What brought about the Consultation, and why is it needed?
YRUU leaders have been agitating for an evaluation and review of youth programming for a few years now. Some believe that YRUU's structures don't allow it to adequately serve youth on all levels of UUism (especially the local level), and some believe that the current way of doing things prevents us from truly succeeding with our commitment to becoming an anti-racist and anti-oppressive organization.It became clear to the UUA that there needed to be action taken to initiate a large-scale conversation about how congregations, districts, organizations, and the UUA can better support youth ministry.
In 2003 there was Long-Range Planning (LRP) Meeting, which brought together YRUU leaders from across the continent to make recommendations for change. Shortly thereafter, at Youth Councils 2003 and 2004, YRUU leaders introduced resolutions to hold a Common Ground III meeting to revision YRUU (Common Ground is the name of the gatherings in the early 80s that created YRUU). Both years, Youth Council could not come to consensus to support the Common Ground III resolutions.
In February 2005, thirty youth, young adults, and adults gathered to discuss UU youth ministry. They identified five focus areas, listed the stakeholders for this work (people who have a stake in youth ministry), and made suggestions for moving forward in each of the five areas.
For more information contact youthconsultatuuadotorg.
Last updated on Thursday, March 22, 2007.
