CAMPUS MINISTRY: There are UU young adult Campus Ministry groups on campuses across the continent. New groups are forming every year. Some campuses have a paid professional serving as chaplain, a non-student advisor leads some groups, and some are student-led. Campus Ministry places a Unitarian Universalist presence on campus to provide options and assistance in worship, pastoral support, social justice, social service, outreach, and the ongoing identity issues which are such an important dimension of young adult development.

It is during the college years that many young adults are first exposed to the Unitarian Universalist movement. The campus experience places many students in diverse and challenging situations, ones that call forth a new self-understanding. These are the choosing years, i.e. the time when students are choosing lifestyles, friends, partners, family ties, vocations, and religious communities...or not. Campus groups provide the supportive space for people to search and struggle, to re-examine their values and their religious orientation, to ask life's big questions.

Many campus groups gain official recognition by adopting a constitution and electing leaders. Some student governments provide funding for organizations that meet certain requirements. School recognition gives an added stability and longevity to groups by providing a clear institutional framework through which further activities can be organized.

CONGREGATION-BASED MINISTRY: Congregations can offer a great deal to young adults and they are also enriched by the participation of young adults. Older church members can help younger members by teaching them how to get things done (that sometimes esoteric knowledge that you can't find written in the church records). They can also assist young adult groups by giving their verbal and financial support as the groups are attempting to get started. They can listen and provide mentoring for those who are searching for vocation, relationship, and spiritual ideals. The most stable and successful YAGs (Young Adult Groups) are characterized by BOTH a separate gathering time and individual and/or group involvement within the life of the congregation. Worship, and other experiences that speak to a younger generation, can be explored and introduced to the wider church membership in an attempt to keep the UU faith tradition vital and alive.

METRO, REGIONAL, AND/OR DISTRICT-BASED MINISTRY: This type of ministry is usually developed by young adults who feel somewhat isolated in their church communities and wish to make contact with a larger group. They may meet monthly at area churches for worship and programming, or weekly for pizza and schmoozing. Metro, regional, and district groups, like campus and congregational organizations, can be uniquely designed by group members to best serve their needs.

The Office of Young Adult/Campus Ministry

The Office of young adult/Campus Ministry (YA/CM) was created to address the needs of Unitarian Universalists between the ages of 18 and 35. The Office, staffed by a YA/CM director and support personnel, a district and conference organizer, and a YA/CM program associate, recognizes that young adults are a vital link in the Unitarian Universalist chain and is focusing its efforts on promoting this under-represented population. Working from the premise that young adults have gifts and needs today and that they will lead the denomination in this 21st Century, we recognize the necessity of laying new groundwork and building new communities that reach out to involve young adults. Unitarian Universalism is challenged with the task of creating an atmosphere that accommodates and facilitates the personal and spiritual growth of persons from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and times. Congregations that include and encourage diverse, inter-generationally active membership ensure that the Unitarian Universalist movement will remain a vital and growing tradition.

The mission of the Young Adult/Campus Ministry Office is to advocate, educate, train, and develop resources for young adults, and those engaged in young adult ministry, with particular emphasis on encouraging congregation-based young adult groups, district-wide young adult structures, and the establishment of campus ministries that reflect the Principles and Purposes of Unitarian Universalism and its commitment to becoming a culturally diverse, anti-racist, anti-oppressive institution.

The role of the YA/CM Office staff, in consultation with the C*UUYAN Steering Committee, is to monitor and address the issues in young adult ministry within our denomination with an eye toward developing resources, spiritual growth, empowerment, consciousness-raising, and issues of justice.

The Office of Young Adult/Campus Ministry is able to provide the following services

CONSULTATION: The staff of the Office of Young Adult/Campus Ministry is available to consult by telephone or email or to conduct regional site visits. The purpose of these visits is to infuse enthusiasm, confidence, and vision. There may also be a need to provide a workshop focused on a specific area necessary to carry out a young adult ministry project effectively, especially in the area of creating a district-wide YA committee. The staff is also available to explore options, possibilities, and creative ideas to enhance YA/CM projects, either programmatically, structurally, or financially.

RESOURCES: The Office of Young Adult/Campus Ministry has compiled and developed resources that enhance the effectiveness and scope of young adult ministry projects. Included in this information: a curriculum, a bibliography, monographs, manuals, project ideas, and events for young adults. Other resources are being produced on an ongoing basis. The monographs are practical guides for establishing and maintaining ministry with young adults. The Office staff is also a source for information and is eager to help with brainstorming and problem solving.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING and EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS: The Office conducts leadership training events to organize and empower young adults across the continent. The Office is also available to conduct workshops at conferences and district events.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROGRAMMING: The Office, in conjunction with the C*UUYAN Steering Committee and the YA Caucus, sponsors young adult activities at General Assembly, i.e. workshops, worship services, a bridging ceremony, receptions, a coffeehouse, and other gatherings. There are opportunities for young adults of color and campus ministry people to network and there is a young adult exhibition booth. Young adults, and those interested in young adult ministry, are encouraged to attend.

ALUMNI/AE SEARCH: The Office maintains a file of UU Alumni/ae, i.e. a list of UUs and where they attended college. This file can assist campus ministry groups to reach out for support both financially and programatically as they work to strengthen their ministry. Are you a UU and a Tiger too? (Princeton University)

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES: Grant money, up to $500, is available to assist young adult and campus groups with their initial start-up expenses or for special projects that will benefit young adults. The Billings Fund was established to bring programs and information on UUism to college campuses and provides grants of up to $2,000. The Extension YA/CM Program offers subsidies to call or hire a full- or part-time staff person to do YA and campus ministry. And there is also a financial incentive program that, in conjunction with a congregation, is for students or lay people to do campus ministry. Further information on grant criteria, guidelines, and applications can be obtained by contacting the Office.

Through our ongoing efforts to educate and sensitize people to the unique gifts and needs of young adults, the Office hopes to assist people in providing meaningful ministry, through programming, social events, spiritual deepening, social justice, social service projects, and pastoral care.

We believe that Unitarian Universalist ideals and values fit the lifestyle and profile of today's young adult. "This group has demonstrated the greatest openness to change, and showed the lowest need for unchanging structure, the least generalized prejudice, the least acceptance of middle-class norms, and the least desire for distance from differing social and religious groups". (Developing Faith in Young Adults, Gribbon, 1990 from Strommen, 1972). These findings suggest that young adults are a population in accord with Unitarian Universalist ideas, and that now is a fertile time for innovative programming that will engage young adults in the process of developing their faith.

As a result of the efforts of the Young Adult/Campus Ministry Office and C*UUYAN, more young adults are becoming active in our Association. After two decades of minimal programming to this growing and questing age range, the Office is now working to minister to young adults, cultivate their potential to renew our faith, and revitalize our aging congregations.

WHO ARE YOUNG ADULTS?

Young adults are people between the ages of 18 and 35 who are in one of three life stages. However, these stages are constantly changing, as are the needs for worship, social involvement, social service, and personal and spiritual development.

1. Age 18-24: These young adults are often in college or in entry-level jobs. Many still live at home. Most are single. Life is full of options.

2. Age 25-30: These young adults are beginning careers, committed relationships and/or families. They may also be in graduate school.

3. Age 31-35: These young adults are settling into their chosen lives. They may be partnered, perhaps raising children, and looking to develop their commitment to home, church, community, and world.

KEY WORDS, TITLES, AND ACRONYMS

Young adults: Persons 18 - 35 years old.

YAG: Young Adult Group. YAG's tend to be age centered but not age exclusive.

FERMENT: The newsletter of the Young Adult/Campus Ministry Office of the UUA. It comes out three times a year in January, May, and September. It is a newsletter, not necessarily about young adults but by and for YAs and about UUism and the world from a young adult perspective. The newsletter is free and may be subscribed to through the YA/CM Office or on line at uuyan@uua.org.

YA/CM Award: This award was established in 1995 by the UUA YA/CM Office and the 1995 General Assembly YA Focus Day Committee. The Award was created to recognize the importance of young adult ministry and to honor those who have contributed to its advancement. It is presented each year at the Annual Awards Breakfast at General Assembly. Recipients receive a $500 prize.

C*UUYAN: The Continental Unitarian Universalist young adult Network is a Sponsored Organization of the UUA. It is its YA/CM programming arm, whose ministry is also geared to enhancing and empowering young adults. C*UUYAN has an annual summer conference called OPUS. Members of the CUUYAN Steering Committee are also available to consult on issues pertaining to young adults.

C*UUYAN Steering Committee: C*UUYAN's directing body composed of volunteer young adults, elected at Opus, who coordinate and do the work of C*UUYAN.

ConCentric: The annual business, leadership and networking meeting of C*UUYAN. Advanced leadership training is offered. It is held immediately prior to Opus.

Opus: C*UUYAN's five-day-long, annual spiritual gathering for UU young adults. It is a time for retreating, sharing, and growing and for the election of the C*UUYAN Steering Committee. Opus is held each August in a different district.

Young Adults of Color Network: A network of young adults of color who meet annually at GA, edit a column in Ferment titled "Shades of UU," and attempts to overcome the isolation of YA/CM in the denomination. Call the YA/CM Office for the current contact person.

YA Caucus: The Young Adult Caucus exists to create a working community for YAs (18 - 35) at General Assembly. It provides YAs with orientation to GA and education about the structures, policies, and practices of the UUA and it's relationship to YA issues. The Caucus encourages the integration of YAs into the GA community and the UUA by facilitating coalition building and networking, and by advocating a strong YA presence in meetings, workshops, and if appropriate, plenary sessions. It also provides opportunities for support, encouragement, networking, and social contact during GA.

Bridging ceremony: The rites of passage worship service that recognizes the transition from youth to young adulthood. Held annually at General Assembly, at the district level, and within congregations.

Bridger: A transitioning youth/young adult. Generally between the ages of 17 and 22.