What is the Consultation on Ministry to and With Youth?
When Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) was created in 1983, it was mandated that there be periodic reviews/evaluations of youth programming, in order to make improvements and better serve Unitarian Universalist (UU) youth. The Consultation is one of these review processes. It is an opportunity to evaluate what works well in local, district, and continental UU youth programming, and what doesn't work as well. It is also an opportunity to vision for how to make youth ministry stronger. The goals or desired outcomes are:
- Youth ministry that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all way of thinking. Youth
group doesn't work for everyone; religious education classes don't work for
everyone; going to the Sunday service doesn't work for everyone. Youth need
options, and ways of being genuinely and meaningfully involved in UUism.
- Denominational youth work that focuses on serving local congregations.
- An authority structure that respects the rightful role of institutional
youth and adult leadership at the same time that it supports the growth and
empowerment of all UU youth.
- Anti-racism and anti-oppression work infused within every part of youth
ministry, while recognizing that there is not necessarily only one way of doing
it, and the "right" way depends on individual identities.
- Effective communication within, between and among continental, district, local, congregational and organizational levels. Making sure that youth have access to information and resources from the UUA, from other congregations within their district/region, or from other districts/regions.
This will be achieved in a few stages:
- A survey (online and paper),
- Congregational conversations involving people of all ages
with many different roles in the congregation,
- District gatherings, again representing many different
ages and roles,
- Gatherings within organizations such as YRUU, the UU
Ministers Association, Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries,
Liberal Religious Educators Association, and more.
- A Summit on Ministry to and With Youth—A larger gathering representing all of the stakeholders in UU youth ministry to make recommendations for change on a larger level within the UUA.
For more information contact youthconsultatuuadotorg.
Last updated on Thursday, March 22, 2007.
