UNIVERSITY UNITARIAN CHURCH

High School

(9th-12th Grade)

Summer for High School Youth at UUC

UUC youth are mostly on hiatus and do not meet over the summer months with a few exceptions:

  1. Some youth (rising 8th graders through high school seniors) serve as Chalice Camp counselors, UUC’s summer camp for elementary school-aged kids. Applications for active UUC youth open in February of each year.
  2. Attending Camp Blue Boat is another way for UUC teens to connect during summer. Camp Blue Boat is the PNW's Unitarian Universalist summer camp immersion experience for youth from rising 6th-grade to 12th-grade graduates at Camp N-Sid-Sen in Coeur d'Alene, ID in late summer. 
  3. Youth Group Meet Ups for middle and high school teens are offered a couple times during the summer months and are promoted via the Youth Ministry Newsletter.

Please read below for information about what is typically offered for high school youth at UUC during the program year.

Our Whole Lives for 8th & 9th Grade:

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive sexuality education program designed to help participants gain the knowledge, values and skills to lead sexually healthy, responsible lives. In this OWL class, youth explore many topics, such as anatomy and physiology, gender, sexual orientation, relationships, dating, pregnancy, contraception, and sexual decision making.


UUC typically offer 8th-9th Grade OWL on an annual basis. In the 2025-2026 program year, we anticipating beginning this class in the winter. Registration will likely open in the fall. To stay updated on OWL for teens at UUC, we encourage you to sign up for our Youth Ministry Newsletter. For more information about OWL at UUC, please contact Director of Family Ministry, Aria Curtis.

Coming of Age (9th-10th Grade):

Schedule for the 2025-2026 Church Year is still TBD! Advance registration is required to participate in COA.

Please join us for the upcoming Coming of Age Info Session on October 12 from 12:45 pm - 1:30 pm at UUC or on Monday, September 9 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. Please contact Aria Curtis for the Zoom link.

Coming of Age (COA) is a rite of passage experience where participants explore their personal and spiritual beliefs.  At the beginning of the year, Coming of Age teens are paired with an adult mentor from the congregation, who offers a sense of guidance and perspective. Together, mentors and mentees explore questions about god, identity, life after death, good and evil, justice-making, and personal purpose. The class works together on a service project and creates a worship service. Coming of Age culminates in a solo vigil and the development of a faith statement, which teens share with the congregation during a special service in May.

Youth Group (9th-12th Grade):

Youth Group meets one weekend day afternoon or evening a month. Upcoming dates: July 11, September 21, October 4 (Faith in Action event), November 15, December 5. Others: TBD


Community is vital to our youth and UUC is committed to providing them with opportunities to build strong connections by meeting them where they are at. Although we have met as a group on Sunday mornings for the past couple of years, we don’t have the critical mass of youth committed to attending every Sunday morning to keep that up. With input from families and youth, we have determined that monthly meetings with a more age-inclusive group is a better model for us moving forward. 

Youth Group monthly gatherings will:

  • Seek to create a safe space where teens can explore their values and beliefs; 
  • Emphasize fun, connection, creative projects, social action, and leadership;
  • Include opportunities for discussion, self-expression, faith development and spiritual practices;
  • Include dinner and an activity (think movie or game night or a talent/no talent show), a community service project, or a community outing. 
  • Youth Group also plans one worship service each year. 



Join us! Learn about upcoming youth group events and activities by signing up for the Youth Programs Newsletter.

All Ages Sundays

September 21, October 19, November 16, December 21, January 25, 2026, February 22, 2026, March 15, 2026 (Youth-led Worship), April 19, 2026, May 17 (Coming of Age Service), June 7, 2026 (Bridging Ceremony for Graduating High School Seniors)

We believe worship is an important part of community and faith development. Once a month, usually on the 3rd Sunday of the month, our entire church community gathers for a meaningful, vibrant, and engaging multi-age worship service. These services often include stories, embodied spiritual practice and ritual, and easy-to-sing music.

Combined Ages Sundays

Several times a year, children and teens gather to celebrate a seasonal UU ritual, holiday or annual event together. Children and youth in grades K-12 are invited to attend:

  • September 14, 2025 - Homecoming Sunday/Water Communion
  • November 30, 2025 - Thanksgiving
  • January 4, 2026 - New Year’s Fire Communion Ritual
  • April 5, 2026 - Easter
  • June 14, 2026 - Children & Youth Annual Meeting

Faith In Action Events (K-12 Family Service Events)

Quarterly Events: October 4, January 19, More TBD

Faith in Action events occur quarterly and invite UUC community members of all ages to gather for meaningful service and community-building. Past events include Green Seattle Partnership work parties spreading mulch and planting pollinator-friendly plants along the Burke Gilman Trail, marching in the annual MLK, Jr. Day March and putting together personal care kits to give to our Tent City 3 (TC3) neighbors.

Serve the UUC Community

Teens at UUC are encouraged to get involved in their church community in a variety of ways:

  • Help with childcare at church on Sunday mornings and/or at other events requiring childcare. Youth can earn volunteer service hours for school or get paid! Teens need to have some knowledge of the UU faith and practices before volunteering in classrooms.
  • Serve on a church committee or team. Be a greeter, bake snacks for Sunday morning coffee hours, or serve as an A/V Tech during services. 
  • Serve the larger community packing lunches or serving dinner for homeless teens, families or adults with the Homelessness Ministries Team. 


Contact Director of Family Ministry, Aria Curtis, or contact a team directly to learn more about these opportunities.

PNW UU Youth Cons

2025-2026 Youth Con Dates: October 24-26, 20205, February 6 - 8, 2026, May 15 - 17, 2026. Locations: TBD

UU congregations in the Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest actively work together to plan and foster UU youth connections and leadership development opportunities throughout the region. Youth Cons are weekend-long gatherings of UU high school students from many churches in the Pacific Northwest area. During a con, teens meet new people, play games, be silly, have good food, learn new things from each other in workshops, maybe participate in a talent (or no-talent) show, have a candlelit worship at night where they can connect on a deeper level with new friends, often stay up super late (though you don’t have to), and generally create a temporary “UUtopian” society! Regional youth leadership trainings and other youth gatherings may also be scheduled throughout the year. 

UU Summer Camps

UU Summer Camps offer the opportunity to be both a camper and a camp counselor. Middle and high school youth get the opportunity to connect with other UU youth from UUC and from around the Pacific Northwest each summer at:

  • Camp Blue Boat on Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID, a weeklong UU summer camp. Youth can attend as a camper (grades 6-12) or as a camp counselor (grades 9-12);
  • The Eliot Institute at Seabeck, an all ages family camp held every Memorial Day weekend; and 
  • UUC’s Chalice Camp for K - 5 graders as camp counselors (grades 9-graduated senior).


As campers, these engaging experiences provide fun, adventure, friendship, identity formation, leadership development, faith formation and the opportunity to try out different spiritual practices each summer. As camp counselors, youth build meaningful connections with UUC children and youth, gain leadership skills, and the opportunity to earn a stipend or service hours.