UUC will be housing the "Big Ass Chalice" (above) in anticipation of the fall youth con we are hosting in October, 2024 where it will take center stage. This chalice has been traveling between PNW UU congregations for years, a tradition that was resurrected this year.

Strengthening relationships is the centerpiece of youth ministry right now. We are caring for an ecosystem that transcends the walls of UUC and extends to nearly all UU church youth programs in the PNW and beyond. This year, we are tending to the seeds we planted in the 2022-2023 church year such as local cross church programming like talent shows hosted at UUC and the 19-congregation strong Camp Blue Boat last summer near Ellensburg, WA. 

The PNW chapter of Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) serves as the seed library and community compost site for this regional effort. Aria Curtis, our Director for Family Ministry, is the chapter secretary and Amanda Mack, our Youth Ministry Coordinator, is a member. The connections cultivated and maintained through the LREDA network via online and in-person support provide a much needed place for storing, fertilizing and growing quality youth programming in the region. At in-person and zoom meetings, retreats and in online forums, idea sharing, brainstorming, planning, and policy creation occur to the benefit of all. 

All that being said, the big news from the Youth Ministry Program is the resurrection of youth cons. Our youth attended three youth cons this year including:

• A fall youth con at Vancouver Unitarian Church in Vancouver, B.C., November 10 -12;
• A spring youth con at the Shoreline UU Church, March 3-4 with 23 youth; and
• A late spring youth con at Quimper UU Church in Port Townsend, WA, April 21 - 23 with 35 youth at Fort Worden outing (below).
  

Moreover, UUC is hosting and beginning to plan a climate justice-themed fall youth con complete with a climate fresk, October 11 - 13, 2024. A climate fresk is a 3-hour interactive workshop that teaches participants about our changing climate system and empowers them to take high-impact climate action. We intend to offer a complement of service learning opportunities for youth as well. We are planning for at least 40 youth to attend including youth from Alaska.

Another bright spot in youth ministry in the last year is UUC’s growing capacity to serve youth. UUC sent nine volunteers and staff to a youth advisor training last fall at East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue (below). The training was co-facilitated by Rev. Justin Almeida.

We also gained experience serving as “adult sponsors” at UUC youth sleepovers and youth cons. Our regional network of PNW LREDA members is working together in many ways too. Together we are planning collaborative local events for youth like an upcoming bonfire at Golden Gardens. We have also formed a Puget Sound Youth Con Planning Committee. As a result, we have developed shared folders where we co-plan and share resources for event planning. We also have our youth con schedule set for the next church year already (below).

Importantly, our Sunday morning youth programs including World Religions (WR), Our Whole Lives (OWL), Coming of Age (COA) and Youth Group completed the year strong. Although we haven’t returned to our pre-pandemic numbers (who has?), we are having consistent attendance for youth in grades 6–12. WR and OWL each had an average of six youth showing up each week. COA had four youth who committed to and completed the year-long program along with their mentors. Although Youth Group had only two regular attendees, our mural project saw our numbers spike. We had 12 youth show up to the first Mural Painting Party (below). Furthermore, we hosted two UUC youth overnights cooking dinner and worshiping together as well as exploring separate curricula in small groups.

The first Mural Painting Day event in March. Youth were and are eager to literally leave their mark on our church home.

World Religions implemented the use of a new Soul Matters curriculum called Crossing Paths this year. We welcomed two UUCers as guest speakers to share their faith journeys with students. Jonathan Tweet spoke with students about being a humanist and an atheist and Janine Larsen, Director of Ministries, spoke with students about her life as a Zen Buddhist priest. Participants also went on three well-attended field trips this year including: 

• A labyrinth walk in celebration of the Pagan holiday Samhain hosted by the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans at Shoreline UU Church in Shoreline, WA. Our two churches co-sponsored the event (photo below) at which youth played games, did the labyrinth walk, and then shared a pizza dinner;
• Attending a big band Sunday service at Mountain & Valley Christian Church in the Seattle neighborhood of Rainier Beach; and
• Going to a service at Overlake Christian Church, an Evangelical Megachurch in Redmond, WA.

OWL for Jr. High youth continues to be a vital ministry at UUC. This group prepares teens to make values based decisions about their sexual health and activity, and gives teens the tools for having important conversations about sexuality with their families, peers, and potential partners. In addition to the OWL group itself, parents of teens participating in OWL gathered monthly this year to reflect together about these same topics. New this year was a field trip to Lambert House. As we look into the coming church year, OWL facilitators and Family Ministry staff hope to incorporate more field trips and continue to wrestle with questions about the OWL schedule and what format makes sense for this program. We look forward to hearing the perspective and feedback from incoming OWL parents and teens.

Coming of Age youth and their mentors at their spring retreat at Camp Seymour in Gig Harbor, WA.

This year’s Coming of Age group was small, but mighty. Our four teen participants engaged deeply with big questions about what has made them who they are, their personal beliefs and values, and the people they want to become. We incorporated lesson plans from the Soul Matter’s curriculum, “Becoming,” this year. This helped us create a more experiential, art and activity-driven experience for these participants. This was a great addition to our usual COA program and we plan to implement more of the “Becoming” curriculum in the coming year. Another new addition to the COA program was a field trip to the Wing Luke Museum for their Red Lining Tour.

In the context of being in ministerial transition, youth programming is primed to grow well alongside a change in leadership. Our youth chose a theme of “embracing change” for the youth-led service in February (below) to share their wisdom with the congregation as we all prepare ourselves for transition. We also know that Rev. Wadkins, our appointed interim minister, has a passion for supporting families and youth ministry and social justice activism. We have begun collaborating with UUC’s Climate-Action Team to develop youth-inclusive projects. We look forward to continuing to explore ways to be in deeper, more creative partnership with our UUC community. 

Youth Hannah Sears offers wisdom to congregates on the youth-led service theme of embracing change in February.



In closing, relationships are at the center of our successes and we will continue to make opportunities for them to flourish through our programming, training opportunities and community engagement in the coming program year. Through support from the UUC community, staff and our regional and national UU colleagues, we took big strides this last year. As a result, our program’s soil is becoming increasingly fertile. In the year to come, we are looking forward to nurturing our fragile seedlings into sturdier, more rooted saplings—a forest in renewal.