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In Her Own Words By Olivia Calvi Growing up Unitarian Universalist , I felt a lot of pressure to figure out what my beliefs were. The adults in my life would always tell me that I could believe anything I wanted to believe. I felt like that message carried a hidden one: I had to...

The cliff from youth to young adulthood is steep. You speed towards the edge only to come to a screeching halt at the last moment. Looking down from the height at which your whole life has existed, you wonder why bother going down at all? You weigh the pros and cons: building a...

Meet the staff of YA@GA 2015 in their own words What is YA@GA?? It's a temporary community, it's a space in the Portland Convention Center , it's a wide variety of engaging programming, it's Young Adults at General Assembly ! Our YA@GA Staff have been working hard all year to...

We Want to Give Your Great Idea a Kickstart! Are you a youth starting a service project to serve your congregation or community? Do you have an innovative idea for youth ministry? Are you starting a new program or project that will be useful to share with other congregations and...

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General Assembly 2015 is almost here! We are so excited that you will be joining us for this incredible experience. Whether you attend every GA Youth Caucus event or come to orientation and then spend the rest of the week exploring the wide range of events, worships and...

Youth Caucus Staff is Building Sacred Community to Refocus Our Faith! Sr. Dean Olivia Calvi Olivia is from Los Angeles, CA and is a life-long UU. Currently a Junior in high school, Unitarian Universalist Leadership is her main priority. She also enjoys Mock Trial and photography...

Hello, Adult Youth Sponsor! Welcome to General Assembly 2015 – Building a New Way! We are Shannon Harper, James Forrest and Sam Wilson – Adult Advisors to the Youth Caucus Staff and your Sponsor Coordinators! The first thing we’d like to say is THANK YOU! Large spiritual...

From workshops to worships, there are any number of things you can do at General Assembly. Below are some highlights of what’s happening in the GA Youth Caucus room and throughout General Assembly. If you want to check out the entire schedule: Download the topical guide for...

Apply to be the Jr. Dean of Youth Caucus Staff. An opportunity like this only comes along...well, once a year. But you have to be in high school for both years of the two year term to take advantage of it so it's really only 3 times in a lifetime! If you are selected, you will...

Want to get involved and lead at the biggest Unitarian Universalist event of the year? It’s easy! We’re your FUNTIMES Business Managers, Kara and Isabelle, and here are a few ways that anyone can get dig deeper to be a youth leader at General Assembly. Getting involved at GA is...

What is the Youth Caucus Social Media presence? How can I connect with others while at GA? ONLINE Join, follow, like, and use our hashtags! On all platforms, the General Assembly hashtag is #UUAGA and the Youth Caucus hashtag is #GAYC. Use them both! Youth Caucus 2015 on...

Your GA Youth Caucus Chaplains want you to know about the following resources. The Chaplain Team also has an on-call cell phone number that will be distributed before GA begins. Hi everyone! We are your Youth Caucus peer chaplains, Colleen and Hope, and we are so excited to meet...

Saturday 4:45—6:15PM | Oregon Convention Center A Message from the witness planners: Our climate is changing, yet we have hope. Our world is in crisis, yet we have faith. Together, we are building a new way. In the face of the overwhelming reality and impacts of climate change...

What should you do before you arrive? What should you bring with you to General Assembly? Before your arrival : Did you submit your Youth Caucus Forms ? If your forms are not submitted, you will be unable to pick up your name badge when you arrive at General Assembly until...

Additional information you may find interesting when preparing for your trip. Get Connected at GA Youth Caucus 2015 on Facebook (private group) Youth Caucus Palm Tree on Facebook @YouthCaucusGA on Twitter : #UUAGA & #GAYC GA_Youth_Caucus on Instagram : GA Mobile App More...

Nell Krahnke grew up Unitarian Universalist (UU) and when she arrived at the College of Wooster and noticed that there wasn’t a UU group on campus she looked around and said “Alright, here’s the deal. This campus needs a UU group, so who is going to help me?” Luckily Nell found...

Here is a Chance to Do It! A message from Garner Takahashi Morris of the UU Justice Ministry of California: Hi Friends, The Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California 's Walking the Walk Leadership Retreat is Saturday, August 8 to Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at...

Covenants Aren't "Cool," and Fitness Won't Fix the World In April I got to go home for work. I don't mean home to the house I share with my partner and housemates here in Boston. I mean back to the part of the country I say I'm from, back to the people who raised me and made me...

2015-2016 Youth Observers to the UUA Board of Trustees Announced Friends, the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries is pleased to announce Olivia Calvi and Caleb Leman as the 2015-2016 Youth Observers to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees . We...

Get it Off Our Shelf and Onto Yours Now! Becoming: A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood is a wonderful resource for Unitarian Universalist young adults and seekers alike. Thanks to some generous donors the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at the Unitarian...

An Exploration of Faith and Leadership I chose to serve as a leader in Unitarian Universalism (UU) because of the community, and encouragement of spiritual seeking. I consistently find myself in communities filled with Unitarian Universalists. It is in these communities that I...

Do It For Everyone Try these resources to better minister to Unitarian Univeralist youth and young adults of color . Check out this webinar hosted by the UU Ministers Association (UUMA) for 30 minutes of framing and rethinking about this crucial, spirit-filled work with Rev....

Where Do Unitarian Universalists Fit In? A photo posted by YaYAUUA (@instayayauua) on May 12, 2015 at 7:58am PDT According to research coming from the Barna Group , 30% of Millennials say attending church is not important. 30% say attending church is important and 40% fall...

For all the mamas, everywhere. #MamasDay All mamas deserve to be seen, respected, celebrated & loved, and here is a terrific, innovative way to show you agree! Mamasday.org has created 45 different images of families and their mamas, representing the variety of people who...

Animating Church Life “We actually had a conversation recently about how we can get more older people to come to our church,” shared Ryan Novosielski, current president of the Fourth Universalist Society in New York City . “I know that’s not a common conversation [in Unitarian...

A Rare Opportunity for a Unique Theological Experience Unitarian Universalist (UU) seminarians attending non-UU theological schools who have an interest in international or interfaith engagement are invited to apply by May 15, 2015 for an incredible opportunity to spend 2-3...

Cause and Effect We present a collection of stories adding context and understanding to the #BaltimoreUprising . The Brutality of Police Culture in Baltimore What's crucial to understand, as Baltimore residents take to the streets in long-simmering frustration, is that their...

A Presidential Call for Religion to Support Equality Former President Jimmy Carter recently wrote that he was severing ties with his church , stating: This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a...

Prayer Because the world cracks open and here we are: For the 900 lives lost to the migration injustice - mothers, fathers, parents, children, trying to reach Europe by boat. For the over 4,000 lives lost to earthquakes in Nepal and South Asia. For the family and community of...

Culture Heritage to Share – Not Appropriate Culture is an expression of identity, and Cultural Appropriation is when a peoples' identity is changed without their consent. Yet sharing cultural experience is a powerful way to build respectful, inclusive, welcoming community. Now...

It is Overtime to Shift the Paradigm An acquaintance of mine named Molli King is a teacher and yesterday she posted an essay she wrote for an education blog about a school in New York City called Success Academy that had recently been profiled in the New York Times . In her...

Train to Change the Climate on Climate Justice! GROW Climate Justice , from the Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice (UUCSJ), trains young adult activists to do the work of climate justice for the long haul. Learn skills, gain practices, spiritual grounding and build...

'Cause there is good advising, and there is BETTER advising Ever thought to yourself, “How am I doing with this whole youth ministry thing?” Yes, yes you have. Well, here is a way to get some answers! Read this post about the new Youth Advising Competencies compiled by the...

" Good fences make good neighbors " – Now as Then My best friend from college taught me a phrase I’d never considered using before and hold dear to this day. That phrase is “that’s not ok.” See, until I learned this phrase I was a pushover, I tried very hard to make everyone (...

#Commit2Respond We re-post this message from the Unitarian Universalist Association and other Unitarian Universalist leaders who urge you to act for Climate Justice starting today.– ed. Today is Earth Day , when people all over the planet celebrate our beautiful, life-giving,...

Committing to Climate Justice This post is adapted from the 2015 Earth Sunday Sermon for UU Ministry for Earth, “Shifting Energy: From Fossil Fuels to Climate Action.” Read the full sermon and find other worship resources . By Matthew McHale Over the course of climate justice...

WEBINAR - Ministering to Youth and Young Adults of Color 1: Faith Formation and Spiritual Renewal Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen , the Leadership Development Associate for Youth and Young Adults of Color at the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Ministers...

Choose Who Represents Youth on the UUA Board of Trustees Meet your candidates for the ONE YEAR position of Youth Observer to the Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees . Voting begins May 7. Attention: Candidates for the TWO YEAR position of Youth Observer are...

What We Will Make of Our Time on Earth During Climate Justice Month we have reveled in the world we live in. We have embraced its warmth, its greenness, its snow, and its sunshine. We have gazed at waterfalls , fjords , icebergs , and countless other phenomena with glee. What a...

Spiritual Life and Connection to Everything (We present excerpts of Anna Zimmer's piece originally on the Huffington Post . -ed.) By contributing writer Anna Zimmer for KidSpirit's issue, Climate Change: Tending Our Planet . I was not raised in a family where religion played a...

And Natural Extension of Unitarian Unversalist Core Values Talkin' 'bout unconditional love, equality and justice – This is one way Unitarian Universalist congregations engage their community: When two young adults realized that homeless young adults were falling through the...

Marching Forward Events of 50 Years Ago Today This is the final installment in a series of reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Selma Marches. Here are Part One , Part Two , and Part Three . – ed. Sunday was the day that most of us were waiting for, the anniversary of the...

Work With Your Peers to Bend the Arc of Justice The application deadline for the 2015 Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Multicultural Leadership School (MLS) is April 15 – here is why that it matters: graduates go on to to think, mobilize and lead for diverse, inclusive...

You Decide if Activists for Climate Change GROW or whither on April 22 The Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) with Faithify challenge you to help train the people who will be on the front-lines of changing the climate on the issue of Climate Change . These...

The Journey of Faith is Long – With Many Bridges to Cross Faith is a life-long experience, so the Unitarian Universalist Association has resources for Lifespan Faith Development . And where there are spans there are bridges – and Bridgers (youth transitioning to young adulthood...

And the Winner is... (Scroll down now to find out, or read this part first) Yes folks, the results from the new and improved * Young Adults at General Assembly ( YA@GA ) elections are in! First off , a big thank you to all our candidates who were willing to serve in this...

Time to Tally Up Wondering Who Won? So Are We. Elections for the leadership positions of YA@GA were held yesterday. Response was robust, and we've a lot of ballots to tally. We will announce the winners as soon as we know who they are! Want to refresh yourself on who the five...

Commit2Respond: Week 3 I heard Rev. Dr. Miguel de la Torre , the liberation theologist and immigration rights activist, speak a few days ago. He started by saying, “I’m hoping to chat about how hopeless our work is.” I sat up straight, paying attention. I confess that these days...

Undoing the "Third Reconstruction" This is part three in our four part series, here are links to Part One and Part Two . - ed. Rev. Dr. William Barber Saturday morning began with Rev. Dr. William Barber's How to Build a Movement/Wake Up Call . I had the pleasure of witnessing...