Category: Youth and Young Adults

Articles about the youth group, youth fundraising, young adult news and invitations. Use only if a major focus or restriction is youth (13-20) or young adults (18-35) not just because they’d be welcome. Ask yourself: If an 18 year old walked in, would they be likely to see a significant number of people of a similar age?

Register for Children and Youth Program Year

For all new and returning families, all children must be registered so that we have vital information about parent/guardians, children’s needs, photo permissions or restrictions, and so we can maintain appropriate child/adult ratios in the classroom.

Register your child/ren for the 2022-23 Program Year at www.ucv.im/REfamily

Read on to know what you are registering them for!

Sunday Morning Programs

Everyone starts in the service together and children leave to do their program after the story. Programs run a little longer than service so parents can enjoy coffee hour. All Sunday morning programs are included in the Family Registration at www.ucv.im/REfamily

Pray ground (Sanctuary friendly floor zone)

small child and teen work on a puzzle together. Sitting on a gold carpet in the sunlight with pillows.

The pray ground allows parents to be present in worship with their children, it is up front because that is the best place for kids to see what is going on, be engaged as they are able, and teaches them that they belong here. They are safe in a loving community. It is designed for those who need to be near their parents for any reason.

Our pray ground is the area at the very front of the sanctuary on the right side, with our teen volunteers ready to quietly play during worship or outside if needed. It has carpets and pillows, colouring and stuffies, board books and fidget toys! This zone is designed for those who are too wriggly to sit in a chair for an hour and not ready or willing to join a program. Children who are going to a program can hang out here until they are sung out, and those who are not able or don’t want to leave their parents can stay as long as they want to.

 

Superhero Academy

silhouette of muscled superhero with a cape on a primary color blocked background with sound effect words "wow" and "pow!" Title reads "Superhero Academy coming soon"
written by Meredith Plummer; Director of Lifespan Faith Development at First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, 2022.

Focus: play-based learning about justice, covenant, and community with an anti-racist lens.

Age: 5-9 (grades K-4)

Time and place: 11:15-12:15 in person at UCV

Are you a fan of the Teen Titans or Black Panther? Or are you more interested in learning about your values through playing games with new friends? Superhero Academy is our children’s group for this year, and you’re all invited!

Family Registration: www.ucv.im/REfamily

Crossing Paths

circular wood table with religious symbols arranged, chalice, menorah, singing bowl, jump rope, binoculars, and pencil crayons

Focus: understanding the religious and spiritual practices of our neighbours and ourselves

Age: 10-12 (grades 5-7)

Time and place: 11:15-12:15 in-person at UCV; also includes fieldtrips once a month to other houses of worship in our community (carpool/transit buddies can be arranged)

Crossing Paths is a core program for UU children. We invite kids beginning to question life-death-and-the-beyond to join with us in exploring many faith traditions and how they relate to Unitarian Universalism. We start with Unitarian Universalism and aim to cover many other traditions practiced in our area, from Buddhism to Islam to Paganism to Coast Salish spirituality. This year’s program is a continuation of last spring’s program, which already spent time on Judaism and Christianity. However, there is no need to have attended last year to attend this year.

Family Registration: www.ucv.im/REfamily

Special Program Registration

Special programs take place at different times outside of Sunday morning. They are often specific to a peer cohort of similar age. They aim to build community within UCV, work on justice in the community at large, and build deep connection to values and identity. Youth may join on their own regardless of parent involvement or membership.  The Our Whole Lives program does have a required parent orientation.

Coming of Age

group of five young teenagers posing together with homemade masks

Focus: UU identity and our community

Age: 12-13

Register here: www.ucv.im/CoA

Time and place: twice a month for two hours each, exact time tbd; in person at UCV

Coming of Age is a core program for UU kids as they become youth. A group of bridging-in youth become a close-knit community as they ask themselves “what is Unitarian Universalism and why does it matter to us?” UCV elders and our facilitators work with participants to learn what they receive from community, what they give back, and how communities practice their values.

Youth Group

meeting room with youth and adults seated in a circle of chairs and couches

Focus: covenant, worship, games, exploration, justice – everything chosen by youth!

Age: 13-18 or currently in high school

Contact Olivia Hall: youth@vancouverunitarians.ca

Time and place: 1-3 pm Sunday afternoons in person at UCV; also sometimes includes sleepovers on Saturday nights, fieldtrips, and discord game times

How to possibly describe youth group? Youth group is fun because teens hanging out is fun! Youth group dives deep because teens dive deep! Youth group is led by teens alongside adult advisors in a safe and supported space to be themselves, be weird, find purpose, and give back. This group is open to all teens connected (however loosely) to UCV. You’re always welcome here.

Bridger’s Program

3-d swirl of rainbow colors

Focus: preparing our oldest youth for the transitions in their lives

Age: 16-19, or gr 11, 12, and first year post high school

Contact Olivia Hall: youth@vancouverunitarians.ca

Time and place: two Mondays a month 7-9 pm in person at UCV; also some sleepovers

Unitarians call the process of moving from youth to young adulthood “Bridging”, they symbol of moving into a new life stage. We create a metaphorical bridge to existing in the world and as a Unitarian with more autonomy and shared responsibility.

Bridger’s Program is a small group for our oldest youth who have been part of UCV or a neighbouring congregation for a while. Two Wednesdays a month, and some sleepovers, we will gather to be with each other in this time of transition. Our leaders help youth to plan post-secondary endeavors (What’s a bursary? What’s a course requirement? How do I fill out my application? Do I even want to keep going to school?), read through Wellspring Youth Sources (What are our UU sources? What spiritual practices keep me grounded? How do I take care of myself and others?), and lead our OWL program (What’s a healthy sexual relationship? How do I make space for my own gender and sexual identity?). And it’s fun.

OWL for Senior High (gr 11-12)

word cloud of sexuality and relationship topics covered in Our Whole Lives sexuality education

Focus: trans and queer affirming sexuality education

Age: gr 11 and 12

Register Here: www.ucv.im/OWLregister

Time and place: one Monday a month 7-9 pm in person at UCV; some Saturday evenings as well

Cost: pay-what-you-can sliding scale, $25-$125; no one will be denied due to lack of funds

Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education is a program used by UUs and other denominations all over the place to support us at all stages of our lives. The grade 11-12 program focusses on sexual health, lifespan sexuality, building healthy sexual relationships, and sexuality and social issues. Our three leaders (two of whom are queer adults themselves) are trained through the program. Our group this year is a majority queer group of amazing teens. Though OWL is offered through UCV, it’s a secular program. Gr 11-12 OWL is a stand-alone part of our Bridger’s Program for older youth, any youth currently age 16 or 17 may join this program.

Esmé’s Credo Comic

Hi everyone!

As part of the Coming of Age program at UCV, our bridging youth have crafted credos to share with the congregation. Their credo is a statement about their beliefs about the world right now.

Esmé decided to share her credo in the form of a comic. She’ll talk about it in the service tomorrow, and we’re posting it here for you to peruse in full. There’s a link at the bottom of this post that will allow you to download the pdf if you wish.

This is my credo comic that I was talking about at Sunday’s service! I’m really, really excited for you to read it!

The 1st Principle inspired it, but now I see all of the principles all over it.
Enjoy! And hug a snail!

— Esmé

 

 

Esmé credo final

Children and Youth RE Fall Update

Our Youth are very busy this year, many of you will have heard directly from them this past Sunday. This amazing, resilient, group of young people continue to meet for two hours each Sunday and run a Dungeons and Dragons campaign on Wednesday nights.

Children and Youth RE Fall Update

by Kiersten E. Moore


(more…)

Coming of Age Orientation night – One mentor’s perspective

To This I Give My Heart: Coming of Age Orientation

One mentor’s perspective

by Mary Bennett

Seven mentors and seven youth (mentees) gathered in Hewett Centre on Sunday, September 20th, most in person and another 4 via zoom, to begin a year-long journey of getting to know each other. Olivia Hall, youth coordinator, and Kiersten Moore, DRE, facilitated an evening of games and conversations, some one-on-one and some in the whole group. The photo shows us playing “All my friends and neighbours…”

We had a couple of introductory exercises, the first included: what pet would you have if you could have any pet at all (including imaginary ones). Responses included elephants, monkeys, octopuses as well as dogs and cats and one person said, “No thanks. I don’t want a pet.”  

Then we paired off with our partner and were asked to come up with the one thing we would choose if we got to name something to help save humanity. I expect other pairs had the same kind of free-ranging conversation that my partner and I had. The final results were intriguing: phytoplankton; the internet, Steven Spielberg’s computer, fresh air…  What would you choose? Get ready for the zombie apocalypse now in case you’re asked.. 

Each pair will meet on their own once a month. As well as having a bit of fun together, our mission is to  work through the Coming of Age journals* we were given. 

When asked to share what we hoped to get from the program, there were responses of friendship and learning. After the broad concepts, one mentor said,  I just want to get to know my mentee better. The mentee beamed. 

While leaving the hall, a friend said to me: “Who’s the mentor and who’s the mentee? These young folx are so interesting and interested, the hardest part for us adults may be to keep up.”

For myself, I see my role as being a bridge between our religion and this one young person. I’m looking forward to exploring our history especially as my mentee is interested in history. 

Often the young people write their own Credo (statement of belief) and may present to the congregation. If my mentee chooses to do this, I can be a coach and/or cheerleader. Speaking to the congregation, I believe, is an honour and a challenge, an opportunity I have personally appreciated very much and grown from.

Next month, there might be a post by another participant, or a pair, from this program so you can have a glimpse about how it evolves.

 

Report from Harry Potter Camp 2020

The Hogwarts Camp was a great success this year. We asked participants to let us know what their favorite parts were and how they enjoyed it so it could be shared with the whole congregation! Below is a detailed account of the fun from one of the members. If you are interested in helping volunteer with Youth programming, please check out the CYRE volunteer information page.

I think that this was my favourite Harry Potter camp yet. My favourite parts were the Quidditch matches. I was the commentator for Quidditch, which was fun. My brother enjoyed it too, especially how the leaders let the kids choose some of their own activities. We had two groups, Dumbledore’s Army Creators, and Dumbledore’s Army Explorers. We created a newspaper called the Daily Prophet (I was a reporter!) and also a movie, which is being edited right now. There were lots of familiar kids and also a few new ones. The leaders were kind and funny and energetic. I had a great time 🙂

– Benjamin Malcolm, daily prophet chief reporter, age 9

If you’re 18-35 and want to meet other Unitarians your age…

A special invitation from the Canadian Unitarian Council to new-to-UU young adults

Are you interested in connecting with other young adult (18-35 year old) Unitarian Universalists? Gathered Here is a monthly 75-minute online check-in and gathering that will give you a chance to meet other UU young adults and experience the warmth of our national community.

2nd Monday @ 5pm on Zoom

Join other UU 18-35 year olds on Zoom (a video-conferencing platform) for the sharing of joys and concerns, deeper check-ins, prayerful reflections, and an opportunity to process current events with a spiritually grounded community. Gathered Here generally takes place on the second Monday evening of each month at 5pm Pacific/ 6pm Mountain/ 7pm Central/ 8pm Eastern/ 9pm Atlantic. It’s a free drop-in gathering, so no advance registration is necessary. Search “Gathered Here” on the CUC website or on Facebook to find upcoming dates and login instructions.

Here are some more ways for UU young adults to connect online.

CUC Website

http://cuc.ca/young-adults/

Our congregation supported this year-long project

http://cuc.ca/young-adults/young-adult-project/

Facebook Links

Canadian Unitarian Council Youth and Young Adult Ministry page

https://www.facebook.com/CUCyayaministry/

UU Young Adults in Vancouver

Closed Group (You can ask to join)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/122226307860396/

90 members

UU Young Adult Connections

Closed Group (You can ask to join)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/698574876830392/

A continental group only for those between 18 and 35

1300+members

Description

There are a lot of UU young adults* wandering the continent but it’s easy for us to feel isolated. This group is here to combat that feeling and connect us to each other. Feel free to share events and information, ask questions, and invite other young adults you know. THIS GROUP IS INDEPENDENT OF THE UUA. *The UUA defines young adults as people between the ages of 18-35. If you are younger than 18 or older than 35, this is not the group for you. Note: We also welcome anyone who identifies as a U/U (Unitarian or Universalist) rather than as a UU.

 

Text reminders

There’s a lot to keep track of, which is why we’re offering a new way to get the most important info about young adult events sent directly to your phone. We will use this service to send monthly reminders about Gathered Here, as well as other important event notices such as registration deadlines. Here are instructions for how to sign up for text reminders using a service called Remind.

1) By text:
Just text @cucya to (502) 694-1142 and you will be signed up for reminders. You should receive a confirmation from Remind right away.

2) Online:
Visit rmd.at/cucya to sign up for text, smartphone notifications and/or email reminders. By creating an account, you can change your settings or unsubscribe at any time.
* Remind was designed for classrooms, so you’ll get a prompt asking whether you’re a teacher, student, parent, etc. Just choose “student” to move to the next page.

3) By email:
Send an email to young-adults@cuc.ca and request to be added to the reminder group. Please include your cell phone number in the message.

[Thank you and credit to BLUU for the text notification idea and instructions! Visitblacklivesuu.com/ to learn more about their incredible work]

Additionally, you can always check in on what events are coming up for young adults atwww.cuc.ca/community/young-adults/young-adult-events/

 

Intergenerational Dinner a Success!

Photo

Above: Food prep for the Intergen gathering in March 2019

Over 70 participants and volunteers had a great time at last Friday’s  March 15 Intergen gathering.

The evening started with a delicious dinner of appetizers, vegan curry, minestrone soup, spinach salad, organic bread, and  a table’s worth of desserts.

Thanks UBC Sprouts-Community Eats for your donation of produce! A big thanks to the volunteers from the Environment Team and Love Soup who planned and cooked the dinner, and cleaned up.

Dinner over, our stomachs full, we were eager to hear what the evening’s program would bring and we weren’t disappointed.

Vivian Davidson emceed the evening.

  • Tamiko Suzuki explained to the non-Unitarians in the audience about Unitarians having a long history of being loving  **** -disturbers.
  • Quoc Nguyen from Leadnow, spoke of the mental health benefits of volunteering in these uncertain times.
  • Dr. Dave Steele of EarthSave spoke with passion and emotion about animal cruelty in industrial farming.
  • Dr Tara Cullis, president of the David Suzuki Foundation, spoke of the campaigns with First Nations in the Amazon and up the coast of BC fighting to save their lands from dams, and logging.
  • Lorimer Shenher, writer and ex-member of the Vancouver Police Department, touched on racism, sexism, and mental health in his time working on the Missing Women portfolio in the DTES.

Above: Discussion circle with Tara Cullis

Above: Discussion circle with Lorimer Shenher

After they gave their 15 minute ‘elevator speeches’, the guest speakers spread out in Hewett Hall and the audience was invited to go sit at one of their circles to listen, ask questions or share stories. They could get up and check out another circle whenever they want which kept the energy level high.

The photos taken of these circles all show people deep in thought or listening intently but there really was movement between the circles.

The speakers said they wished they too could have been able to sit in on the other discussion circles as the topics were so varied and fascinating!

image

The event wrapped up with a group of Sto’lo and Haida guests who sang a few songs to close out the evening
image

Guests were urged to take home some of the produce that hadn’t been used for the dinner; a head of broccoli, a bunch of bananas, or whatever was left in the boxes as a parting gift!


Get RADICAL With The Environment Team

With breathtaking cinematography, The RADICALS is a documentary film that follows four snowboarders and surfers driven to become social and environmental stewards through their connection with the environments in which they play.

At least 80 people braved our snowy Vancouver weather on Friday, Feb. 15 to come watch the incredible movie “The Radicals” – where environmentalism meets action sports. — The event introduced the audience to members of a new generation of activists in British Columbia.

The filmmaker and some of those involved in the film provided commentary and answered questions. Over $1200 was contributed to the three Indigenous groups featured in the film.

Another successful event from the Environment Team!


Women’s March – Discussion and Poster-making

Sunday January 13 7:30-8:30 pm Fireside Room, Vancouver Unitarian Centre, 949 West 49th at Oak

Women’s March – Discussion and Poster-making

Cayla Naumann  just moved to Vancouver in May of last year after having lived 15 years in Victoria. She grew up in the Unitarian Church San Jose, California.

She will share her knowledge of Women’s March Canada, the H.E.R.S. principles and participation in the March On event on January 19th, and other events year round. She’ll share her experience of what WMC – Victoria has done, ideas for what she thinks WMC – Vancouver could do, but mostly she wants to try and build a network of women supporting women.

Here’s what she says about herself by way of introduction:

I’m a biologist, very passionate about social justice and environmentalism. I’m involved with Women’s March Canada, I organized the Victoria March last year and am trying to get the Vancouver chapter up and running. I’m also interested in gardening and reading/bookclub (some friends and I started a badass ladies bookclub in Victoria and I haven’t found a similar group in Vancouver yet). I’ll be 30 years old in April and live in Marpole (South Vancouver) and I’m the admin for the Buy Nothing Marpole FB group part of the Buy Nothing Project.

Optional: Make a poster to take on the march.

If you can bring felt pens, poster board, cardboard sheets, glue guns, wooden dowels or sticks, etc. please let Cayla know at cayla.naumann@gmail.com or just bring with you.

This is part of the Annual Women’s Gathering which starts at 5:30 pm with a potluck dinner.

More information here: http://vancouverunitarians.ca/events/annual-womens-gathering/
If you’d like to come to a poster-making session at a different time, contact Cayla and we’ll try to set something up.

 

Links:

March On Vancouver (organizers of Vancouver’s March) https://marchoncanada.ca/march-on-cities/march-on-vancouver/
Women’s March Canada https://www.womensmarchcanada.com/
Women’s March Global https://womensmarchglobal.org/

Three Environmental Events Coming to UCV

Above: Connecting to the environments in which we play. — Image from The Radicals

Whether you are a longtime environmentalist concerned about oil tankers and other issues, a social justice activist supporting First Nations concerns — or if you know nothing about these topics and feel now is a good time to start learning — the Environment Team is hosting three upcoming events for you!


EVENTS

(1) Ravens People Rising
(2) The Radicals — by Beyond Snowboarding
(3) Intergenerational Activists Dinner


RAVEN PEOPLE RISING
Saturday January 19th, 2019
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location the Sanctuary



This is a film screening, fundraiser and discussion with Heiltsuk Nation members about their court challenge to enshrine governance of their homelands and waters into law.

With the Unist’ot’en conflict in the news every day, hearing about the Heiltsuk case is relevant and important for us to gain an understanding of Indigenous issues in BC and Canada.

Click here for more information.


The RADICALS — by Beyond Boarding
Friday February 15, 2019
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location the Sanctuary



The RADICALS is a documentary film that follows four snowboarders and surfers driven to become social and environmental stewards through their connection with the environments in which they play.

Follow them as they show the Tahltan fight for the Sacred Headwaters, BC Hydro’s destruction of salmon waters in Xwísten territory, art as resilience on Haida Gwaii, and a coastal uprising against fish farms off the coast of Vancouver Island. Each Indigenous community teaches the athletes to understand what it means to be truly Radical.


Intergenerational Activist Dinner

Friday March 15, 2019

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Location Hewett Hall

Following the success of the fall 2018 Inter-generational Dinner, we are holding another gathering.

This time the topic: Lessons Learned When Things Went Wrong.

Come join us in Hewett Hall for dinner (courtesy once again of UBC Community Eats). We will follow dinner with stories from some seasoned environmental and social justice activists as they talk of lessons learned from past campaigns. This is a great chance to make new connections, share stories, and learn from their experiences.