One of the longest-standing UU young adult organizations is refocusing its mission and changing its name. We welcome the emergence of the Conference Attending Young Adult Network (CAYAN), as the new identity of what was once the Continental UU Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN). The following is excerpted from a message written by Kelly Rauch on behalf of the Steering Committee describing the shift, which is taking place this fall:

"We determined that the people we serve, the ministry gap that we fill, are the young adults that find a spiritual community in the conference culture. We proudly affirm that those who attend conferences are a legitimate faith based community that deserves recognition. For many people, conference culture is what keeps them connected to their Unitarian Universalist faith during their transient years. While General Assembly is typically seen as the event that draws UU leaders, 120 young adults attended Opus in 2000, and by 2007, 40 of them were ordained ministers. Opus indeed draws leadership, it’s the kind of leadership that sees the opportunity to minister to each other and build community. This cohort of leadership also sees the importance of taking a break to recharge one’s batteries. I know every time I have attended Opus I have returned home renewed in my enthusiasm for Unitarian Universalism and ready to bring the better me that emerged to my day to day life. At local conferences I experienced how an intentional community coming together for even a short time, over a weekend, could have a transformative effect. Even the conference when I drove ten hours by myself for a weekend with maybe 10 people, turned out to be refreshing and worth the trip. These are the kind of experiences that enrich not only individual lives, but also the communities and congregations that are touched by those lives. This is a small taste of why the support of conference culture is important to Unitarian Universalism... [Our goal is] to support and finance those who put on the conferences we love. This is what we have been doing for years. This is what we are capable of doing really well. It is time we claim the importance of this work and advocate for its recognition. The goal for this year is to do one thing, and do it really well. The goal is to serve Young Adults by making Unitarian Universalism accessible to them through conference culture." Read the full post here, with big congrats to CAYAN!