3004 Plenary III
Report to the 2005 General Assembly
Unitarian Universalist Association
Fort Worth, Texas
Kay Montgomery
Executive Vice President
Every Tuesday the staff has a chapel service at 25 Beacon Street and a few weeks ago, at the end of one of those services, one of our staff people, Erika Nonken, our remarkable Information Assistant, told me a story. Erika used to work for the Appalachian Mountain Club and one of her duties was providing help to hikers who, for one reason or another, needed assistance. One day she escorted a very elderly woman on a hike on a Maine island, a beautiful day, a beautiful place. As they got ready to leave the island the woman, who was an Auschwitz survivor, clutched Erika's arm and asked her to look back, saying, “whenever you leave something important, you need to look back before you go so you will always remember it. Look back," she insisted.
Inspired by that excellent advice, I'm going to ask you first to look backward at a few events well worth remembering:
- This year marks the 200 th anniversary of the publication of “A Treatise on Atonement” by Hosea Ballou, the most important work in Universalist history.
- Ten years ago, almost to this the day, our first email list was created—now there are more than 200.
- 50 years ago Beacon Press published James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son , [slide] a landmark book in American culture, conceived and commissioned by Beacon. 250,000 copies have been sold in that time.
- 25 years ago, the designation of Minister of Religious Education was adopted by General Assembly vote; since then 103 MREs have been ordained.
- Five years ago, the entire Our Whole Lives, [slide] our award-winning comprehensive sexuality education curricula, was debuted; now there are OWL trainers in 560 of our congregations and almost 22,000 copies of the various components of the curricula have been purchased.
- And, finally, the anniversary that touches me the most: on this very day, June 25, in 1863, Olympia Brown [slide] was ordained by the St. Lawrence Association of Universalists, making her the first ordained woman in America with full denominational authority.
Moving to the present, I'm going to share time this morning with a person who, along with his staff, has made a tremendous difference to the Association. I can remember, not that long ago, when I stood before a General Assembly and announced with regret that we had only three UU campus ministries; now we have 141. A monthly newsletter goes out to about 3500 young adults. The work we have done over the last decade or so with and for young adults has, arguably, been the most measurably successful initiative we have engaged in. The current Director, Michael Tino, came to the Association as Director of the Young Adult and Campus Ministry Office four years ago with a vision for what we could do to appeal to young adults, a desire to become a UU minister (which he is now fulfilling) and a newly minted doctorate in cell biology (go figure!). Will you welcome him, please? Michael . . .
[Michael Tino's segment]
[slide 1: Main Title]
Good morning. It is my pleasure to give you a snapshot of the work of your Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry, which I am honored to direct.
The Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry is dedicated to supporting and developing young adult leaders across the continent, working for the health and growth of our Unitarian Universalist movement, and providing services to congregations seeking to provide ministry to young adults and college students.
[slide 2: YAs are leaders]
Many people say that young adult ministry is the future of our movement. While this is true, it is also the vibrant, irrepressible present of our movement. Youth and young adults are providing leadership in their own groups and communities, in our congregations and districts, and in numerous Association-wide efforts.
[slide 3: Code of Ethics]
Young adult leaders are often leading their peers. This leadership is different from professional leadership or the leadership of advisors and teachers. Thus, a team of young adult leaders and ethics experts were convened last year to create a Code of Ethics for peer leaders in young adult and campus ministry. This new resource is available to groups and congregations on our website, and I urge you to examine it closely.
[slide 4: Church of the Younger Fellowship]
Young adults across the UUA have taken on leadership in order to create the types of congregational experiences we need. The Church of the Younger Fellowship is one example of this. CYF is a groundbreaking project undertaken by a fantastic group of young adults in partnership with the Church of the Larger Fellowship, and is an on-line worship and spiritual center for young adults.
[slide 5: Anti-Racism]
Youth and young adults, working together, are also on the leading edge of our Association's efforts to become anti-racist, anti-oppressive and multicultural. In this work, we are seeking to support positive identity formation and development, to integrate an analysis of oppression and accountability into our movement, and to create lifelong partnerships around this important justice issue.
[slide 6: Bridge Connections]
We need to focus extra effort in retaining youth in our faith as they make the transition to adulthood. Towards that end, we've implemented the Bridge Connections program, now in its third year. Through this program, youth receive a gift of a meditation manual and a subscription to UUWorld and Quest. This year-long gift helps maintain some connection to Unitarian Universalism at a crucial transition point.
[slide 7: YAs are seeking]
Young adults in our communities are seeking a faith that is radically inclusive, spiritually alive and justice-centered. They are seeking Unitarian Universalism, and outreach to them should be a cornerstone of our growth efforts.
[slide 8: A Living Faith]
A Living Faith is a new film created by young adults that premieres tonight at the Bridging Ceremony. An outreach tool, this film is about Unitarian Universalism from the perspective of young adults ages 18-25. You can get your very own copy—for use at coffee hour, campus tabling, or before public events—at the UUA bookstore.
[slide 9: Campus Ministry]
Campus ministry is an important part of our retention and outreach efforts. A new UCLA study has given us hard data that many entering college students are not only seeking spiritual community, but one that is justice-centered, compassionate and pluralistic in its theology. Sound familiar? We are working hard to increase our presence on college campuses so that these students can find us.
[slide 10: Congregations-Future]
The main work our office does is in supporting and serving our congregations. This work is geared towards health, growth and transformation.
[slide 11: Consulting]
Our new consulting program can help your congregation in this work. Our team of trained, professional consultants is ready to work with your congregation to develop, grow, support, institutionalize and transform your young adult and campus ministries. This new program will match your needs with our consultants' strengths, and will give you someone to work with you over the course of several months.
[slide 12: CM Trainings]
We are also dedicated to providing basic and advanced campus ministry trainings around the Continent. Five to ten are held each Fall, led by trained facilitators, and registration is now on-line. We're also proud to have developed an advanced seminar for young adult and campus ministry professionals, which will be offered for the first time this Fall.
[slide 13: Contemporary Worship]
In order to attract and retain young people, we must examine the way we worship. Young adults are hungry for worship that meets spiritual, emotional and visceral needs as much as intellectual ones. New models and metaphors—like this one of an Ethiopian dinner platter—are helping us rethink UU worship in contemporary ways.
[slide 14: Anchor Congregations]
In our work with congregations, we seek to honor and recognize those who are doing outstanding work—those who are creating best practices for others to use as models. Our Anchor Congregation program recognizes congregations that have created young adult and/or campus ministries that have regular programming, institutional support and outreach plans. The congregations in this program range in size from 33 to over 1000 members, proving that all of our congregations can and should be engaging in this ministry.
[slide 15: YACM Staff]
Finally, I would like to recognize the other three staff members in our office. Petra Aldrich, Erik Kesting and Joseph Santos-Lyons are the people I have the honor and privilege of working with. We are all proud to be here serving you.
Thank you for your time, your passion and your energy. Together, we will create a Unitarian Universalist movement that is radically inclusive, spiritually alive, and justice-centered.
[Back to KM]
Thank you, Michael. And now I want to tell you about the work that has happened over the last year and will happen over the next several months on creating unified, far more vigorous and sophisticated communications for Unitarian Universalism, work that you'll see come to fruition over the next year..
Part of this strategy is visual. Working with a design consultant, we began with the creation of an image that draws on the past visual we have used but is, we think, more modern and more appealing.
Let me show it to you in creation.
[Slide]
We began with some wishes: that it be spiritual, dynamic, energizing, embracing, welcoming and affirming, and contemporary.
[Slide]
We knew it needed four important elements: a chalice, two circles representing our historic religious roots, a flame, and that it clearly represent the Unitarian Universalist Association of congregations.
So here's how it was born:
[8 Identity Evolution Slides: one second each]
Here's the palette of colors that will be used:
[Color concept slide]
And here are some prototypes:
[6 prototype slides: one second each, ending with the postcard and holding]
One of the first places this new logo will appear is on our web pages, now in the process of being redesigned, and a critical element in our evolving communications strategy. Let me show you, first, uua.org as it currently exists:
[Slide: Today's uua.org]
On our current site there are over 60 links on the home page; the focus is on the organization of the UUA; what you first see is current news, you have to scroll down to see the whole page. And most of the material gets on the site by first passing through the three-member Office of Electronic Communications.
This site has grown organically over the years, and it's broad and deep, rich with helpful information and essential resources. But without a clearly defined organizing principle, it can be perplexing, especially for the newcomer seeking inspiration, information, or community.
So now let's move to uua.org as it will be in the near future:
[Slide: Tomorrow's uua.org]
The home page will be less confusing, with 75% fewer links; the focus is not on the structure of the UUA but on the user: visitors, members, leaders. It will be particularly accessible to folks who want to know more about Unitarian Universalism and way more welcoming. It will be spirit-driven and simple. With the new Content Management System we are using, material can easily be added by our staff and, eventually, others.
More than just a massive file cabinet of articles, announcements, and resources, uua.org intends to attract the hearts and minds of folks yearning for “right relationship” with one another and the world that our liberal religion and spirituality offer. Over half the home page is dedicated to taking the first intentional step in that direction, through the display of an inspirational quote, a large graphic element that appeals to “seekers,” and large, clearly marked buttons inviting folks to identify themselves as part of a group and venture inside.
But the first aspect of the our web presence to be revitalized is the new uuworld.org web magazine, which will be introduced in conjunction with the magazine's Fall print issue.
The UU World Web magazine, UUWorld.org, will be a vast change from the current UU World Web site. The current site is little more than an archive to which new material has been added when each issue is published on paper.
[Screen shot of current site]
UUWorld.org will be much more. The new electronic magazine will be published every week, and urgent news may sometimes be added even more often. Each week¹s issue will offer fresh inspirational material, engaging ideas and people, and timely news of UUs and their congregations and institutions, while featuring either an exclusive Web-only article or an article from the print magazine.
[Simulated screen shot of new magazine]
There will, among other things, be a frequently updated feature for UU activists, helping them keep up on what they can do to make a difference. And, if you'd prefer, you won't have to go the Web magazine. The magazine will come to you. The front page of the Web magazine will offer you an easy way to sign up for weekly e-mails of fresh UU news and other material.
The big advantage of UUWorld.org is its potential for outreach. We expect our new Web journalism to attract UU young adults on campus or not yet affiliated with congregations, those who are active in our congregations but have yet to join, and, especially, seekers looking for a religion like ours. These are tasks the print magazine cannot undertake and services our Association needs to offer.
UUWorld.org tips our magazine presence toward the future, toward a Unitarian Universalism growing in numbers, vitality, and effectiveness in the world.
[Image: Site logo]
Watch for the new uuworld.org in mid-August. And let us know what you think.
And, finally, a word about the work that so many of you have engaged in: that of supporting marriage equality. Bill told you Thursday night about the thousands of hearts that poured into 25 Beacon Street when we celebrated the first anniversary of marriage equality in Massachusetts (my favorite one said “same sex marriage; nothing rong [sic]; rock ‘n roll!) [slide] . It is an issue that has been central to the lives of many of you in many of our congregations. So it is my very real pleasure to tell you that each year GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) awards a Spirit of Justice Award to one person who has made a significant and lasting on the progress of gay civil rights in the United States. In the past it has gone to such luminaries as playwright Tony Kushner, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe, and the lead attorney in the Massachusetts Goodridge case, Mary Bonauto. This year it goes to Bill Sinkford.
[cameras to Bill]
I know that Bill knows that the award, really, is for all of you who have been so stalwart in this important work for justice. So thank you, as always, for that and for all of the good work you and your congregations do to make our planet a better place, more welcoming, more holy, and help Unitarian Universalist values shine in the world. To those of you who, as we sang in the hymn last night, “work for a planet transformed by ur care,” thank you, thank you.
3004 Plenary III
| 
