Breaking the Cycle: A Blissful Revelation

By Sonrisa Alter, Wy’East Congregation

One year ago, as I poured out my heart and my tear ducts for the bridging seniors at Spring Con 2010, a part of me couldn’t help but wish I were among them. If, as I’d assumed, the strength of the youth culture rises and falls every few years, then it seemed like that con would certainly be our peak. We had emerged from the discord of broken community and the steady labor of repairing it to find a utopia at our feet. CONnection played out with a perfect vibe and perfect weather to match, in many ways the polar opposite of the now-infamous “DramaCON” of Fall 2008. So while I felt tremendously thankful to have one more year of cons ahead of me, I also envied the 2010 bridgers their luck to leave on such a high note. After a con like that, it seemed like the only way left for us to go was downhill, especially since we were losing so many of the leaders who had helped to turn our culture around. I worried that in my final year, I would see the incredible community we had worked so hard to build begin to unravel.

I have never been happier to be wrong. Not only did our culture sustain the progress we’d made in previous years, but it also expanded from there in ways I never could have imagined. Our so-called peak became a launching pad. We saw con attendance skyrocket this year, with this Spring Con nearly half again as large as last year’s, and welcomed 6 new congregations, including the UU Fellowship in Anchorage, Alaska (I still can hardly believe it). To help these new attendees adjust, we instituted a newcomer orientation. Meanwhile, the sponsors exemplified whimsy and camaraderie, forming their own cuddle puddle and lap tag game and planning a fantastic talent show act. We continued to flesh out Spirit Corps, introducing energy maps and transitioning to exclusively online sign-ups. The bridging ceremony also received an overhaul, and while it did not go off entirely without issue, it was a great first run and a beautiful way for us to say goodbye to the con community and hello to a new phase of life (for the record, I did not cry at my bridging—somehow, to my astonishment, I just felt ready). And in the midst of all this, we managed to spearhead a fundraiser benefiting LGBTQ youth with the involvement of twenty-six UU congregations across the United States and Canada. Frankly, congoers, we rock.

And beyond our tangible achievements, this con felt different in a more subtle way. There is certainly something to be said for the organized chorus of “Hello, beautiful goddess!” that greeted me as I entered the Saturday Spirit Corps meeting, and for the fact that the wall of the SeptiCon Facebook group is still being peppered with “I miss con!” posts more than a week later. We may not have had perfect weather, but I have never felt as much love as I did at this con. It was a perfect time to bridge.

As you continue to carry the torch of this sacred community ever higher, I ask only that you never presume you’ve reached the top. As we’ve seen this year, no matter how fantastic con becomes, there will always be room for it to exceed your wildest expectations. May its roots hold you close. May its wings set you free. Blessed be.

Ed. note: These articles are from ConText, the newsletter published after every Con. 

CON, From the Sponsor Side

What should I say about the UU Youth Con experience from my adult perspective? First that it is totally amazing! Two hundred fifty plus youth and their adult sponsors get together in a space of love and respect to explore their personal religious beliefs for a weekend away from the world. The youth exhibit radical hospitality with deep bonds of friendship forming in the briefest of encounters. First timers are not outsiders and are integrated into the community by those how have come before, and those who have been there before shriek upon reuniting with old friends.

As an adult, I like that I feel like a member of this community and not some overload sent to make sure things don't get broken <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 (but of course I was sent to make sure things don't get broken; silly insurance companies and parents) All kidding aside, it is amazing to watch the Youth lead their own programming, coming up with a theme for their Con, planning and leading amazing worship experiences, and overcoming adversity in unexpected ways.

Let's talk about adversity for a moment shall we? My first Con experience was one where the community had to come together to reassess who they were and what they wanted to be. The Youth felt that rules had been imposed upon them without consultation and input by Youth. To be frank the Youth felt betrayed, and that the values their adult UU mentors were attempting to instill in them were utterly lacking by this conduct. Instead of sulking or rebelling, the Youth came together as one strong body to discuss how they felt about this, and how they wanted to respond. They spent most of the weekend hammering out productive solutions to valid concerns that the proposed rule changes reflected. That Con may not have been much "fun" but it bond those Youth together. They addressed adult policy makers directly about their objections to the rules and worked out solutions that were agreeable to Youth and adult. The next Con after this difficult process was one that was deeper spiritually than what, I gather, had been the custom of the past, and much more fun than the first Con I attended.

Speaking of fun, there are lots of activities that are pure fun. The talent-no-talent show is a highlight of the weekend, with Youth and Sponsors sharing amazing musical, theatrical, comedic, and stupid people trick talent. A highlight for me is the singing of the Canadian national anthem which is now sung in three languages - me? I'm still struggling to master singing my national anthem in its one language, but I digress. Back to the fun, Noting, and I repeat nothing, is quite the same type of fun as laptag. Ask a Youth to explain it to you. After sitting on the sidelines for many Cons being vaguely anxious (we adults are suppose to be the non-anxious adult presence at Con) about an activity that results in the most trips to the nurse , we adults decided to see what all the fuss was about and turned the tables on the Youth by playing our own game of laptag. It was the Youth's turn to be anxious as we gave ourselves rug burns in a game that makes even the most pacific UU an aggressive combatant - while remaining loving and respectful , odd, but true.

So there you go, my adult reflections on the UU Youth Con experience. It is something we as UUs can be very proud of. Our Youth are amazing, did I say that before?

Love and service,

David Anderson- University Unitarian Church, Seattle, WA

The Laramie Project

“In this familiar place, listen: Find the silence among these people and listen to it all - breathing, sighs, movement, holding back - hear the tears that have not yet reached their eyes perhaps they are your own hear also the laughter building deep where joy abides despite everything. listen: rejoice.” -Barbara Pescan

A powerful cause, the Laramie Project

Last August when the YES team had our first meeting of the year, we revisited the idea of a district wide youth fundraiser (which was something that we have been thinking about doing for a while). We felt that our community was in a really, really good place this year and we wanted create/make more connections with the youth in the district. Too often I've heard about smaller churches/youth groups feeling isolated and not having a greater community of youth.

Personally I can relate to this feeling. Which is why when we began to talk about this, I immediately agreed to help lead the project. As we started to talk about what fundraiser we could do- the thought of the *Laramie Project* came up. Churches (the youth!) would show the Laramie Project and also help raise money towards one national and local group that helps with making GLBTQ feel safer.

*(the Laramie Project is a movie of a play by the tectonic theater in New York that went to Laramie, Wyoming to interview the residents about the murder of a young gay man, Mathew Shepard)*

Why I love this youth community

"Guard your light and protect it. Move it forward into the world and be fully confident that if we connect light to light to light, and join the lights together of the one billion young people in our world today, we will be enough to set our whole planet aglow."
- Hafsat Abiola

We (the youth) are truly remarkable.

I don't think people have yet to really comprehend what has happened.

I never would of thought last August how large the project would become and how heavily important it would become to me and the youth. Over all we had 27 congregations show the Laramie Project all across North America (see below for all the congregations) for the month of February. It started out as a PNWD fundraiser, but along the way of advertising (thanks to Tandi Rogers!) it became something much larger. With the help of Liz Stevens and Anne-Marie (adults that also helped with the project), through many emails, a facebook group- The Laramie Project- UUA, and etc, we manged to create and connect youth from major cities, to smaller more isolated areas. All the way from Hawaii to Georgia. In the PNWD, we raised over- 6,289 dollars (from the churches that have contacted us). Money will go to many different organizations, such as the Lambert house in Seattle and the Trevor project.

*If you had a fundraiser and didn't post how much you made, please do- or send an email to me.*

When Anne-Marie (one of the main adult coordinators/leaders for the YES team) first showed me the sheet of all the churches listed showing the project, I may have screamed a little, from excitement of course.

Unitarians have a calling, a calling to take action. I've said this before, our deeds guide our creeds. Recently there has been so many tragic deaths of GLBTQ teens, which makes the Laramie Project even more meaningful in light of that.

We are youth, that are helping, fighting, standing-up for other youth. We are taking ownership and empowering ourselves. By empowering us, (the youth), we are creating the next generation of future leaders and citizens, citizens of the world. Youth have such a short shelf-life (as my youth group adviser, Amanda would say), that is why it's especially important for youth to take the lead. I'm so thankful to have a welcoming community where I can do exactly that, where I can stretch my leadership wings.

What lights my chalice?

We are standing on the side of love. We live in a world where they are many injustices, but yet I don't feel discouraged by this, because I have seen with my own eyes what large impact youth can make and have made. You can see youth empowerment even before Unitarians and Universalists were one faith, the youth groups of each met together and helped the civil rights movement and worked with African-Americans to fight for integration. Those are very beginnings of youth empowerment, that is what inspires me.

This project gives me hope, our youth community- the Pacific North West District (PNWD) has had its ups and downs and was almost torn apart. But now I feel even more proud and confident in our abilities to create change. Not just in the PNWD, but nation wide, continent wide. That's what lights my chalice.

A calling, our deeds.

Finally, I ask of you- adults, RE, ministers, etc to help give a podium for youth to speak from (figuratively or literally), because we are the future leaders, the future citizens of the world. I ask for you look around in your churches and see what your youth are doing, to ask questions, to give opportunities to youth and know what's happening not only in your church but outside of it,-the greater youth UU community.

Youth, I ask you to be involved, to be empowered, and realize how much we can truly do. We have a voice, and I believe more then anything that we can bring change. I ask for to look around and find your patch of sky to help hold up, whether that's raising money and showing the Laramie Project or something other just as deserving cause of injustice.

I ask for you to find what lights your chalice, what inspires you, and what can give hope.

I ask for you, of everyone, to stand on the side of love.

"With faith to face our challenges, with love that casts out fear, with hope to trust tomorrow, we accept this day at the gift it is: as reason for rejoicing." -Gary Kowalski

Dates and churches that showed the Laramie project:

2/6: Edmonds/Shoreline, WA

2/9: Palouse, Moscow, ID

2/11: Marietta, GA

2/11 Woodinville, WA

2/12: Eastshore, Bellevue, WA - did a radio play version! (live!)

2/18: Corvallis, OR

2/19: Vancouver, WA

2/21: Salem, OR

2/25: Tacoma, WA

2/25: Kitsap/Cedars, Bremerton, WA

2/26: Spokane, WA

2/27: Saltwater, Des Moines, WA

2/27: Wy'East, Portland, OR

Churches:

All Souls UU Church

Kansas City, MO

UU Congreation of Wyoming Valley
Wilkes Barre, PA

Emerson UU Congregation

Marietta, GA

Spokane UU Church
Spokane, WA

UU Church of Vancouver

Vancouver, WA

First UU Society of Westchester
Hastings on Hudson, NY

First Unitarian Church of Honolulu

Honolulu, HI

UU Church of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN

Kitsap UU Fellowship

Bremerton, WA

North Shore Unitarian Church
Vancouver Lower Mainland, BC

UU Church
Farmington, MI

Woodinville UU Church

Woodinville, WA

UU Church
Worcester, MA

Edmonds UU Church

Edmonds, WA

Wy’East UU Congregation

Portland, OR

Unitarian Church of Westport
Westport, CT

Clifton UU Church and Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church
Louisville, KY

Unitarian Church of Calgary

Calgary, Alberta

Saltwater UU Congregation
Des Moines, WA

UU Congreation of Greater Canton
Canton, OH

UU Fellowship Church
Corvallis, OR

Champlain Valley UU Society
Middlebury, VT

Anchorage UU Fellowship
Anchorage, Alaska

Starr King UU Church
Hayward, CA

UU Congreation of Salem
Salem, Oregon

Tahoma UU Congregation
Tahoma, WA

I'm so proud of what we have accomplished. Thank you for everyone that participated, all the youth and adults, those who saw the Laramie Project, and supported not only this cause, but youth leadership.

Go in faith, go in love, go in peace,

Elissa McDavid
Saltwater UU church
YES team
(Youth Empowerment Services)
Stay tuned for next fall- the YES team has already been thinking about our next fundraiser!

If you have any questions or want to know more about the youth are doing,
feel free to email me: elissa.mcdavid@gmail.com

Upcoming Events

We are starting another new month, with many new possibilities of things to do, such as:
SeptiCON April 8-19, forms
A WEBINAR presented by Tandi Rogers on the 29th of this month: Youth Ministry: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going, Register
Looking a little farther ahead there are some pretty cool WEBINARS Coming up in there district in April:
14th: Governance: Considerations for the Mid-size Church, Register
19th:Capital Campaigns: What To Consider, Register
24th: Leadership Development for Small Congregations I: Change and Crisis, Register
26th: Transforming Nominating Committees, Register
27th: Campus Ministry Start Up Strategies for Congregations, Register
28th: Governance in Smaller Congregations, Register
And Goldmine forms are coming up on their due dates pretty fast now... May 2nd, Forms

For a full list of events happening accross the UUA, Click Here