Adult News - September 16, 2005 - Issue 32

Fri Sep 16 17:12:08 EDT 2005

1. Welcome from Erik Kesting, Young Adult and Campus Ministry
Administrator

2. Apply for 2006 Conference Staff- General Assembly, Opus, and
ConCentric!

3. Flash Flooding Devastates Unitarian Villages in Transylvania

4. Come to the Fall Regional Campus Ministry Trainings! 

5. Call for Justice Weekend: Stop U.S. Involvement in Torture

6. Can Your College Campus Be a Stop on the Wal-Mart Sweatshop Worker
Tour?

7. Boston 9/28: UU Campus Ministry Video Screening/Focus Group

8. Job Opportunity: Congregational Religious Educaiton in Northfield, MA

9. Coming Up: Regional UU Young Adult Anti-Oppression Trainings!

10. Earn conference scholarships at the YACM Office.

11. A Plug for ConnectUU

12. Joining and being removed from C*UUYAN-Announce YA News

13. Contribute to the Young Adult News 

14. Young Adult & Campus Ministry Office Contacts

========================================================

1.  Welcome from Erik Kesting, Young Adult and Campus Ministry
Administrator

=========================================================

Greetings everyone!

As I read through this month's Young Adult News, I am excited to see how
many wonderful opportunities lie at our doorstep: opportunities to
create justice, to learn, to worship, to join together in community, and
to love. Looking them over, however, I must reflect on how many people
are striving right now with every ounce of their being simply to find
the most basic opportunity to eat, to find shelter, and to find safety.
I am struck with a deep acknowledgement of privilege and my heart pours
out to so many who need our help to secure their basic human needs and
rights. 

In response to the devastation wreaked by hurricane Katrina, The
Unitarian Universalist Association and Unitarian Universalist Service
Committee created a joint fundraising effort that has risen over
$1,000,000.00 since its recent inception. Lots more information on this
and other efforts by the UUA and UUSC, as well as how to donate to this
fund, are easily found on www.uua.org <http://www.uua.org/> .

I hope many of you find the wonderful opportunities publicized in Young
Adult News exciting and fulfilling. Your participation in so many of
these activities leads to great strides in justice, deep personal
fulfillment for many, and great progress both within our congregations
and in the world at large. We encourage all to email similar
announcements and opportunities to be included in this monthly
newsletter to paldrich at uua.org <mailto:paldrich at uua.org> . More details
are below in this and every issue. Thank you all for all the work you do
in the world. Let us all support and encourage each other whenever we
can in the diverse roles we all play.

In solidarity and faith, 

Erik

Erik B. Kesting, Administrative Assistant

Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry

Unitarian Universalist Association

25 Beacon Street

Boston, MA 02108

617-948-6463

 =========================================================

2. Apply for 2006 Conference Staff- General Assembly, Opus, and
ConCentric!

=========================================================

Hi there!

So you're a Unitarian Universalist young adult (18-35)?  

Do you like spending time with other UU young adults?  

Have you ever heard of the 3 annual conferences that the Continental UU
Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN) puts on each year?

They are:

GA Young Adult Caucus - a subsection of the larger General Assembly of
the UUA

OPUS - the spiritual retreat

ConCentric - the business meeting and leadership development conference.

(http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/index.html )

A lot of people are needed to put on these conferences, and that means
we want you to apply for staff positions!

Do not worry if you've never had the chance to attend before, everyone
is encouraged to apply if they feel they can and would like to take on
any of the staff positions.

The deadline for these applications is soon, October 15th.  

As a staff member you would be an unpaid volunteer, but certain expenses
are paid for and they vary by conference and position (see job
descriptions for info, there's a link further on in this document). 

All applicants will be notified whether they were hired or not by
December 15th.

You can apply for up to 3 positions for all 3 of the conferences (3
positions for one conference, or one each or even mix 'em up), and
please rank what your preferences are if you apply for more than one.

This year GA is being held in St. Louis MO from June 21-25

GA young adult caucus staff positions:

*Worship Coordinator
*Newsletter Editor
*Social Coordinator
*Booth Coordinator
*Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Coordinator
*Chaplain

Staff applications and full position descriptions can be found at: 
http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/ga.html 

Opus will be in Denton, Maryland AUGUST 11-16. The theme is
Heartstrings: Welcome Home

ConCentric is right after Opus, August 17-20 Spark the Spirit - Ignite
the Fire - Be the Force for Change

The two conferences are held at the same site each year, one right after
the other, and this means that there are certain staff positions that
exist for both conferences.  We call them joint staff, and here's a
lists of all 3

 Opus staff positions:

*music coordinator

*touch group coordinator

*worship co-coordinators (2)

*workshops coordinator

Staff applications and full position descriptions can be found at 
http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/opus.html 

Joint Staff positions: 

*Registration and outreach coordinator

*Transportation coordinator

*Anti-Oppression/Anti-Racism coordinators (2)

*Chaplains (2)

*Mugbook/Resourcebook coordinator

*Children's programming Coordinator

*Medic

*Head Cook

*Kitchen Manager

Staff applications and full position descriptions can be found at 
http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/opus.html 

Or

http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/concentric.html 

Concentric Staff positions:

*Worship coordinator

*Workshops coordinator

*Business Co-Moderators (2)

Staff applications and full position descriptions can be found at

http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/concentric.html 

And each year the conferences have themes.  To get an idea of what you
might be a part of if you apply and are selected, here are this year's:

ConCentric: Spark the Spirit - Ignite the Fire - Be the Force for Change

ConCentric is the annual meeting of C*UUYAN, the Continental UU Young
Adult (18-35) Network. C*UUYAN is made up of districts comprised of
grassroots groups, including local congregational young adult groups and
campus ministries.  ConCentric welcomes District Representatives, Young
Adult and Campus Ministry (YA-CM) leaders, Regional Organizing
Consultants, district organizers and experienced allies, and anyone
interested in becoming active in YA-CM leadership on the local, district
or continental level.  As ConCentric gathers creative, experienced and
new leaders from across the continent we engage in networking,
participate in workshops and trainings that offer tools to help build
meaningful, sustainable communities across the continent. 

ConCentric 2006: Spark the Spirit - Ignite the Fire - Be the Force for
Change will offer leaders the opportunity to nurture their spirit and
learn skills to empower the communities they work with to be the force
for change.  Come to meet people, network, participate in the CUUYAN
leadership community--with fun in all--and leave revitalized about the
powerful work we do.  

OPUS Theme:  Heartstrings: Welcome Home

=========================================================

3. UUA and UUPCC Presidents Call for Help
Flash Flooding Devastates Unitarian Villages in Transylvania

=========================================================

Dear Friends: 

Tuesday night August 23, the area of the Nyiko Valley of Transylvania
was hit with an 8-foot wall of water in a flash flood that swept through
the Unitarian villages of Simenfalva, Kobatfalva and Kadacs (located
today in Romania
<http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=&city=Simenfalva&state=&zi
pcode=&country=RO&title=%20Simenfalva%2c%20%20RO&cid=lfmaplink2> ). Rev.
Lajos Lorinczi reports that every household in Simenfalva, a village of
1000, was impacted. Two women died in Simenfalva and three more in
Kadacs as the waters rushed through taking livestock, crops, food and
wood stockpiles, utensils, furniture, and in some cases entire houses
and barns. 

UU John Dale who was there when it happened emailed us that, "There were
torrential rains Tuesday night which sent walls of water down many of
the minor streams in and around Szekelyudvarhely..." The estimate of the
damage in Szekelyudvarhely alone is in the many millions of dollars. 

The Rev. Lajos Lorinczi and the Rev.Jozsef Sombatfalvi are helping to
lead relief and clean-up crews with Unitarians from as far away as
Kolozsvar and Sepsiszentgyorgy coming to help. However, the Unitarian
village families hardest hit will need our help over the long haul. "We
have the immediate relief that we need," said Rev. Lorinczi. "But we
don't know how we will help the people rebuild their homes and their
lives." 

The UUA and the UU Partner Church Council are asking for your help
because no one else is going to help our Transylvanian Unitarian
community to start their lives anew, to create new hope in a time of
despair. The Unitarians are an ethnic minority in their own land. The
government will not help them to rebuild their lives. They need us now,
and we can do this. 

The UUA and UUPCC are committed to helping these Unitarians rebuild
their lives, their houses, their barns and their herds of goats and
cows. They need to replace all of these plus feed for stock, seed for
new crops, and firewood and food to get through the winter. 

Transylvanian minister Miklos Szekely wrote in a prayer, "Whatever I
have to face, be it joy or sorrow, give me strength to carry through the
new day." With our partnership in the rebuilding, our brothers and
sisters in faith may find new joy to heal their sorrow. 

Unitarian Universalists are a generous people because we care. And many
of us have known the generosity that Transylvanian Unitarians have given
us. We know you will do what you can. Please send a check today, or 
donate online
<http://www.uua.org/news/2005/050826_transylvania/donate.html> . 

Faithfully yours,

Rev. William G. Sinkford

President,

Unitarian Universalist Association

Mrs. Barbara Kres Beach

President, 

UU Partner Church Council

=======================================================

4. Come to the Fall Regional Campus Ministry Trainings!

=========================================================

Dear Unitarian Universalists - 

Join us at one of our fall 2005 Regional Campus Ministry Trainings to
help us grow and sustain UU Campus Ministries (UUCM) in our radically
inclusive, spiritually alive and justice centered vision.

Santa Monica, California (LA area) Oct 14-15
Davis, California (North of SF) Oct 21-22
St Paul, Minnesota Oct 28-29
Worchester, Massachusetts (West of Boston) Nov 11-12
Madison, Wisconsin Nov 11-12

Register online at http://www.ConnectUU.com/ 
Cost: $20
Friday 7pm to Saturday 5pm training schedule

For more information and/or Travel Scholarships, please contact Joseph
Santos-Lyons 1-877-270-3302 toll free or jsantoslyons at uua.org 

=====================================================

5. Call for Justice Weekend: Stop U.S. Involvement in Torture

=========================================================

AN INVITATION TO ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE: 

"CALL FOR JUSTICE WEEKEND"
STOP U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN TORTURE 

Washington D.C. Sept. 24th, 25th, 26th, 2005 

Dear Friends, 

We are writing to invite you to endorse and attend our coming "Call for
Justice Weekend" in Washington D.C. After the grim revelations of the
last year regarding U.S. torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Guantanamo, there can be little doubt that our nation
faces an extraordinary moral crisis. As Patrick Henry stated long ago,
the rack the screw and the Star Chamber were left behind in the Old
World for very good reason, and must never be permitted here. We must
speak out with one voice against this abhorrent practice on moral
grounds. There exists no justification for the torture of any human
being. 

In light of this situation, we have organized our "Call for Justice
Weekend" for the 24th, 25th and 26th of September 2005 in order to fully
educate the public as well as our national leadership about the grim
realities of current U.S. practices. We also seek to dispel some of the
confusion surrounding certain issues, such as the applicability of the
Geneva Conventions and the inefficacy of torture as an intelligence
tool. We ask that all attendees plan to stay in Washington on Monday the
26th in order to speak with their Congressional representatives on this
crucial issue. We hope to receive delegations from across the country,
from all faiths, cultures, races and political affiliations. Our planned
activities include the following: 

Saturday Sept. 24th: This day will include educational workshops and
panel discussions on the history, legal considerations, and security
consequences of U.S. involvement in torture. There will also be
discussions of specific and appropriate reform measures. We will offer
inter-faith presentations on the moral and spiritual issues raised by
the use of torture. The schedule will accommodate all those who wish to
participate in United for Peace and Justice events. 

Sunday Sept. 25th: We will present our Citizens' Trial of Mr. Rumsfeld,
Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Tenet for violations of international and U.S. laws
prohibiting torture. This trial will be based on actual laws and
evidence, and we will use real lawyers, as well as real testimonies
given by Iraqi and Afghan survivors. We will also offer torture
survivors from Latin America who suffered very similar torture practices
in their homelands, with a North American agent present in their cell.
Lastly, we will present an intelligence expert to testify that torture
does not work, and that instead of increasing our safety, it creates
rage against the United States. Our goal is not to fictionalize the
current crisis but to thoroughly teach its realities. We will close with
an interfaith presentation. 

Monday September 26th: We will open with a final inter-faith
presentation, and then send all of our attendees to Congress and other
government offices to share what they have learned about torture, and to
insist that all forms of this practice be abolished. 

Please join us for "Call for Justice Weekend." We are seeking as broad a
base as possible to participate in the event and speak out in one voice
against the practice of torture.  

We look forward to seeing you with us in September, and we thank you for
your support and compassion. 

Attendance and housing for young adults is free! 

Young Adults planning to attend the Call for Justice Weekend contact Kim
Mason at kim at jpduua.org or 202.262.0485. More information and
registration is online at 
http://www.uusc.org/programs/STOP/cfjw_signup.html . 

If you have questions or need further assistance, please contact
Jennifer Harbury or Nadya Khalife at UUSC at 800.388.3920 or by e-mail
at stoptorture at uusc.org <mailto:stoptorture at uusc.org> . 

We look forward to seeing you with us in September, and we thank you for
your support and compassion.

Jennifer Harbury
Coordinator of Call for Justice Weekend

Kim Mason
Director for Young Adult and Campus Ministry
Joseph Priestley District of the UUA
202-262-0485
kim at jpduua.org 

JPD Services are made possible by your congregation's Fair Share
contributions to JPD and the UUA.  Thanks for your generosity.

=======================================================

5. Can Your College Campus Be a Stop on the Wal-Mart Sweatshop Worker
Tour?

========================================================

Hello,

I am a UU at All Souls Church in DC and I work at International Labor
Rights Fund.  

For some time now we have been preparing for a Wal-Mart international
worker tour featuring those working in Wal-Mart sweatshops in Nicaragua,
Swaziland, and Indonesia.  Can you bring us to your campus?  We are
looking to determine dates for November and December.

You can find more info about the tour at: 
http://www.laborrights.org/projects/corporate/walmart/Walmart%20worker%2
0tour%20descript%20aug05.pdf 

Please feel free to contact me if you are interested or if you have
questions!

Thanks for your help,

Trina Tocco

Program Assistant

International Labor Rights Fund

733 15th St, NW Ste 920

Washington, DC 20005

 =========================================================

7. Boston 9/28: UU Campus Ministry Video Screening/Focus Group

=========================================================

Dear UU Campus Ministry Friends and Allies - 

We are seeking students, religious professionals and lay leaders with
experience in young adult and campus ministry for a Focus Group to
screen the new UU Campus Ministry Video, "A Living Faith" that debuted
at the GA Bridging Ceremony 2005 in Ft Worth Texas, to assist the UUA
Campus Ministry Program in developing a study guide.

The Harvard College UU Campus Ministry and First Parish in Cambridge, MA
has agreed to host the Focus Group

Wednesday, September 28th

6:30-9:00 PM

Where: First Parish in Cambridge, Harvard Square Red Line

Dinner Provided

RSVP Required: Please email campus at uua.org or call toll free
1-877-270-3302 and leave your name, brief sentence describing your
experience with UU campus ministry, and your phone number.

We hope to have current and former students, lay leaders and religious
professionals.

In peace

Joseph Santos-Lyons

jsantoslyons at uua.org 

=========================================================

=========================================================

8. Job Opportunity: Congregational Religious Educaiton in Northfield, MA

=========================================================

The Northfield UU church in Northfield MA is looking for a couple people
to serve as RE leaders, essentially paid teachers for a young group of 5
children (elementary school age) and an older group (junior high and
high school age) 

Sunday morning 9:45-11:30 

Rough pay is 40 dollars per Sunday with some flexibility for more work. 

Anyone interested should contact Steve Wilson at (617) 852-2292 or e
mail him at stevewilson22 at yahoo.com 

=====================================================

14. Coming Up: Regional UU Young Adult Anti-Oppression Trainings!

=====================================================

Anti-oppression work is a spiritual practice. One of the ways we live
our Unitarian Universalist faith is through justice making. These
introductory trainings will focus on linked oppressions and the
connection between anti-oppression work and UU spirituality. And they
will be awesome! 

Regional UU YoungAdult Anti-Oppression Training #1

October 28 - 30, 2005

All Souls Unitarian Church; Tulsa, OK

Regional UU YoungAdult Anti-Oppression Training#2

November 18 - 20, 2005

UU Church of the Restoration; Philadelphia, PA

Regional UU YoungAdult Anti-Oppression Training #3

<http://www.connectuu.com/events.php?action=view&event_id=873> December
2 - 4, 2005 

Unitarian Church; Davis, CA

Regional UU YoungAdult Anti-Oppression Training #4 

January 20, 2006 - January 22, 2005

 First Unitarian Society; Madison, WI

Cost: $30-$50 Sliding Scale. 

Scholarships available! Apply at 
http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/Scholarship%20Application.html  

For online registration and more information, go to www.connectuu.com
<http://www.connectuu.com/>  

=========================================================

15. Earn conference scholarships at the YACM Office.

=========================================================

Calling all young adults!

The Young Adult and Campus Ministry Office is seeking a few good
volunteers who would like to help us with our work!

In turn for 35 hours of service, we'll give you a $150.00 scholarship to
your choice of ConCentric, Opus, or General Assembly. Hours are
flexible. Tasks include data entry, archiving, and preparing mailings. 

Come contribute to our movement through support of young adult and
campus ministry and help yourself get to an awesome UU conference!

If interested, please contact Erik Kesting (ekesting at uua.org,
617-948-6463) or Petra Aldrich (paldrich at uua.org , 617-948-4629).

We hope to hear from you soon!

=========================================================

16. A Plug for ConnectUU

=========================================================

ConnectUU is an online database of Unitarian Universalist youth and
young adult groups.  You can find a group or event near you, register to
get information about upcoming events and informing groups, and much
more!  Over two dozen new groups and events have been added to ConnectUU
in the past month -- everything from conferences to weekly Soulful
Sundown services to movie nights to campus Ministry groups.  So check it
out!  You may find exactly what you been looking for.  www.connectuu.com
<http://www.connectuu.com/>    

=========================================================

17. Joining and being removed from C*UUYAN-Announce YA News

=========================================================

To be removed: Send an email to paldrich at uua.org Subject heading: Remove
YA News

To be added: Send an email to paldrich at uua.org Subject heading: Add YA
News

=========================================================

18. Contribute to the Young Adult News 

=========================================================

Call for submissions to C*UUYAN Leaders for YA News 

Deadline for Submissions: 15th of every month 

C*UUYAN Announce is a monthly Young Adult Newsletter that is distributed
continentally over email and is also available on www.uuyan.org
<http://www.uuyan.org/> .  C*UUYAN Announce reaches over 3500 young
adults in the United States and Canada.  Please send all submissions to
Petra Aldrich paldrich at uua.org in the YA-CM office by the 15th of each
month.  C*UUYAN Announce is usually posted in the third or fourth week
of the month.  We welcome submissions of all kinds but encourage brevity
and links to more information.  If you have any questions please feel
free to contact Petra Aldrich in the YA-CM office (617) 948 4629.   

Please Include:

- Title

- Brief write-up/paragraph/explanation

- Email or web links

=========================================================

19. Young Adult & Campus Ministry Office Contacts

=========================================================

Petra Aldrich - UUA Young Adult and Campus Ministry Program Associate

(617) 948 4629 paldrich at uua.org  

Joseph Santos-Lyons - UUA Director of Campus Ministry & Field Organizing

(877) 270 3302 jsantoslyons at uua.org 

Michael Tino - UUA Director of Young Adult and Campus Ministry

(919) 401 9944 mtino at uua.org  

Erik Kesting - Young Adult and Campus Ministry Office Administrator

(617) 948 6463 ekesting at uua.org 

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