I'm a Unitarian Universalist, in case some of you didn't know. Over the past year I've been getting more involved in the young adult community in the nationally-recognized Southern Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Some of the Southern Region young adults, including myself, had a recent summer gathering. There were lots of conversations about becoming a cohesive entity under the new regionalization. We had a workshop called “What do you see for the future of YA?” The event was difficult for our community, but it was also a good step forward in rebuilding our fellowship into something new.
We previously had a Winter Gathering event – a good reunion and one-off event of sorts. But during the Summer Gathering, we realized as a community that there were many issues within the group that we needed to address. My partner, Ben Batschelet, and I moderated the workshop with the goal that his would be a starting point for an ongoing, fluid conversation that the whole group should have together. That way we can heal and move forward as a cohesive young adult fellowship.
Click here if you are interested in reading the bullet points of the ideas expressed in the workshop. Listen to the audio from the workshop below. It has been edited for clarity. Click here for an edited 10-page transcript of the workshop.