Are You Coming to the ACM?

As you may or may not know, 2011 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Canadian Unitarian Council and the Unitarian Universalist Association.  In honour of this milestone, this year's Annual Conference and Meeting in Toronto, Ontario will also be a celebration of this special fiftieth anniversary.  One way that I hope we can mark this occasion is by adding another 50 to this event - that being 50 Young Adults from across Canada (and beyond as our American UU's neighbours are welcome too!)

This year the YA ACM planning contingent is bigger and more motivated than ever before and WE WANT YOU! We want to see this ACM full of beautiful, smiling 18 to 35 year old faces, participating as delegates, leading workshops, singing in the choir and generally reveling in the amazing UU spirit that is created at the ACM each year.  But we know that making this dream come true will take work and we also know that getting to Toronto and affording the cost of the ACM is easier said than done for many YAs.

So to address this issue, I along with the YA ACM planning group created a survey to help get a sense of what are the interests out there from YAs for the ACM and also what are the biggest barriers for attendance too.  The survey is really quick to take - click on the link that says "ACM YA survey" on the left hand side under Events and Networking.  Please fill it out and then let all your UU YA friends know about it too.  Help us help you get to Toronto this May!

I look forward to reading your responses, working on making this ACM a meaningful and joyous event for YAs and  seeing you there in May.

namaste,
a

fall into winter

As I write this, the rain that has been pouring down for the last two days, has finally turned to icy snow and I can no longer deny that (in this part of the country at least) winter fully is upon us. November and the last days of fall completely flew by me as I flew around the country meeting with UUs from across Canada. After attending the Western Regional Gathering in Winnipeg in October I went to three other gatherings in November! It was a whirl wind and I hope to provide some more reflections of my travels and meetings here soon but in brief here goes:

Montreal was next after Winnipeg where the Unitarian Church of Montreal hosted the Eastern  region for a full weekend Regional Fall Gathering. The fellowship (and the food - all lovingly prepared by UCM volunteers) had was wonderful. At this gathering, in addition to workshops and singing and an inspiring, standing room only Sunday morning service, there was also a CUC sponsored Lay Chaplains Basic Training and a Basic Youth Advisor Training.


Into southern Ontario, my next journey was to the Central Region Fall Gathering, hosted by the First Unitarian Church of Waterloo.  This was a day long meeting, which begun with a moving call to action in Rev. Jessica Rodela Purple's sermon that morning.  Overall we had a great day of networking, workshopping and general reconnecting for UUs from the Central region.

After this event, my travels took me further west to the BC Heartwarming, hosted by the Unitarian Church of Vancouver and organized by the ministers of the BC region. Opting out of traditional workshops and plenary discussions, the ministers organized a powerful and intimate program of sharing and spiritual reflection in large and small groups that spoke to those aspects of our UU faith that excite us and feed and ultimately have been transformational in our lives. In addition to this mulitgenerational program there was also a full program for children and a BC Youth Adult Committee organized, day long, Youth Con that included a scavenger hunt through downtown Vancouver and elections for new members to the BC YAC.

Having had the privilege to meet folks from congregations and fellowships, large and small across Canada I must say that I feel incredible proud of who we are and what we have to offer the world.  I am also extremely hopeful for our next 50 years as we at the CUC continue our transformational journey to increase our capacity to nurture and grow vital religious communities in Canada.


in faith,
a

Welcome Renewal in the West

On Friday October 15^th I landed in Winnipeg, soon to arrive at my first Regional Fall Gathering as a CUC staff member. In a few hours I was also going to be attending a Youth Con, the first one since I was about seventeen! I was excited and nervous, conscious that I was stepping into some new territory. 

Well the excitement was warranted, the nerves were not.  Both the Gathering and the Con were great successes and I have to say that I feel the small part I played in both events was successful too.  

As anyone who has ever been involved in planning a youth conference can imagine, this con didn’t exactly come together in a smooth, linear fashion! But it did come together – fully complete with workshops, touch groups, games, mailboxes, hug buttons, heartfelt discussions, yummy gluten free and meat optional meals, visioning, sleep deprivation, community building, rocky horror and worship every night. 

This con also came together with a lot of hard work from many individuals. Firstly there were the youth in Winnipeg who, despite many of them being new to cons, were willing to take this one on, along with all the responsibilities that came with it. For some, this meant stepping up to be in a leadership role as Con staff.  For others, this meant stepping back, offering mentorship and support as experienced, con-veterans.  And for others, who had never been to a con before it was just stepping in, and offering their trust this unknown.

Along with the willingness to make this con happen from the host youth group in Winnipeg, this con would not have came together without the strong support and commitment from the youth advisors from Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton. Thank you so much for offering your presence and wisdom and well-restedness! The con also came together with guidance, patience and a little cajoling from Andrea James, DRE in Winnipeg, who among other things acted as the link between the gathering organizers and the youth and who also put together the whole registration package.  Thank-you Andrea! 

But ultimately this con came together because 23 youth from Lakehead in Thunderbay across to Calgary, Alberta were willing to come and take part.  Like some of the Winnipeg youth, there were many at this con for whom this was a first experience and there were also several youth in first time staff roles.  All of this newness meant that the planning process went a little differently than usual, and adults were involved more at that level than they often are.  

 For my part I really didn’t do that much.  I offered two workshops during the con – one on some visioning around what is important in Youth Ministry in the Western Region and the role of the RRYSC (Radical Religious Youth Steering Committee) there and one on worship planning.  Other than that, prior to the con, I offered my suggestions in a few places, pointed out some resources that might be useful and bore witness over email to the fantastically coordinated, organic, intergenerational team that sprung to life to put all of the pieces together.  It was really privilege to be a part of and I am very thankful to all the organizers for including me.

~~~

For those who don’t know, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg occupies an amazing, renovated old house situated on the banks of the Assiniboine River, and this space was able to host the entire gathering  within its walls. The Youth used the whole of the downstairs space, sharing it at times with the Young Fun program and the rest of the gathering used the upstairs rooms.  Everything and everyone co-existed together for the whole weekend, sharing space and time together but also being separate at times as well. I find this physical aspect of the weekend to be a fitting reflection of the gathering’s theme of Shared Ministry.  That weekend we all had the chance to minister to one another in some way.  By sharing, singing, working, eating, listening, and serving together, the people of the Western Region renewed old connections and created new ones, all of which, I hope will have a positive ripple effect across the region.  I know that this con was especially important for the Youth and Youth Allies who attended it, and that in the Western Youth community, those ripples will be felt as bigger waves of change and growth.   

Already there are plans for another Con to be hosted in by the Youth Group at the Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon, for sometime in late February or early March.  Talk was begun about who to help Western Youth make it to CanUUdle XI in Toronto this May and wheels have begun to turn all over about how youth ministry can be nurtured from Rockies, through the Prairies, to the Canadian shield.  I hope to be in touch as we continue visioning about what role the RRYSC can play in this work and about creating opportunities for more training and learning to support this ministry.

Thanks to all who came and gave of themselves, we are all changed and enriched for it.

In faith,

a

Because you asked for it!

If you look directly to your left and down slightly on this blog page, you should notice a new feature.  There is now a page dedicated to listing all the Young Adult and Campus Ministry groups that we have going across Canada.  This list is just a starting point, as I'm sure I'm missing some groups, but its something I've been asked for by many and I am so happy I was able to make it.  Even though its not a particularly long list, I am filled with feelings of hope and encouragement just because it's there now. 
If you are part of a young adult group or a college or university based group and you don't see it listed here please contact me with the details and I'll get your groups info posted.  I know one of the biggest barriers to UU YA ministry is often just finding out about it so I hope this can help with that.

here's to increased connections and being able to remember when the meeting times are at!

a

reflections from Unicamp

On the evening of September 17th the participants of the 3rd Annual Young Adult Weekend at Unicamp sat down to have dinner, and with that meal began a relaxing, intimate weekend full of great food and conversation, with lots of connections made and lots of enjoyment had by all at the beauty of the Unicamp property.  We were lucky enough to have folks from all over southern and eastern Ontario, plus several YAs who came from Montreal via Toronto.  Our group also had a broad mix of ages (including a few Bridgers which was wonderful), and well as backgrounds. There was close to a fifty fifty split between those who grew up UU and those who found us as YAs, so also made for some interesting sharing and networking.  On the Saturday night of the weekend I lead a session asking 'where' do YAs see themselves within our broader Unitarian Universalist movement in Canada.   Please check out the responses I recorded, below.

The YA Weekend at Unicamp is something that evolved organically, I believe, beginning with a few YAs who had a strong connection to the camp from being on staff, having an idea for a gathering.  For those who are unfamiliar, Unicamp is a Unitarian family and summer camp located in the Niagara escarpment region, a few hours away from Toronto.  It is a well loved summer location by many UUs young and young at heart, from all over Ontario.  The event really began because a few YAs decided it would be fun to have an event at Unicamp and they just made it happen.   I'm fairly certain no one though it would become an annual event, let alone one that would make it to 3rd Annual!  I say all this because I hope this story can be a source of encouragement for YAs in other regions who might be feeling really disconnected.  If you have ideas and a small critical mass of folks that you think would be interested in or benefit from an event like this, please contact me.  I think there's a lot of potential for a YA weekends to happen all over our country.   

Young Adult Reflections

from the 3^rd Annual Young Adult Weekend at Unicamp, Saturday September 18^th, 2010

Prepared by: Ariel Hunt-Brondwin, CUC  Youth and Young Adult programmer

On Saturday evening the group of 20 or so of us gathered after dinner to brainstorm together about our thoughts on our place as YAs individually and collectively within the Canadian UU Movement.  To aid in this brainstorm, I facilitated the discussion by asking three broad questions, taking comments and recording the responses.

Here are the questions asked, along with the responses recorded.

1) What feeds your soul? (in the context of UU community)

- soul food

- the strong sense of community

- that there’s no need to put on a façade

- finding identity in this community

- having a diversity of viewpoints within this community

- our shared values and frustrations, being able to acknowledge mutual disappointments over social justice actions

- the intelligence in sermons and our writings

- the people I meet who encourage me to ‘live better’

- the constant encouragement that is felt to grow beyond comfort zones

- music

- having more intimacy in worship and have worship on a smaller scale

- having social opportunities beyond Sunday mornings

- having profound moments, which allow for greater connections to be made

- that I’m allowed to disagree and still be welcome

- when spirituality is explicitly acknowledged; we are a faith community

- hearing about other people’s spiritual journeys

- feeling like I’ve found a family in my congregation

2) How is Young Adult community important to your spirituality?

- it’s important to have peers who share these values [UU values]

- it’s lots of fun

- being social keeps me grounded

- [YA community] keeps you from getting ‘lost’ in the larger community; we are a community within a larger one

- we can have more intimate relationship than with non-UU YAs

- it keeps me in this denomination

- there’s more openness, trust and ease of interaction

- we have more shared norms, especially around relationships

- it eases the loss of youth group/the loss that comes with bridging out

- it provides a non-work, non-school social outlet

- there’s a sense of equality; not a sense of control or preserving ‘our’ system

- I can be affirmed as a person, an individual and not as a token of my age group

- I’m not seen as an ‘energy resource’

3)What can the CUC do? (as a board or staff)

- put YA stories in the CanU

- give more acknowledgement of non-humanist spiritualities

- have more info and give more support to youth about the YA experience; but also provide this to older UUs as well

- help explain the overlap between youth and YAs, have more recognition of “bridgers” [those who are 18-20yrs old who are both Youth and YAs]

- have a resource kit for YA and YA allies to help support (or start-up) YA groups in congregations

- support a YA scrapbook or newsletter

- provide more info about social justice opportunities

- helps us network and share info between congregations

- provide us with more contemporary worship models/styles; ones that focus on intimacy and community

- give more info to congregations on what YAs want and need; it’s hard for us to always ask, to have our needs met

- help us get together; transportation matters and is a bigger barrier to our participation than one might think

- recognize that congregations do not need to be the hub of our spirituality

- ask us what are our spiritual beliefs

- recognize that we have needs for different spiritual sources; helps us to reclaim rejected sources

- helps us/provide us with resources to explore Christianity and Catholicism [as people coming without/much less hurt or ‘baggage’ from these traditions] in the context of our UU identity

- let go of assumptions about what Unitarian Universalism is and can be 

 

thanks for reading.

namaste,

a

september opportunities

Kia Ora (that's Maori for hello),

As some of you might know I have been away in New Zealand for the month of August and after having wonderful adventures traveling, I am now delightedly getting back to work. And getting back to updating this sadly out of date blog! So this will be a pretty short entry today but keep checking back as I have lots to share and will be posting more over the next few weeks.

So without further delay:

- the 3rd Annual Young Adult Weekend at Unicamp is coming up!  and it's not too late to register!
Friday September 17 - Sunday September 19th.
For more info contact me or check out the facebook event page.

- Staff positions for CanUUdle XI in Toronto are still open!  

The deadline for applications for Co-Dean and the Logistics position has been extended until Sunday September Sept. 19th (by midnight)!!!
So if you wanted to apply and thought you missed the deadline here is your second chance.


***I will be sending out the application form for these positions along with all of the rest of the CanUUdle Staff positions on the cuc-youth listserv very soon, so watch out for that if you are interested (or subscribe already if you aren't on the list by clicking the link) OR if you can't wait to apply email us directly and we'll send out an application form just for you!

Remember the deadlines are: Sunday September 19th Co-Deans and Logistics and 

Sunday Oct. 3rd (by midnight) for all the rest of the staff positions.

In other news, way back in July I had the privilege of being a facilitator at both CUUL school EAST and WEST and I will offer a reflection of that experience and a little bit of info about why youth and YAs should get excited about CUUL school.  I also wrote an article for the Canadian Unitarian's fall edition which is online now and in the mail in hard copies and I will post the longer version of that article here soon.

Lastly I want to offer a correction.  The YA ACM planning team now has a terrific trio of talented worship coordinators who will take the reins for the planning of the YA-led worship at the ACM in Toronto.
They are Christine Mishra (nee Michell), Cora Bailey and Sean Neil-Barron - thanks for offering all your experience and enthusiasm for worship to the YA commUUnity!

peace,
a

2011 YA ACM positions!

This is a quick announcement to say that the 2011 YA ACM positions have been filled! And here are the stellar people who have graciously volunteered to be part of the planning and creation of next year’s ACM:

Your Host Committee YA Coordinator is Robbie Brydon from Toronto 1st/soon to be Hamilton.

Your ACM Program Planning Committee YA Liaison is Amy McRobert from Ottawa 1st.

And last but not least your YA Led Worship Coordinator is Christine Michell from Calgary/Lethbridge/soon to be Guelph.
*The Worship Coordinator position was advertised as being for a duo but I didn’t receive any other emails expressing interest, so if that is a role you are interested in please get in touch with me and I’ll put you in touch with Chris.

Also on the topic of ACM planning, there is yet another yahoogroups listserv that we would like to ask you to direct more nitty gritty, back and forth, planning type conversations to. So if you have any ideas, suggestions, constructive criticisms or any other thoughts or comments about anything ACM related - please direct all those comments them to this ACM specific list.

To be able to send and receive emails on it - please send a blank email to cuc-acm-young-adults-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you can get signed up that way.

In other news please, stay connected (by whatever way you choose - either on this blog, on the regular cuc-young-adult listserv, or the YA Facebook page) as there are developments brewing about putting together a "worship-in-a-box" package of worship service materials to help promote YAs in congregations and get congregations excited about sending their YAs to the ACM. If you are interested in helping with this project please send me an email.

As well I am looking for anyone who is interested in being part of a working group to look into the possibilities of creating a YA advisory body and what such a body might look and function like. If you are interested in structures or governance, or have ever served on a YAC or on CAYAC you have expertise we are looking for! Please email me if you are interested in this.

In faith,
Ariel