Reach Out to Students With Food, Friendship

If your congregation is near a college campus you've thought about ways to reach out to UU students there. And if you have young adults heading off to college this fall, you've probably wished there was a way to put them in contact with a congregation in their new location. Some of our congregations do both. Here's how.

Congregations in metro Portland, OR, keep track of students on two campuses. First Unitarian Church, Portland (871 members), watches over Portland State and Wy'East UU Congregation (80), takes responsibility for Reed College students.

"We contact students in August as soon as they come in," says Dana Regan, director of religious education for youth and young adults at First Unitarian. At exam time a cookie delivery is made to campus. In January the congregations sponsored an overnight retreat at First Portland for students. Church representatives also meet with students each April, finding out who will be back in the fall. "They very much appreciate what we do," says Regan. "They like knowing there are other UUs on campus they might not otherwise have run into."

The Wy'East congregation supports UU activities including weekly get-togethers on the Reed College campus, says member Sarah Schurr. Members also serve as "finals week fairies," leaving treats in students' mailboxes during stressful times. Students reciprocate by helping with Wy'East's high school bridging ceremony and providing occasional worship services.

Don't assume YA's want to ditch church while at college, says Jesse Jaeger of the UUA's Young Adult and Campus Ministry office. "They're often happy to have a connection. Offer them rides, create a welcome-to-town basket, take them to lunch, and add them to your mailing list. But don't expect them to show up frequently on Sunday morning or get very involved. They have a lot going on. Welcome them, but don't latch on to them."

And if your congregation has students going away to college, send a note to a church in that town. Need help with that? Jaeger can tell you about nearby congregations and which colleges have campus UU groups. He also encourages parents who drive students to school to drop in at a local congregation with them. Some colleges ask students for their religious preference and make that information available.

The UU Fellowship of Centre County, State College, PA (243), traces its origin to a UU student group at Pennsylvania State University and feels a kinship to the campus, says Sean Cook, a fellowship member and adviser to the Penn State UU Student Group.

The fellowship gives rides to church from the student union, organizes joint activities with the church young adult group including lunch and recreational events, has a member who works on campus serve as liaison, and places news articles about the students on the fellowship bulletin board. This fall the fellowship is considering a cookout for students at the start of the semester. It may also place regular ads in the student newspaper, inviting students to the fellowship. "We're successfully integrating students into the fellowship community," says Cook.

RESOURCES

Go to www.uua.org/yam or for an information packet contact Jesse Jaeger, jjaeger@uua.org in the Young Adult/Campus Ministry office, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108; (617) 948-4629. Send addresses of YAs to this office for free subscriptions to Ferment, the triannual publication for young adults. Also visit the Web site of the Continental Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN) www.uuyan.org.