Speakers: Joey Lyons
Alison Miller
This "how to organize 101" workshop focussed on starting/sustaining young adult programs in congregations.
Our goal is to have Young Adult/Campus Ministry in each UU congregation, to enrich our intergenerational spiritual
diversity.
Proposed agenda for a meeting of young adults, leaders, and members of a UU congregations.
A goal of the Continental UU Young Adult Network is to have a Young Adult or Campus Ministry in each UU congregation in order to enrich our intergenerational spiritual diversity. Why is this important? There are many reasons.
- Young people generally have plenty of opportunity for social interaction with their peers, but many are thirsting for more spiritual and thoughtful interactions.
- The young adult years (typically defined in UU congregations as 18 - 35) are the years in which the greatest number of "born" UUs drop out of UUism.
- Young adults represent the next generation of members and leaders of our congregations.
- To be complete, we must be able to meet the needs of our congregants from cradle to grave.
- Young adulthood is a time of significant transition for most people, and a time when they need a supportive community.
What can UU congregations do to meet the needs of their young adults and reach out to unchurched young adults?
- Start a campus ministry
- Start a young adult ministry within the congregation
- Start a young adult ministry among several nearby UU congregations
- Place ads in campus newspaper
- Organize a "host homes" project
- Provide young-adult-focused worship
- Provide young-adult-focused activities at times other than Sunday mornings
- Send your young adult leadership to UU Leadership School or ConCentric
Congregations who would like additional information and advice regarding Young Adult or Campus Ministries can contact Joey Lyons (joeylyons@hevanet.com).
Reported by Gila Jones, formatted for the web by Margy Levine Young
Agenda
- Who's in the Room (5 min)
- Young Adults in Groups
- Young Adults wanting to start a Group
- DREs
- Ministers
- Adult Allies
- Missing Piece Philosophy (5 min)
- 90% leave the faith after high school, as early as age 12
- We're about building an intergenerational community
- We want people to be called to organize
- To do this we need a mission, purpose and vision
- Spiritual Development of Young Adults (5 min)
- What are we looking for
- Transitions
- The Church can play a role in supporting us in our decision making,
- Provide a home away from home
- Fields of Organizing (10 min)
- Campus, Congregation, Multiple Congregations (handout)
- Role-Playing (15 min)
- Each group gets marker and butcher paper
- Split into groups of 4, at least 2 young adults
- Pick a community to organize from the three types on the sheet
- Come up with a common agreement on what the purpose of the group is, write this down
- Come up with 3 goals for the next year that you want to do with your community (may include leadership development, events, connections with the church, regular meetings, special activities)
- Small group presentations from Role-Play and Reflections & Questions (20 min)
- Useful Resources (10 min)
- C*UUYAN Web Page (Hand Out)
- Publicity/Communications (Hand Out)
- District Structures -Opus/ConCentric & GA
- Closing & Questions (15 min)
