Consultation on Ministry to and with Youth
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Frequently Asked Questions about the Consultation on Ministry to and With Youth
1. What is the Consultation on Ministry to and With Youth? When Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) was created in 1983, it was mandated that there be periodic reviews/evaluations of youth programming, in order to make improvements and better serve UU youth. The Consultation is one of these review processes. It is an opportunity to evaluate what works well in local, district, and continental UU youth programming, and what doesn't work as well. It is also an opportunity to vision for how to make youth ministry stronger. The goals or desired outcomes are:
This will be achieved in a few stages:
2. What brought about the Consultation, and why is it needed? YRUU leaders have been agitating for an evaluation and review of youth programming for a few years now. Some believe that YRUU's structures don't allow it to adequately serve youth on all levels of UUism (especially the local level), and some believe that the current way of doing things prevents us from truly succeeding with our commitment to becoming an anti-racist and anti-oppressive organization. It became clear to the UUA that there needed to be action taken to initiate a large-scale conversation about how congregations, districts, organizations, and the UUA can better support youth ministry. In 2003 there was Long-Range Planning (LRP) Meeting, which brought together YRUU leaders from across the continent to make recommendations for change. Shortly thereafter, at Youth Councils 2003 and 2004, YRUU leaders introduced resolutions to hold a Common Ground III meeting to revision YRUU (Common Ground is the name of the gatherings in the early 80s that created YRUU). Both years, Youth Council could not come to consensus to support the Common Ground III resolutions. In February 2005, thirty youth, young adults, and adults gathered to discuss UU youth ministry. They identified five focus areas, listed the stakeholders for this work (people who have a stake in youth ministry), and made suggestions for moving forward in each of the five areas. 3. So how is the Consultation different from the 2003 Long-Range Planning Meeting, or from the proposed Common Ground III meeting? Unlike the LRP Meeting and Common Ground III, the Consultation is beginning at the local level and working its way up. The idea behind this strategy is that it will create the biggest possibly buy-in from all of the stakeholders in UU youth ministry, not just at the continental level and within YRUU. By creating significant buy-in from local youth, district youth leaders, continental youth leaders, ministers, religious educators, youth advisors, organizations, and congregational/district/UUA staff, there is a greater likelihood for widespread improvement and support of youth ministry. The UUA President Rev. Bill Sinkford and former Youth Trustee on the UUA Board Megan Dowdell are the co-conveners of the Consultation. There is a 15-member taskforce, which will implement, evaluate, and facilitate the process. They will work closely with congregations, districts, and organizations to hold youth ministry conversations. This taskforce is composed of:
The rationale behind the composition of the taskforce is that it includes representatives from various key stakeholders in UU youth ministry - local youth, YRUU (district/continental) youth, GLBPTQQI youth, Youth of Color, Canadian youth, UUA staff, the UUA Board, religious educators, youth advisors, and ministers. This way, not only will the entire taskforce strive to be open and accountable to all UUs, but specific taskforce members will be accountable to specific communities. 5. How will youth be involved in the Consultation? You can be and will be involved in all stages of the Consultation. In fact, the taskforce and staff will rely on youth leaders to help generate involvement in and support of this project in their congregations, districts, and organizations. Youth can:
6. How will youth benefit from the Consultation? Youth ministry across the board will get more support. Youth who have not been served by the current model of youth ministry will gain more support. Congregations, districts, and organizations will brainstorm ways to better support youth with marginalized identities. There will be a more widespread understanding of youth empowerment. There will be more open lines of communication, so that youth won't have to reinvent the wheel in every different congregation and district. There will be more ministerial support of youth. Ministry with youth will be done proactively, and not just when something goes wrong. 7. How will the local level be affected? When will I start to see changes? Many congregations wouldn't imagine the possibility of having an intergenerational discussion and visioning session for how to support their youth ministry. Therefore, by doing so, change will happen throughout the process. This process aims to increase access to resources for local level programming, as well as support from congregational leadership and ministers. 8. What is the role of adults in the Consultation? As with any ally relationship, the role of the adults in the Consultation is to work with other adults (ministers, religious educators, staff, lay leaders, youth advisors, etc.) to foster an understanding of youth empowerment and to encourage greater support of youth ministry across the Association. It is the role of adults in staff, ministerial, or leadership positions to work with youth leaders to make these youth ministry conversations happen in their communities. In the words of Tera Little, Pacific Southwest District Lifespan Religious Education Consultant (and taskforce member), "Youth empowerment must be an intentional goal and must have active adults working with youth ministry to make it happen...Youth empowerment is a living partnership between youth and adults, one in which power is shared and in which adults recognize the power they bring into the relationship." 9. How long is this going to take? The survey and youth ministry conversations will occur over two years, and change will occur throughout the two years and for years to come, based on the recommendations that emerge from the process. Some people are eager for this to happen quickly, which is entirely understandable. But we need to be very intentional about doing this well, which will mean taking our time and getting a large number of people involved. Success will come from not rushing the process. 10. What is going to happen with YRUU as a result of the Consultation? A concern that YRUU leaders have raised many times is that YRUU will be dissolved by the Consultation. YRUU will not be dissolved, because it meets the social and spiritual needs of many UU youth. It may, however, see some changes. Think of how YRUU could change to better achieve its goal of becoming an anti-racist/anti-oppressive organization. Think of how YRUU could change to establish an authority structure that respects the rightful role of youth and adult leaders, where mutual respect and youth empowerment are key. Think of how YRUU could change to improve communication horizontally, and between the different levels (local, district, continental). We don't know yet what form these changes will take, because YRUU will play a key role in deciding this through its stakeholder organization gathering. 11. Where can I go for more information, or to ask questions? Call Beth Dana at 617-948-4352, or e-mail bdana@uua.org Call Jesse Jaeger at 617-948-4359, or e-mail at jjaeger@uua.org You can also subscribe to an announcements listserve, so that the taskforce and staff can send periodic e-mail newsletters right to your inbox! Subscribe at: http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/youthconsultation . Attend your district's annual meeting/conference to learn about how your congregation and district can be involved. | |||||
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