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Jacob Krueger
I'd like to thank this church and the YRUU movement for allowing me to be who I am.
I believe in God.
As a young religious Unitarian Universalist, or YRUU, this statement might take some people by surprise, and would require further elaboration. But, as I have learned, as a YRUU, I am not required to give any.
It has taken me three years to become comfortable and secure enough in my faith to be able to come to this realization, and I have this church, the youth of this district and this country, and Unitarian Universalism as a whole to thank for this.
For years I thought myself to be an atheist, that there was no spiritual force in the world; nothing sacred beyond my own humanity. But as one who in times of stress and sorrow, and even happiness, called out to God, this made very little sense.
YRUU offered me the level of introspection and self-discovery I needed to find the keys to my ever-evolving spirituality.
There are many youth movements in this country: Reformed Jewish, Orthodox Jewish, Catholic, born-again Christian, Christadelphian, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Anglican, Southern Baptist, etc., etc., etc. The list goes on and on.
The question is, how is YRUU different from these other youth movements from these other religious denominations? The simple answer is that YRUU allows you to discover yourself spiritually, but I don't think that's a good enough answer.
Having many friends in many different religious youth groups, I believe they would say the exact same thing: that their youth groups allow them to discover themselves spiritually.
So then what sets us apart from others? Why are we different?
YRUU, I believe, is mostly agnostic. There are atheists, there are theists, but most are those who have not discovered the answers for themselves yet. YRUU covers such a vast spiritual spectrum, and I believe this is where the difference lies.
I went into YRUU as an atheist, but discovered that this is not who I am. Not everyone comes to this conclusion. There are some who enter as theists, and discover themselves to be either agnostic or atheists. There are those who are agnostic, and remain so. YRUU is about spiritual diversity.
However, there is an important social component to YRUU as well: the belief that there is a need for social change in this world. Social change that allows for the rights and freedoms of all people, regardless of age, gender, race, creed and sexual orientation.
As YRUUs, we do not discriminate, and we are dedicated to the rights of all people, not just in this country, but in the world.
We are the future, and we want to be able to live out our lives without constant conflict and turmoil, and we shall strive for change, whether it be as activist, pacifist or soldier.
Our diversity is what sets us apart from others, but it is what brings us together most as a movement.
In YRUU, we all follow different paths, but it is in these differences that we find our solidarity.
We are the small, the minority
With small numbers but loud voices
Fighting against the daily tedium
And striving for a better world.
We are laughed at, ridiculed, patronized,
But we do not give up.
Constantly hoping and through selfless acts of love and understanding,
We struggle to take our fellow humans by the hand
And love them with all the love we are capable of.
We are loud. We are proud. We are UU.
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Elizabeth Seigle
"Who Am I?"
Seventh grade -- the height of my incorrigible ways in the social sphere of junior high. There, standing tall beside me, are my friends -- my trophies, with whom I try so hard to shine on the pedestal of popularity. Karen has completed her confirmation as a dedicated member of the Catholic Church; only months ago did Sarah succeed in her task as a bat mitzvah. Karen has Christmas; Sarah has Chanukah.
"So what are you?" they ask. My heart skips a beat, and I swallow deliberately. I feel as if my face is swelling; my body is burning, heating so that I cannot stand still.
"Well … um …" I begin. My thoughts run wild. What should I say? Come on, Liz, say something … but what will they think of me?
I look at Sarah. "I'm mostly Jewish," I stutter. "No, wait …"
I see Karen out of the corner of my eye. "I'm mostly Christian," I stutter again. I then give up.
Well, I think to myself, at least I fit in. Even if I don't have a holiday.
I suppose it took some time, and several "Well, um"s with it, but nonetheless, my journey through adolescence fed my soul, spiritually and intellectually. As I stepped outside of myself, took a close look at the world around me, I saw what I thought I was lacking -- and all those "Well, um"s and skipped heartbeats were only a guise for the fundamental need for acceptance. I was a young, lost girl, trying so desperately to find herself and yet trying so desperately to fit in. I needed to be accepted -- by my friends, the jocks, the bookworms, the musicians, the actors -- and I still do, as do all of you sitting before me.
We as humans desire acceptance, whether we realize we do or not. And at that young age, I believed that being a Unitarian Universalist was bizarre, and indeed, it would suit me best if I simply stood quietly with the majority, nodded and smiled.
But my growth within this church and my experiences within this church and in this faith have helped me to understand myself, and in turn, have brought a sense of solace to my life that I cannot and will not find anywhere else. The adults I have worked with, the children I have taught, the friends I have bonded with, those faces within the congregation that I am fortunate to see every Sunday … we all share a precious commonality. We are Unitarians -- we are not "Well, um, mostly Jewish" or "Well, um, mostly Christian." And though Karen and Sarah and the jocks and musicians whom I so longed to fit in with may not follow the Unitarian faith, or even know that Unitarian Universalism is in fact a faith, that does not decide whom we befriend, or who will see us as likable human beings.
Because of this church, and my commitment to it, I know now that I have a place, a home, where I may come at any stage of my life, where I am certain I will be accepted. This faith speaks of acceptance, and while at times I doubt myself, and question whether I have it in me to get beyond the trials that present themselves throughout my life, I know that this church, that this faith and those in it are genuine, kind-hearted, strong-minded people -- forever and always.
Every year, I learn more about myself within the walls of this church, and primarily from the people I interact with. Now, being a Youth Group member, I am with a group of teens who, like myself, have traveled similar paths through adolescence and who share a strong sense of empathy for not only me, but for each other. And we are growing together still. And all the trials and hardships experienced together have only made us stronger as people and as a group, and will continue to do so.
I don't mind that I don't have a confirmation or a bat mitzvah, and I don't mind that I am not just like my friends -- because I don't want to be. I don't want to stand with the majority, nodding and smiling, because I am me -- I am a Unitarian Universalist, and I have my own voice that needs to be heard. And this brings happiness and comfort to my life, knowing that I have identity and a purpose -- and that I am accepted by the people who like me for my true self.
Walt Whitman wrote: "What good amid these, oh me oh life? Answer, that you are here. That life exists and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse." Well, Mr. Whitman, I have my own verse now. I have found it.
So today, when people ask, "So what are you?," I respond confidently: "I'm a Unitarian Universalist."
"A what?" they reply inevitably.
And I simply smile and say: "You better sit down, this could take a while."
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Daniel Clark
A Youth Perspective on Unitarian Universalism
When we were pondering what to center this service around, a couple of ideas were tossed around, but we settled on a conveniently vague theme: a youth perspective on Unitarian Universalism. It is particularly timely, falling so close to the Mind the Gap campaign, to hear from some youths. Ageism is a double-edged sword: Youth have biases toward the old and vice versa. As Unitarian Universalists, we question to defeat these stereotypes.
So I guess my purpose here is to answer those questions. I do not believe that I need to instruct you on high school life -- you have all been there. Rather, this will be just my perspective, specifically in a Unitarian context (which really is my experience with the Youth Group). I would like to talk about my role in the Youth Group, and what the Youth Group has given me.
To begin, I am a co-chair of the Youth Group. The co-chairs are the microprocessors of the group, running meetings and processing a lot of information. I won't lie, it hasn't been a cakewalk, but it hasn't been a nightmare either. Like apparently everything, it has its ups and downs.
If you were to look at this like a guidance counselor, you might call my role good for business -- writing agendas and running meetings. Good experience for business and the professional world. If you were a politician, you might point out that I show initiative, potential, and leadership for our country.
The point here is that being a co-chair has been demanding but fulfilling, a learning experience and a proving ground. I know that my ability to lead is something that I can give to a group. To put it another way, listen to this bit: Many kids in high school wear clothes related to sports, with slogans and sayings. These phrases typically run from the most flimsily clad innuendo to the most trite cliché. One, however, has stuck with me. It was a T-shirt for a summer football camp that read: "Accept the risk of leadership." This was particularly applicable to my own situation. I have faltered before when deciding to act or let things go by. This reminder to act as you are able struck me as a rule to live by. When you have something to give, do not hesitate to help those around you. My role as co-chair has helped me immensely to realize this function of mine.
What I get from the Youth Group is a pool of friends and friendliness. A forum for discussion and spirituality. A place to go, a place to belong, and a place to accept others. The Youth Group is a safe place. There is no doubt that I look forward to Youth Group, it is just a relief to get there. It is a shelter from the heavy snows of classes, teachers, work, cliques and social drama, college, parents -- responsibility. Youth Group is an escape. The simple pleasure of forgetting all else for a moment is part of what makes Youth Group beautiful.
The thing that I find most valuable is the human connection -- the friendships. Youth Group is a setting after cliques were formed in middle school, and after the pressures of high school, and on territory that is both neutral and familiar. This fresh environment allows people to remove the chains and stereotypes of their other lives and establish new, unencumbered relations with the people around them. These friendships allow for real, healthy living among teens.
I want to get this reading in because it appeals to the emotions of friendships so well, so bear with me even though it does not really fit, except in the spirit of friends. From The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky:
There is a feeling that I had Friday night after the Homecoming game that I don't know if I will ever be able to describe except to say that it is warm. Sam and Patrick drove me to the party that night, and I sat in the middle of Sam's pickup truck. Sam loves her pickup truck because I think it reminds her of her dad. The feelings I had happened when Sam told Patrick to find a station on the radio. And he kept getting commercials. And commercials. And a really bad song about love that had the word "baby" in it. And then more commercials. And finally he found this really amazing song about this boy, and we all got quiet.
Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something.
"I feel infinite."
And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way. I have since bought the record, and I would tell you what it was, but truthfully, it's not the same unless you're driving to your first real party, and you're sitting in the middle seat of a pickup with two nice people when it starts to rain.
So what does Unitarian Universalism have to do with this? Quite bluntly -- everything. The church provides the resources, space, advisers and collaborators for the Youth Group. The humanistic outlook encourages open discussion, friendships, meetings and sharing. I'm not one for conclusions, or finding the greater meaning within my paragraphs. Take from this what you will, a specific subset of my experiences and perspective on Unitarian Universalism.
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Vicky Nier
Most people acknowledge that youth are the future of our faith. It's an important enough idea that we even had a nationwide campaign about it this fall, complete with church services and fund-raisers, all to "Mind the Gap" in our religious community. Oddly enough, though, for a faith that emphasizes the importance of the individual and a continental structure that believes youth are an integral part of this community, we never seem to remember one other simple fact: Youth are not only the future, we are the present as well. We are neither ignorant nor apathetic about the world in which we live, and we've been raised, by you, to think that we can help make differences, even save the world, before we're fully grown.
Unfortunately, there're a lot of complications in this world-saving business. Any superhero has her bad days, and can slide off track for a while. So it's not surprising that this church's personal group of superheroes can have these problems. I've been told recently that our Youth Group has been losing its direction and needs work. My first response -- stereotypically adolescent, of course -- is always: "Well, duh!" Creating a perfect youth group is not easy. It's a journey, and like most "journeys" of the metaphorical sort, they don't make maps for it. I've been in this church's Youth Group for four years now and I've seen old youth graduate and new members join. I haven't gained much wisdom these years, but I've learned enough to say this: So we're getting lost along the way? So what else is new?
Imagine, for a minute, the perfect youth group. We're a loving religious community that trusts each other, and we're uniformly committed to making a difference in our world. Imagine that we're supportive and energetic, that we can always cheer each other up when we're together. And imagine that we're perfectly respectful of one another, that we value each other, and that that shows through every action and word, even when those actions mean just listening, and those words mean simply staying silent.
Well, even if we start with a group of talented, energetic and passionate people, we'll still have problems creating this mythical youth group. But that doesn't mean we should give up. To make a group like this work takes love, and energy, and commitment to working through hardships. This is the type of group that we're working towards. And we realize that losing direction is endemic to any group of people trying to accomplish a long-term goal. The lucky thing about being youth is that we don't have to pretend we have it all together. We can say, "Wait. We're having problems. Let's take some time out and fix them." And we can come to other people for help.
We come to you. We come to you to ask that whatever your present involvement with the Youth Group is, you step it up a notch. Hard times are when we need commitment and passion to increase, not to slip away. Would we be blessed enough to sit in this church this morning had we given in to frustration over not having a building last year, and stopped supporting the process? Building a church is rather like building a successful youth group. It takes constant attention and care. From all its members. In building a church, that meant including youth, and in building a youth group, that means including adults.
Can I get a show of hands on this: How many of you have had any involvement with youth in the church? Any involvement whatsoever? Have you ever had us cater a church event you've been at, or baby-sit your kids at a different event? Have you moved boxes with us from one building to another, or had us sell you free-trade coffee? Have you seen us teach your children's RE class, or read about us and our cons in News & Views? Have you come to second-service coffee hour, or seen us usher for a service, or even been in another service we've done? Most of you in the church should be raising your hands right now. But I'm about to tell you another mind-blowing fact: Though this work helps the church run smoothly, this is the work we care least about.
We exist because we're trying to create that aforementioned mythical youth group. We exist because we want to get involved in our surrounding towns and improve our communities. This is what we really love to work for. So come see us in our element, and take part yourself. Come to a con and watch a group of lazy, disorganized teenagers create a community of love and respect with each other and their adult advisers, all working together towards a common goal. Watch us discuss issues of global social justice, watch us give back to our local communities through food banks and time spent at child-care centers. Watch us donate the money we raise to our local community through the building fund; to our greater community, as we did when we donated money to Abigail Kiss; and to youth from communities of the district, through creating amazing conferences. Watch us constantly re-evaluate ourselves and try to be the people we want to live in the world we're trying to create.
To wrap this up, I have one thing to say to you.
Ready for it? ...
Don't give up on us.
I'm talking to all of you sitting before me right now when I repeat, "Don't give up on us."
I'm talking to those of you who have never been involved with the Youth Group before. Try getting to know us for the first time. Stop by next coffee hour and talk to us. Find out what it is we're doing here at this church. Find out what you have in common with us.
I'm also talking to those of you who have interacted with us before. You've seen us around the church. You know we exist. Now come and find out more. Talk to us, or Carol, or Vanessa. Find out how you can get involved with us. Come to a Youth Group meeting, or, if you're really brave, come to a con. There are plenty of adults in this church who can help you find out how to get involved, and believe me, there are plenty of us youth waiting to help you take those first few steps to getting to know us.
And lastly, I'm talking to those adults in the congregation who have been with us for years. Our advisers, our ministers, our parents. And I'm telling you two things: One, remember that though we won't always show it, we appreciate your being with us. And also remember that as a Youth Group, we're constantly changing. Old members graduate, new ones come in. But change doesn't have to be bad. Don't miss out on what we have to offer. We are committed to Youth Group, and we will make it work. Don't walk away when we're just getting started on this next leg of our journey. Don't leave when it's just starting to get exciting.
We, as youth, bring excitement to whatever we do. Creating our ideal youth group is an ongoing process, a journey that needs excitement and passion and commitment. We have that, and we won't give up on ourselves. But we know you have all that too. So the question remains: What can you do to help us make this Youth Group the best it's ever been?
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The sermon in a Unitarian Universalist setting is never the last word on any subject, but rather an invitation to further dialog.
You may want to read other visitors' comments on the Youth Group members' "Four Sermons" .
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