Fore–Hindsight

By Ted Resnikoff

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This post by YA Chris Jenkins and Y Elizabeth Hitchcock of the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship originally appeared on the Growing Unitarian Universalism blog. - Ed.

Looking Back At The Next 50 Years

Posted in Associational, Faith in Action on May 22nd, 2012 by Tandi Rogers – Be the first to comment The Closing Worship of the Pacific Northwest District Assembly, which was also the 50th Anniversary Celebration, included a reflection looking back at the next 50 years. Young adult Chris Jenkins and youth Elizabeth Hitchcock of the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship shared a the following compilation created by the assembled youth and young adults… During our District Assembly the Rev. Dr. Tom Chulak gave us knowledge of our past. Moderator Gini Courter gave us hope and ideas for our future. And we, the high school youth and young adults have our own ideas as to what the next 50 years hold… Happy 100th Anniversary! Let’s celebrate what we’ve done together from 2012 to 2062:
  1. Marriage equality is legal in all 50 states. Unitarian Universalists were instrumental in making that happen.
  2. 50% of people who identify as Unitarian Universalsts gather in congregations, as opposed to the 75% 50 years ago.
  3. Staff (both Congregational and District) are paid what they are worth, not just what we have available in our budget.
  4. The PNWD has over 5,000 active youth.
  5. Spirituality and intellectualism are no longer mutually exclusive.
  6. Our congregations are fully multicultural, multigenerational, and integrated.
  7. Not only do Unitarian Universalists know what Unitarian Universalism is, so does the general public.
  8. Congregants know the words to our songs.
  9. The youth to young adult “bridge to nowhere” has been rebuilt with strong programs and systems to support and sustain vibrant faith, integration, and community for our young adults.
  10. Membership in our congregations is a pivotal point in someone’s life, not just a signature in a book or a checked box.
  11. Adult congregants know the words to youth songs.
  12. Children continue to learn and grow in congregations open to their needs.
  13. Adults are active in the lives of children and youth both in the congregation and beyond.
  14. Congregations continue to find new ways to connect and learn from each other.
  15. Unitarian Universalists are known in their communities as the congregations that show up and impact justice in the world.

We encourage you to take this concept to your congregation. Imagine it is 2062. What accomplishments will you be celebrating 50 years from now? Please add your prophesied successes in the comments section.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Christopher Jenkins and Elizabeth Hitchcock are both graduates of the PNWD Youth Leadership School. Elizabeth serves on the UUA General Assembly Worship Committee. This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Associational, Faith in Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.