Chapter 6: Building Conference Community
Every YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalist) conference, whether a leadership development, business, or social conference, has an underlying purpose: the creation of a strong, loving, inclusive, religious community. We come together from our diverse lives and backgrounds to be part of a group where everyone is welcomed and valued, where we can let down our masks, so share openly, grow, and have fun together.
Consider some young people's responses to the question, "What is religious about 'community' and why is it so important?"
- Community is like a group spirit. It is the bonding of a large group of
people. It is important because without it, you do not feel the large bond, only
a few contacts.
- Everyone feeling somehow bonded—like you could really talk
and feel comfortable with everyone else there. It is formed by late night talks,
all-camp events, being mischievous, no parents, etc.
- Community provides a
feeling of group love and trust for everyone to hold with them over the year. It
is someone to depend on and somewhere to be wanted.
- When you have had the
chance to purge yourself of all your troubles, then you can sit back and smile
and say to yourself, "I can think clearly and I can straighten out my
beliefs."
- Having fun is a spiritual experience in itself. Being able to let
go and be a kid is very healing. Not everything having to do with spirituality
has to be serious. Many of the most spiritual things that I have done have been
fun and serious both.
- Too much structure is suffocating to youth. The whole
concept of hanging out is to build friendships and relax and release stress. (We
have stress, too!)
- UU (Unitarian Universalist) youth tend to have feelings at school that there aren't other people who have similar viewpoints. At UU youth events, we can be with others who feel the same.
Frequently, this kind of community seems to "just happen" at conferences. But it is not just conference magic that leaves us feeling close to the group and sorrowful at returning to our "other" lives at the end of a conference. The strongest conference communities are intentionally built by the conference planners and leaders.
The core of intentional community building is creating an environment of trust at the conference. The conferees must be able to trust the leaders—that the needs of the conferees will be heard and met. For a strong community to develop, conferees must be able to trust one another, too. They must feel emotionally and physically safe and comfortable with each other. A nurturing environment facilitates this safely.
If the conference leaders are themselves open, honest, and friendly with the participants, the participants are likely to follow suit. But creating community requires more than being nice and hoping everyone else will be nice, too. It requires thinking about inclusiveness during conference planning and at the conference, creating a safe environment, and providing structured programming that allows all the participants to get to know each other and to share personally in non-threatening ways, so that the barriers of cliques and stereotypes can be broken down.
Just as we have the power to create one another anew through love and friendship, we have the power to diminish one another through poor planning, which can lead to cliques. At some conferences, some people feel like outsiders. Sometimes physical, emotional, or spiritual safety for participants is lacking. Consider these comments:
- I felt stupid. The other youth were a group of incredibly sophisticated,
grown-up people. They were light years ahead of me. I didn't feel like I'd fit
in.
- I went to one or two conferences, but it was too painful. They were all a year or two older than me, and they were so "tight" that it seemed I'd never find my way in. What's ironic is that tightness is what I so desperately wanted, but was afraid to reach out for.
Good conference planning alone cannot create community. Community is created, ultimately, by the magic of love among conference participants. However, poor conference planning is almost guaranteed to kill any hope of that magic.
Plan for Inclusivity
Create a Safe, Nurturing Environment
Define Sacred Space
Program for Community
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
