Wink: Editorial from the Youth Office
Dear fabulous Synapse readers!The theme of this issue is Healing the Fractures in our Communities. This means so many things to me, and is a very important issue to the larger Youth Office as well. The inspiration for this issue came from the good and the bad in Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) communities and the world.
Far too many people are assaulted, raped, and harassed in prisons, schools, and even within YRUU. When we look at the rates of rape and assault for people of color and womyn and trans folks, they are significantly higher than those of white people and men, and we can see how this relates to larger systems of oppression. As a survivor of sexual assault, this issue is especially important to me and all the other survivors in our communities. These are not pleasant things to think about, but we must acknowledge that they exist and do what is in our power to stop rape and make all communities safe for all people to be a part of.
There is a lot of beauty in the process of creating a safe and accountable community. Practicing consent, within groups and personal relationships, is fabulous, and healthy relationships and communities are some of the most wonderful things to be a part of and to create. There is something really beautiful about YRUU being a community where we think about all this stuff, and create spaces for people to speak about their experiences and be heard. I think we still have a lot of work to do, and that the work is never done. I encourage you all to research how you can support anti-violence and anti-rape initiatives in your local area, as well as start dialogues about this with your youth group or at district/regional cons or rallies.
The Youth Office and YRUU are very committed to these issues. There have been several things happening in the past few years that I would like to share with you all. First, YRUU has been developing and field testing a program called Commit to Community (C2C). C2C aims to provide support and a model for discussing hard issues like drugs, alcohol, violence, sexual abuse, etc., both through Inside Out Groups, which are youth-led small group discussions similar to small group ministry, as well as through community meetings. We are in the process of developing resources through this program for local and district/regional levels, as well as the continental level. I think this issue of Synapse is also an attempt at creating a safe space for youth to speak out about these issues, personally and within YRUU community. Although we did not get tons of submissions for this issue of Synapse, we hope that this will begin a larger conversation that will continue on.
It takes a lot of work to think about and talk about hard issues like abuse, violence, and assault, but within YRUU we are committed to confronting these issues and doing everything we can to ensure that everything from youth groups to continental conferences are spaces where youth can grow and engage in healthy community. Please check out all the resources offered in this issue because there are so many ways for us all to get involved and get support.
—laura manning, Youth Ministry Associate
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
