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Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution: Accountability

2008 Responsive Resolution

WHEREAS the Moderator, in her report, referenced the “Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution” passed by the 2008 General Assembly on Friday, June 27, 2008, which “urges the Unitarian Universalist Association [UUA] and its congregations and district structures to

invite ministerial support to youth and young adults through inclusive worship and intentional presence; and
invest financial support in youth and young adult leadership bodies and programs when viable; and
provide support for youth and young adult staff and volunteers to receive suitable training and resources, including self-directed anti-racism and anti-oppression trainings; and
attend to the needs of youth and young adult constituents with marginalized identities by providing resources and opportunities within the congregation and at the district and associational levels,”

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 2008 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association

requests that each member congregation; each district; the UUA Administration, including specifically the Offices of Youth Ministry and Young Adult Ministries and the Youth Ministry Working Group; the UUA Board of Trustees; the Nominating Committee; the Ministerial Fellowship Committee and the General Assembly Planning Committee report back annually for the next three years (2009, 2010, 2011) on their planning, implementation, results and recommendations on each of the four points in the above-referenced “Youth and Young Adult Empowerment Resolution”;
invites the participation of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and other professional associations; and
requests that the UUA Administration create a reporting mechanism for all these stakeholders, inform them accordingly, collect their reports and present a consolidated report to the General Assembly plenary in each of the next three years.

From the 2007 Youth Summit Report

Youth empowerment is a covenantal practice in which youth are safe, recognized, and affirmed as full and vital participants in the life of our shared Unitarian Universalist faith community. This covenantal practice is based on the following set of guiding principles:

Love and trust between youth and adults, between youth and youth, and between adults and adults
Mentoring relationships among children, youth, and adults, which draw from direct experience and wisdom
The development of youth confidence and self-identity through building community, learning to use one’s voice effectively, and realizing a more robust expression of themselves
Encouragement for all to grow together in accountability
Youth defining their issues and participating in the decisions that impact youth communities and the larger multigenerational communities we share
Youth and adults having access to information through direct and honest communication expressed with grace, humility, and respect
Trust in the competence of youth and the authenticity of their insights
Appreciation of the prophetic wisdom and energy of youth to be agents of social change, justice, and service
The recognition that youth ministry is an integral Unitarian Universalist ministry and part of our collective past, present, and future