The River is My Home

By Sophia Warner, Eugene, First time con attendee

Once many flower blooms ago, Mother Earth carved a large crater. She spit into the crater and made it the home of a special type of fish called the Cispus. The Cispus had such a great spirit as a community that Mother Earth decided to speak to the fish. Her warm kind voice vibrated through the pool. “If you can change this pool to a river that flows through the fourth mountain range, I will proffer a special gift for all of your kind.”

The Cispus knew they were stronger as a community, so all the fish came together as one and started chipping off bits of the lake. The work was slow, but piece-by-piece the Cispus molded the lake into a river. The task took many seasons to complete. Once the fish made it past the last mountain range, they waited and waited, wondering what it was they had worked to achieve.

The sun started to fall. The moment it left the sky, Mother Earth’s voice rumbled as if from the peaks of the surrounding mountains. She said, “I will now give you your great gift. I will make you humans, but before you evolve I will name this river after your kind. In this way you will always know where you are from and may return when you wish.”

Now, an innumerable number of blooms later, the children of the Cispus return to the river once a year under a new name, the Unitarian Universalist youth. When they come together they become just as close as their long gone ancestors. Secretly, somewhere deep inside, they all know this river is their home and that they will always come back to it.

This article is from CONtext

Images and Gratitude

Anne-Marie Davidson, PNWD Con Consultant

It is hard to translate what my heart wants to say to my typing hands, so I will try to translate the images...

When I first get to Con, during setup, I see this map in my head, with the Con site in the middle of it. Around it is our district, and all along the roadways and freeways and lines on that map are vehicles: cars, vans, one very rowdy bus, and they are all driving toward Con, all on their way there, full of expectation, anticipation, apprehension. When they arrive, they will see we are there, waiting for them, ready to welcome them; they will know that this is where they want to be.

In my mind, during con, I see this spiderweb. The spiderweb is my mental map, the connections that form the weekend. Some are people, some are tasks, some are events, some is time... it is vast and beautiful, interconnected, fragile.

Between people, I see the light within each of us reaching out toward others, sometimes tentatively, sometimes readily. With our affirmations of one another, those energies touch and interact and grow until that inner light becomes our halo, surrounding us in light.

This is what you mean to me. You are the welcomers. You create the web, form the connections, send energy that strengthens. You are the light bearers, illuminating the path for others, helping them find their own... you are why this conmunity is what it is.

I am ever grateful for all that you do, in this community, and for all your acts of service.

The very long list of thank yous:

Deans: Nick T & Elissa M

Spirit Corps Captains: Devon B & Riley H

Con Chair: Annie S

Worship: Lydia P & Emma C

Touch Groups: Martina H and Alice R

Workshops: Libby H and Ava K

Registrar: Seriah M

T-shirts: Emma R

Mug Books: Emily L

Site ops / No-Talent Show Host: Logan G

Chaplains: Quinn H & Lorelei P (youth), Kristin D and Job R (adults)

Adult Advisors/Helpers: Ann C, Erin Z, Erich B, Liz S, Amanda R, Eric V

Head Sponsor: Ward R

Nurse: Sharon T

Workshop leaders (not already mentioned): Jeff P, Bill F, Barrie O, Kevin C, Tracy Y, Andy B

Newcomer Orientation Leaders: Owen H and Kevin P

Touch Group Leaders (not already mentioned): Helena K, Sara B, Ben K, Hannah H, Cass B, Elizabeth H, Ethan R, Fernando K, Audry F, Sasha I, Zoe V, Laura J, Dane M, Jake B, Leigh F, Veronica S, Abbie G, Ian G, Brenna Y, Taylor O, Erika D, Makayla V, Kati H

Sponsor sitters (not already mentioned): Haven B, Carson P, Lewis B

That’s 63 people, and I didn’t even get to those who served on Spirit Corps.

To any and all of you who served this weekend, or whom I may have inadvertently forgotten: THANK YOU!

This article is from CONtext

Nicaragua

Over the summer, I and a group of six other teens and two adults traveled to Nicaragua.
Our goal was to learn about the county and help the people of a small village with a
service project. During our three week stay we not only got to know a bit of the language
and culture, but also about the history of the area. For our first week we stayed in the
historic city of Leon, where we stayed at home stays and learned Spanish at Leon Lingua,
a local language school. Going home that first night to a family that spoke only a few
words of Spanish was an experience for all of us, especially those of us who had not
taken any prior Spanish, like myself. After classes we would visit places like a catholic
church in an indigenous village and a mural depicting the tumultuous history of the
country. We were all shocked to see how much the country had changed in just a few
decades and when we realized how much our own country had been involved in
questionable ways. This truly illustrated the seventh principle and how the interconnected
web binds us all together. The second week we spent in a more rural area where we also
did home stays and learned Spanish at a language school called La Mariposa. However,
this language school was much more than just a school. It served as an eco hotel for
travelers, a place of work for the locals, and had numerous humanitarian projects such as
community gardens and even a school for the children. This place was absolutely
magnificent! The successes of their projects and hope it provided for the town was
inspiring. For the third week we saddled up for a week of work in a small community in
the Metagulpa area. And when I say small I mean it. The town had a total of four streets
and the community where we worked was only a few families spread through the
highlands and farms. Each day we would ride to work in the back of a pick up truck,
enjoy gorgeous views, meet honest and genuine farmers, and dig holes and gather rocks
along side them. By the end of this week we had restored an old lavandero and dug a six
foot deep drainage pit for the structure. The absolute satisfaction and gratitude that the
finished product brought was astounding. Each of us took away more knowledge and
understanding than we could have expected and the bridge between Nicaragua and the
United States got a little stronger. It was an eye opening experience and I can’t wait to go
back!

Alessandra Roup

University Unitarian Church- Seattle

General Assembly

"You know, we do it every day. Every morning we go out blinking into the glare of our freedom, into the wilderness of work and the world, making maps as we go, looking for signs that we're on the right path. And on some good days we walk right out of our oppressions, those things that press us down from the outside or (as often) from the inside; we shake off the shackles of fear, prejudice, timidity, closed-mindedness, selfishness, and claim our freedom outright, terrifying as it is- our freedom to be human, and humane.
Every morning every day, we leave our houses, not knowing if it will be for the last time, and we decide what we'll take with us, what we'll carry: how much integrity, how much truth-telling, how much compassion (in case somebody along the way may need some), how much arrogance, how much anger, how much humor, how much willingness to change and to be changed, to grow and to be grown. How much faith and hope, how much love and gratitude- you pack these with your lunch and medications, your date book and your papers. Every day, we gather what we think we'll need, pick up what we love and all that we so far believe, put on our history, shoulder our experience and memory, take inventory of our blessings, and we start walking toward morning." - Walking Toward Morning, Victoria Safford

In the past I never had the opportunity to participate in General Assembly- due the many expenses, mainly. But when I saw that I could be a part of General Assembly... for free- as a Youth Caucus staff member, I jumped. And somehow I landed into life long friendships, compassion, faith-reigniting, and above all...hope.

General.. whhhat? What is General Assembly?
For those that don't know, General Assembly (GA) is essentially a national conference gathering of Unitarian Universalists.
The conference this year was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, from June 22-26, 2011. This year I was able to go for free, because I applied and became the Junior worship coordinator as staff for the Youth Caucus at GA. Next year I will be able to go to free again, because Worship Coordinator is a two year position.

Okay, so what do you do?:
At General Assembly, you can go to workshops, worships, be a delegate for your congregation and vote in Plenary- which takes up a lot of the time at GA. Plenary is basically business time, no, not the business time you think of in that Flight of the Concords song, it's the classic UU buisness. Meaning, people talk. a lot. Sometimes about really unimportant details. Though thankfully we have someone- our wonderful moderator, Gini who can control our "chalice throwing" (chalice throwing: when Unitarian Universalist's become angry at each other and about not very important details- compared to the larger picture) at each other.
This GA was also the 50th anniversary of the UUA-when the Unitarians and the Universalists joined together.
The Youth Caucus- is for high school aged youth and we have workshops, worships, talk about business - what we want to say at Plenary, hang out, dance, etc. This is the basic information about General Assembly- you can find more at the UUA's website-http://uua.org/ga/index.shtml

That's interesting... sorta...
For most of you, the above paragraph probably sounds really boring. But I assure you -General Assembly, at least my experience was truly amazing.
I never before have ever. ever. been in a place with so MANY Unitarian Universalists in one place. Just imagine a huge football stadium and all of them UU's. Even though hall (Plenary hall, this is where all the big business happens and worships) we were in, was definitely not as large as a football stadium, but it felt that way.
The Opening Ceremony was truly something I will have envisioned in my mind for the rest of my life.
This happened on the first day/night we were there, the congregations that were present displayed their banners in the banner parade, which took awhile. Two of my fellow Youth Caucus staffers- Sarah and Noel (they were the HUPPERS, basically the deans for the Youth Caucus) they held the UUA's 50th anniversary banner, which was a HUGE honor. I felt so much pride, love, passion, and even got somewhat teary-eyed during the ceremony. From all corners of the country they were banners representing these churches. It's something I will probably never forget.
Friendships
Though the rest of the week- wasn't exactly like the opening ceremony. No, they were plenty of times that I wanted to pull my hair out and scream. Being on Youth Caucus staff was stressful, raising around 6am everyday and not going to bed till midnight every night. Though Sarah (my room mate) and I usually stayed up talking about what happened during the day/the coming day. Not to mention dealing with Youth Caucus issues. But I gained so many close friendships through this experience. Not to mention learning so much more about leading worships- with the help of my Sr. Worship Coordinator, Abhi.
There were and are so many smart and inquiring youth that I had the pleasure of getting to know and so many more who I wished I had gotten to know. It struck me during FUN times- which is really opposite then what the title appears to say- it's our Youth Caucus business meeting, where we talk about different Plenary issues and if/what we want to say as a Youth Caucus as a whole. It was going somewhat longer then expected, but they were so many youth there who really cared about the issue and I thought to myself, that truly this is something you don't get everyday, not everyday do you get to be with so many youth, people, UU's, a huge community that not only cares about each other, but truly cares about our impact and voice in the larger UUA and the world.

Faith-Reigniting
I felt my faith grow even more during the Synergy Bridging Worship in Plenary Hall (this is the worship for high school seniors/others who are going in to/already in young adulthood). Sitting up on the stage, next to Bill Sinkford (our 7th UUA president, he now is the minister at the Portland church), I was freaking out some. I spoke the opening words for the chalice lighting. Which was truly an honor. Sitting up there, looking into the flame of our faith, our chalice, it dawned on me how much Unitarian Universalism means to me. I don't I would be able to survive high school without it. Before I've had most of my epiphany-super-awesome-spiritual experiences with my youth community within the Pacific Northwest district. I was struggling with my own spirituality with my church. But General Assembly helped not only reaffirm my faith but made feel something I hadn't really felt before this time. And it's a feeling I'll be spending the rest of my life trying to figure out how to explain/describe to others.

So we all start walking toward morning...
This experience gave me so much hope and light. But also it shown even brighter inside me how isolated sometimes I feel at my own congregation. There are so many amazing things UU's are doing out there in the world and yet we don't know about them. General Assembly, is when I came "out of the closet" as an evangelical Unitarian Universalist. I know, evangelical, it's a "scary word". When I say I am an evangelical UU, I mean that to spread my passion that I have for my faith in every single thing I do- not converting people. But truly living by 7 principles and by my own personal beliefs. I want my church to become more involved within the UUA and the world. I want more action, more doing. I want to take our chalice, our faith, my personal beacon and let it shine. Because we have the power to change the world, (that's even grounded in our history)! We are already doing so- whether that's hosting various different fundraisers, sending your youth to help build houses in New Orleans, or simply singing and dancing. We might not believe in the same things, but we believe in each other. We need to express our joy, because I know we have some, in fact we have tons, that's what our faith is all about, that's what our 7 principles are...
We must all go forth to towards joy, to love, to peace.

And so we all start walking towards morning.

Thank you,
Elissa McDavid

For more information, please feel free to contact me - elissa.mcdavid@gmail.com

Look for ways to participate in General Assembly on the PNWD's Youth Facebook page
and the UUA's Youth Ministry Facebook page