From EKesting at uua.org Mon Dec 4 21:02:50 2006 From: EKesting at uua.org (Erik Kesting) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 21:02:50 -0500 Subject: [UU Young Adult News] Young Adult News - December 2006 - Issue 45 Message-ID: Young Adult News - December 2006 - Issue 45 WELCOME 1. Welcome from Mary Manchester, C*UUYAN Steering Committee Facilitator REMINDERS 2. 1st UUA Conference on Contemporary Worship 3. Register for a Regional Young Adult Anti-Racism Conference! 4. Queer Young Adult Email List EVENTS and OPPORTUNITIES 5. APPLY for C*UUYAN Staff Conference positions 6. Summer of Spirituality and Service Internships 7. Young Adult Ministry Coordinator Position Open in Philadelphia, PA 8. Alternative Spring Break 9. Synapse Article Submissions Wanted INFORMATION 10. Important Letter for Young Adult Youth Advisors from the Consultation on Ministry To and With Youth 11. Spiritual Youth (and Young Adults) for Reproductive Freedom 12. Young Adult & Campus Ministry Office Contacts 1. Welcome from Mary Manchester, C*UUYAN Steering Committee Facilitator Dear UU young adults and allies, During these shortest days of the year, I hope that everyone is reading this from a safe and comfortable place surrounded by loved ones. I know this time of year is always a struggle for me, but the scramble to profess my appreciation for my friends and family through the practice of gift-giving always lifts my spirits. There is always a lull this time of year as far as Steering Committee business goes. This past week we had a productive conference call; we are following up on the new Drug and Alcohol Policy, the ConnectUU Resolution, and Project Committee and Young Adult Board Observer appointments. I attended a district conference a few weeks ago, and it definitely renewed my energy for Young Adult ministry. The conference, ConSensual, was held in my home district. It had a great turnout and was a lot of fun. I would definitely encourage everyone to attend a district or regional Young Adult conference sometime this year, and if a district or region nearby does not hold regular conferences, come to Opus or ConCentric this summer. They will be held at UniCamp, which is near Toronto, Ontario. Again, I hope everyone is loved and supported this winter. Have a great New Year. Mary Manchester, CUUYAN Steering Committee Facilitator Back to Table of Contents 2. 1st UUA Conference on Contemporary Worship Spiritually Vital and Alive: UUA Conference on Contemporary Worship Feb 22-24, 2007 - San Diego, CA Ministers, religious professionals, and young adults of all sorts are invited to attend the 1st UUA conference on Contemporary Worship.For more information, including a registration form, visit www.uua.org/ya-cm/resources/Worship/ or contact Michael Tino at mtino at uua.org. Back to Table of Contents 3. Register for a Regional Young Adult Anti-Racism Conference! These conferences, led by trainers in the Groundwork Program (UU Youth and Young Adult Anti-Racism Trainer-Organizers), focus on the foundational building blocks of anti-racism including: the history of race and racism in the U.S.; racial identity development; developing a common analysis and definitions of race and racism; and understanding the different types of power. We use experiential learning as much as possible and focus on community building and spiritual reflection. DATES: LOCATION: November 10-11 Pittsburgh, PA January 12-14 Phoenix, AZ January 12-14 Bethesda, MD January 19-21 Fort Worth, TX If you want to host a Groundwork anti-racism training conference in your school or congregation like these cool folks are doing, visit our website at: www.uua.org/ya-cm/groundwork Back to Table of Contents 4. Queer Young Adult Email List The Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry has created a new email list for queer-identified young adults-as a means of increased communication and planning for future events of particular interest to queer young adults within our denomination. If you'd like to be subscribed to this list, please send your email address to Nancy DiGiovanni, Program Associate in the YACM office, at ndigiovanni at uua.org. For now, besides this list, I'm also collaborating with the YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) office, Interweave and other queer-identified young adult leaders to build a stronger young adult and youth presence at Interweave Convocation, February 9-11 in Atlanta, GA. MARK YOUR CALENDARS and please contact: Nancy at ndigiovanni at uua.org or the Youth Ministry Associates: Beth Dana, Laura Manning and Kat Manker-Seale at yruu at uua.org if you'd like to be involved in planning this event. Back to Table of Contents 5. APPLY for C*UUYAN Staff Conference positions* Apply for Opus and ConCentric Staff!!! Concentric 2007: August 10-14, 2007 in Toronto, Ontario "In the Spirit of Leadership" is an inspirational weekend of organizational networking, skill building, and faith in action for young adult leaders and allies on the local, district, and continental levels. Staff applications and full position descriptions can be found at http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/concentric.html. Opus: "The Circle Game" August 15-19, 2007 in Toronto, Ontario At OPUS we will explore and honor the cycles, revolutions, and interdependent connections that are important to our lives, communities, and planet. Staff applications and full position descriptions can be found at http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/conferences/opus.html. The deadline for ConCentric and Opus staff applications is December 15, 2006. TO APPLY: Please complete the volunteer application form at http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/youngadults/volunteer/volunteer_application_for m.html *Effective January 8, 2007, all U.S. citizens traveling by air to and from Canada are required to have a valid passport to enter the United States. As early as January 1, 2008, U.S. citizens traveling between the United States and Canada by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid U.S. passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries. American citizen travelers are encouraged to apply for a U.S. passport or the passport card when it becomes available, well in advance of anticipated travel. American citizens can visit travel.state.gov or call 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778) for information on applying for a passport. TO APPLY FOR A U.S. PASSPORT visit http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html Back to Table of Contents 6. Summer of Spirituality and Service The UU Summer of Spirituality and Service is a six-week program run by the UUA Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry and co-sponsored by the Ballou Channing District. Interns will be paid a $150 per week stipend and their transportation costs will be covered. Housing will be provided by local UU host homes for the six weeks. Completed applications must be postmarked by February 1, 2007 Program runs June 1 - July 14, 2006 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. Open to Unitarian Universalists of ages 18-25. See http://www.uua.org/ya-cm/summer/ for more details. Back to Table of Contents 7. Young Adult Ministry Coordinator Position Open in Philadelphia, PA Thanks to the generosity of congregations and donors who participated in YACM Sunday last year, the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is creating a new position for a Young Adult Ministry Coordinator. This is a 4 hour/week position that pays a stipend of $3,000/year. The Young Adult Ministry Coordinator will report to the congregation's Senior Minister. The application deadline is December 15. Please contact Seth Carrier at sethcarrier at gmail.com for more information. Back to Table of Contents 8. Interested in a different kind of Spring Break? Join the Southern Energy Network for Spring Break in the Appalachian Mountains! SEN is currently partnering with grassroots community groups in the coalfields of Virginia and West Virginia to create Mountain Justice Spring Break, an opportunity for young people from across the country to visit coalfield communities affected by mountain-top removal coal mining, toxic coal sludge disposal and other impacts that our fossil-fuel dependency is currently having on the land and people of Appalachia. Join us for one of two weeks this coming March for community service and organizing projects, campaign action, and the opportunity to learn from those most directly-affected by the injustices of the coal industry in Appalachia and stand up for Mountain Justice! (fill out an interest form at http://www.climateaction.net/mjsb) Help us set dates for the event that work for your school, and shape the experience based on what you want to see. Registration will be available as soon as we have enough input from students to determine dates. Sincerely, Willie Dodson GA/SC campus organizer Southern Energy Network Back to Table of Contents 9. Synapse Article Submissions Wanted! The following letter is a call for submissions to Synapse, the publication of Young Religious Unitarian Universalists and the UUA Youth Programs Office. It is a special invitation to young adults from UUA Youth Ministry Associate Beth Dana. Dear Current and Former YRUUers, Since the Consultation on Ministry To and With Youth (www.uua.org/trus/youth) began, there has been no forum for current and former YRUUers, who have contributed to and received so much from this organization, to voice their thoughts publicly and collectively during this time of change. I'm writing to you about an important project - offering you an opportunity for current and former YRUU youth to voice your thoughts on the Consultation on Ministry To and With Youth through Synapse, the magazine by and for UU youth (www.uua.org/yruu/synapse). I have been researching our YRUU history and how UU youth felt about the changes that led to the creation of YRUU in the early 1980s. I plan on writing a piece about "Community in Times of Change" for Synapse. I would love for this to be accompanied by original pieces by other current and former YRUUers about the present day. This is where you come in! I encourage you to: " Take this opportunity to submit a piece of writing - any format and length is welcome OR You can call 617-948-4356 and express your thoughts verbally by leaving a voicemail. I would then transcribe it into writing for Synapse. (Note: The voicemail recording is the voice of Mr. T - don't be alarmed, it IS the Youth Office.) " Remember that Synapse has been the voice of YRUU members for over 20 years. " Use Synapse to give YOU a place to voice your thoughts, anxieties, criticisms, and hopes for this time of change. " Use your voice as a part of the transformation of YRUU. Here are some questions to think about: " How do you feel about the Consultation on Ministry To and With Youth? " How do you feel about YRUU and this time of change? " What effect does change have on your experience of the YRUU and UU community? " What changes are you most excited about? " What are you nervous or anxious about? " What have your recent experiences been in YRUU and as a youth in Unitarian Universalism - the highs and the lows? With each submission, please include: " Anything about yourself including your name " Your district/region or state/province " How old you are If you feel reluctant to contribute your thoughts in such a public way, you may remain anonymous, but please still share your thoughts. I want to create a space for every voice to be heard if you have something you would like to say. Please send all submissions by February 1, 2006 to yruu at uua.org (or through voicemail). I encourage you to submit to Synapse at any time, but we hope to get this specific article/section on the web by the end of 2006. Contact me if you have any questions - bdana at uua.org or 617-948-4352. As a member of the YRUU community (in various roles) for more than 8 years, I care a lot about this organization and want to create space for every person to be heard, no matter your involvement or style of expression. I have been extremely lucky to work with and learn from many of you over the years. In community, Beth Dana Youth Ministry Associate, Youth Office, UUA 22-year-old former YRUU youth from Albany, NY and the St. Lawrence District P.S. Please forward this letter to anyone you think would like to contribute! Back to Table of Contents 10. Important Letter for Young Adult Youth Advisors from the Consultation on Ministry To and With Youth Dear Youth Advisor, Thank you for your commitment to Unitarian Universalist youth. The Task Force of the Consultation on Ministry To and With Youth would like to better understand the vital roles and complex experiences of adults who work directly with youth. Not only do we wish to learn from your expertise and feedback, but we also hope to better understand the diversity of adult involvement in the spiritual lives of youth across the Association. To do this, we ask you to complete the survey found at this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=797602772057 In these 20 to 30 minutes of questions, we ask you to reflect on support, training, vision for youth ministry, and the definition of youth empowerment as well as offer demographic information. We realize the limitations of survey data; however, we hope that open-ended questions create the space to communicate your unique and significant knowledge. As a religious community, we can and must do a better job of supporting and sustaining you in your ministry to and with youth. In the spirit of youth ministry, we hope that this survey serves as a window into the lived experiences of youth advisors. We will keep the link to this survey "live" from December 1st, 2006 until February 28th, 2007. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us by e-mail or phone. In faith, Megan Dowdell Co-convener (508) 314-0783 mdowdell at uua.org Jesse Jaeger Youth Program Director (617) 948-4359 jjaeger at uua.org Back to Table of Contents 11. Spiritual Youth (and Young Adults) for Reproductive Freedom Where can I get more information? E-mail us at info at syrf.org and visit our website at www.syrf.org. What is Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF)? Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF) educates, organizes and empowers youth and young adults (ages 16-30) to put their faith into action and advocate for pro-choice social justice. SYRF is a program of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Click here to go to the RCRC website. SYRF creates venues for youth education and activism, designs youth-specific materials, and builds lasting relationships with youth oriented organizations, campus clergy, and youth programs of our denominations. Since young people lead this program, SYRF lifts up pro-faith youth and young adult perspectives on reproductive choice issues and provides young people with tools and opportunities to advocate for choice on their campuses, high schools, congregations and communities. Back to Table of Contents 12. Young Adult & Campus Ministry Office Contacts Nancy DiGiovanni - Young Adult and Campus Ministry Program Associate (617) 948 4629 ndigiovanni at uua.org Joseph Santos-Lyons - Director of Campus Ministry & Field Organizing (877) 270 3302 jsantoslyons at uua.org Michael Tino - Director of Young Adult and Campus Ministry (919) 401 9944 mtino at uua.org Erik Kesting - Young Adult and Campus Ministry Assistant (617) 948 6463 ekesting at uua.org www.uua.org/yacm Back to Table of Contents -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/cuuyan-announce/attachments/20061204/f1c818e6/attachment-0001.html