Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Update on YRUU Funding from Bill Sinkford
I'm not sure where this is posted-- I got it in an email a couple days ago, but here's an update on YRUU Funding from UUA President Bill Sinkford:
To: YRUU Steering Committee
From: Bill Sinkford
CC: UUA Board of Trustees
The two year Consultation on Ministry to and With Youth made it very clear that we need to imagine new and more effective ways to support youth ministry throughout the Association of Congregations.
The vision of multi-generational church life and support for congregational youth ministry which was created at the Summit on Youth Ministry last summer is powerful and positive. This year is intended as the time to create that new imagination. It is a time of transition and is, therefore, complicated.
The findings of the Consultation demonstrate that there is a broad consensus that the current structure for continental youth ministry is not serving our faith well. It is true that Continental YRUU, as we have known it, will be replaced at some point by a new structure that will serve us better. It is the task of Youth Ministry Working Group to recommend that new structure. The decision to hold the Working Group meetings at the same time as your meetings this year in February and April was intended to maximize the opportunity for Steering Committee input in the development of the new structure.
Unfortunately, as a result of failures in communication within the UUA staff, some incorrect information was shared with you at your recently completed meeting. You were told that the Continental YRUU structure would end in June of this year and that there was no funding in the UUA's budget for Youth Council next summer. The reality is that the UUA's budget for next year will not be presented to the UUA Board for approval until its April meeting. No firm decisions have been made about ending support for the Continental YRUU structure. And because of YRUU's status as a Sponsored Organization, the UUA Board will have to approve any decision to end support for the organization. I apologize for the distress that incorrect information has caused.
I've asked the Office of Youth Ministry staff to prepare a set of "Frequently Asked Questions" about this process so that there will be clarity for all of us.
I hope this letter helps clarify where we are in the process. I am very sorry that inaccurate information was reported to you as fact. It is my most sincere hope that we, together, can reclaim the positive energy of the past two years and move toward a youth ministry which will serve Unitarian Universalism well.
In faith,
Bill Sinkford
From: Bill Sinkford
CC: UUA Board of Trustees
The two year Consultation on Ministry to and With Youth made it very clear that we need to imagine new and more effective ways to support youth ministry throughout the Association of Congregations.
The vision of multi-generational church life and support for congregational youth ministry which was created at the Summit on Youth Ministry last summer is powerful and positive. This year is intended as the time to create that new imagination. It is a time of transition and is, therefore, complicated.
The findings of the Consultation demonstrate that there is a broad consensus that the current structure for continental youth ministry is not serving our faith well. It is true that Continental YRUU, as we have known it, will be replaced at some point by a new structure that will serve us better. It is the task of Youth Ministry Working Group to recommend that new structure. The decision to hold the Working Group meetings at the same time as your meetings this year in February and April was intended to maximize the opportunity for Steering Committee input in the development of the new structure.
Unfortunately, as a result of failures in communication within the UUA staff, some incorrect information was shared with you at your recently completed meeting. You were told that the Continental YRUU structure would end in June of this year and that there was no funding in the UUA's budget for Youth Council next summer. The reality is that the UUA's budget for next year will not be presented to the UUA Board for approval until its April meeting. No firm decisions have been made about ending support for the Continental YRUU structure. And because of YRUU's status as a Sponsored Organization, the UUA Board will have to approve any decision to end support for the organization. I apologize for the distress that incorrect information has caused.
I've asked the Office of Youth Ministry staff to prepare a set of "Frequently Asked Questions" about this process so that there will be clarity for all of us.
I hope this letter helps clarify where we are in the process. I am very sorry that inaccurate information was reported to you as fact. It is my most sincere hope that we, together, can reclaim the positive energy of the past two years and move toward a youth ministry which will serve Unitarian Universalism well.
In faith,
Bill Sinkford
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sinkford's Response to YRUU Fracas
President Bill Sinkford's response to the YRUU fracas can be found here.
Clearly, he has been caught off guard about all this, which only underscores the PR problem the administration is having with youth. This is all the more ironic given that he has spear headed some of the stuff around youth recently -- Consultation on Youth Ministry, etcetera.
Clearly, he has been caught off guard about all this, which only underscores the PR problem the administration is having with youth. This is all the more ironic given that he has spear headed some of the stuff around youth recently -- Consultation on Youth Ministry, etcetera.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
UUA Administration Breaks up YRUU Steering Committee
The UUA Administration, at the end of a long, involved process has decided not to fund YRUU or C-UUYAN:
At first glance, there appear to be two contextual items: (1) youth autonomy; (2) budget cutting.
I was in LRY in the late 1970s, and in C-UUYAN in the 1980s. I served in a variety of leadership positions.
You can read in Wayne Arnason's histories of the U and U youth movement that our youth movements were the first to be autonomous-- the youth put up the structure and drove the programming.
This kind of thing wouldn't be allowed in more orthodox traditions. It was a great concept and still is. Have some adults provide appropriate boundary setting, and then let the youth run wild with creativity and experimentation in worship, social justice, etcetera.
In fact, this idea of a group of elders setting limits, but then allowing whatever creativity and activity that feeds into mission, vision, and values loose is precisely the idea behind policy governance that so many of our districts, congregations, and now even the UUA board, espouse. So, it is a little ironic to decimate decentralized national effort. It is also unclear what new efforts will be made for youth.
Things changed for the UU youth movement, because of the 1960s and 1970s, where many UU families went through upheaval: spouse swapping, divorce, drug use, you name it-- were in our congregations. And that was just the adults (one day I'll have to write a memoir...).
Some youth advisors basically abdicated their limit setting abilities, and some youth conferences degenerated to the point that even youth didn't want to attend anymore.
Then the collapse came, and eventually common ground and yruu, a more structured version of lry.
But it is easy for those in an administration-- whether the UUA administration or any other-- to centralize power and programming, rather than decentralize it-- there are more examples of this than I can name.
Once we heard that YRUU and UUYAN offices were going to merge, it became apparent what was going to happen. You don't merge when you expect growth. You merge as a pre-condition to decreasing program, etcetera.
Side note: Frankly, I'm surprised how much money UUYAN has gotten over the years. In our early years, UUYAN was entirely self-funded. Then we became trendy, and the UUA did a capital campaign, part of that money was to support YA programming.
Finally, I have to point out that it is somewhat ironic that the letter from the YRUU Steering Committee says that:
"youth programming on the district and congregational levels will continue relatively unaffected."
Why is that ironic? Because the UUA doesn't pay for any of that, and has no control over it. Districts and congregations-- ultimately adult UUs pay for it.
I think the best thought out reactions to the move can be found here.
Peace,
Daniel
on June 30, 2008, the UUA will cease to fund the YRUU youth leadership at the continental level. Therefore, there will no longer be having Youth Council, this summer or years following, and the work of youth ministry within the UUA will shift to a congregationally based focus.The quote above is from FUUSE.
At first glance, there appear to be two contextual items: (1) youth autonomy; (2) budget cutting.
I was in LRY in the late 1970s, and in C-UUYAN in the 1980s. I served in a variety of leadership positions.
You can read in Wayne Arnason's histories of the U and U youth movement that our youth movements were the first to be autonomous-- the youth put up the structure and drove the programming.
This kind of thing wouldn't be allowed in more orthodox traditions. It was a great concept and still is. Have some adults provide appropriate boundary setting, and then let the youth run wild with creativity and experimentation in worship, social justice, etcetera.
In fact, this idea of a group of elders setting limits, but then allowing whatever creativity and activity that feeds into mission, vision, and values loose is precisely the idea behind policy governance that so many of our districts, congregations, and now even the UUA board, espouse. So, it is a little ironic to decimate decentralized national effort. It is also unclear what new efforts will be made for youth.
Things changed for the UU youth movement, because of the 1960s and 1970s, where many UU families went through upheaval: spouse swapping, divorce, drug use, you name it-- were in our congregations. And that was just the adults (one day I'll have to write a memoir...).
Some youth advisors basically abdicated their limit setting abilities, and some youth conferences degenerated to the point that even youth didn't want to attend anymore.
Then the collapse came, and eventually common ground and yruu, a more structured version of lry.
But it is easy for those in an administration-- whether the UUA administration or any other-- to centralize power and programming, rather than decentralize it-- there are more examples of this than I can name.
Once we heard that YRUU and UUYAN offices were going to merge, it became apparent what was going to happen. You don't merge when you expect growth. You merge as a pre-condition to decreasing program, etcetera.
Side note: Frankly, I'm surprised how much money UUYAN has gotten over the years. In our early years, UUYAN was entirely self-funded. Then we became trendy, and the UUA did a capital campaign, part of that money was to support YA programming.
Finally, I have to point out that it is somewhat ironic that the letter from the YRUU Steering Committee says that:
"youth programming on the district and congregational levels will continue relatively unaffected."
Why is that ironic? Because the UUA doesn't pay for any of that, and has no control over it. Districts and congregations-- ultimately adult UUs pay for it.
I think the best thought out reactions to the move can be found here.
Peace,
Daniel
Thursday, January 31, 2008
GA as "Church"
The Backlash to GA Entry and Security-- why the uproar?
I am having difficulty understanding the reaction to the entry procedures at Fort Lauderdale and TSA.
For the life of me, I haven't been able to see what the big deal is, and why it is SO important to colleagues that they will use the entry procedures as a reason to "boycott" GA or call for the resignations or apologies of those involved. Or feel that "I also have this overwhelming sense that no matter what we do, this will cause huge repercussions in our association for years to come."
I honestly have been unable to see what the brouhaha is.
And yet, it also strikes me that those ministers who have lamented so vigorously on the minister's email chat must have their reasons.
And then, something occurred to me. I asked myself, what frame I would have to be in to have the same reaction? Because most colleagues are reasonable people, and the uproar over the entry issue has seemed way out of proportion.
So, it occurred to me that I would take the same umbrage if I thought of the GA facilities as "my church." If I thought the convention center were my church, I would be unhappy if there were armed guards I didn't ask for there to check my ID. Yes, I would be very unhappy and heading a little toward "righteousness." Okay a lot toward "righteousness," umbrage, picketing, and demonstrations.
I am reminded of a time in Connecticut, where I came to pick up my daughter at our then child care provider's house, who happened to be members of my church-- only to discover that she had cut my daughter's hair!!
Okay, it was a trim, but still! I was incensed! Morally outraged! But it was just a little hair. But it was MY daughter's hair. It felt like someone had come behind me and cut MY hair.
For me the GA convention center never has been and probably never will be "church." As a founding member of Eliot Chapel said after a fire devastated the old RE wing-- "Eliot Chapel is not brick and mortar; it is people and what they do." I could be with other UUs on a lake, or eating cake; in a cave or on a mountain-- the people make church for me, not the buildings & grounds.
But for those of you who consider the GA buildings and grounds like church, maybe now I understand a little better about where you're coming from.
Please advise, thanks.
Daniel
I am having difficulty understanding the reaction to the entry procedures at Fort Lauderdale and TSA.
For the life of me, I haven't been able to see what the big deal is, and why it is SO important to colleagues that they will use the entry procedures as a reason to "boycott" GA or call for the resignations or apologies of those involved. Or feel that "I also have this overwhelming sense that no matter what we do, this will cause huge repercussions in our association for years to come."
I honestly have been unable to see what the brouhaha is.
And yet, it also strikes me that those ministers who have lamented so vigorously on the minister's email chat must have their reasons.
And then, something occurred to me. I asked myself, what frame I would have to be in to have the same reaction? Because most colleagues are reasonable people, and the uproar over the entry issue has seemed way out of proportion.
So, it occurred to me that I would take the same umbrage if I thought of the GA facilities as "my church." If I thought the convention center were my church, I would be unhappy if there were armed guards I didn't ask for there to check my ID. Yes, I would be very unhappy and heading a little toward "righteousness." Okay a lot toward "righteousness," umbrage, picketing, and demonstrations.
I am reminded of a time in Connecticut, where I came to pick up my daughter at our then child care provider's house, who happened to be members of my church-- only to discover that she had cut my daughter's hair!!
Okay, it was a trim, but still! I was incensed! Morally outraged! But it was just a little hair. But it was MY daughter's hair. It felt like someone had come behind me and cut MY hair.
For me the GA convention center never has been and probably never will be "church." As a founding member of Eliot Chapel said after a fire devastated the old RE wing-- "Eliot Chapel is not brick and mortar; it is people and what they do." I could be with other UUs on a lake, or eating cake; in a cave or on a mountain-- the people make church for me, not the buildings & grounds.
But for those of you who consider the GA buildings and grounds like church, maybe now I understand a little better about where you're coming from.
Please advise, thanks.
Daniel
UUA Presidential Candidate Web Sites
Laurel Hallman's web site is up at www.laurelhallman.com and Peter Morales' is at http://moralesforuuapresident.org/
So far, Gini Courter is running unopposed for Moderator, and I haven't heard yet on Financial Advisor, although Dan Brody was elected in 2005, so I am assuming like Gini, he is up for another term, and would likely run unopposed.
Take a look, and start thinking!
So far, Gini Courter is running unopposed for Moderator, and I haven't heard yet on Financial Advisor, although Dan Brody was elected in 2005, so I am assuming like Gini, he is up for another term, and would likely run unopposed.
Take a look, and start thinking!
Friday, January 18, 2008
UUMA on GA
Now there is an official UUMA Executive Committee response to the various opinions expressed about the unpleasantness of having to go through TSA security to get to the convention center for this year's General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
For myself, I'm not sure I understand the hubbub. After all, most people going to GA are going to fly, and they have to go through security checkpoints there, right?
I would just as soon have someone checking for guns at GA entry myself. Anyway, here's Rob Eller-Isaacs in a thoughtful essay:
January 17, 2008
Dear Partners in Faith,
I write as President of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and in the name of the UUMA Executive Committee to express our sadness and to share our plans regarding the General Assembly. We are deeply disappointed that those attending the General Assembly will have to pass through security checkpoints in order to attend. We believe such requirements violate the high value our religion places upon inclusion and full accessibility. We are torn between a deep commitment to those values, and a like commitment to face-to-face engagement and deliberation. Some respected colleagues tell us that as a matter of conscience they will not cross through security. For them it violates a core commitment to the civil liberties of our neighbors. Others, regretting the situation and insistent that steps be taken to ensure full and open access at all future meetings plan to attend. The UUMA is responding to the situation in the following ways:
Most members of the UUMA Executive Committee plan to attend the General Assembly. We have deep respect for those colleagues whose conscience calls them not to attend. They will be missed. We affirm that showing up is a promise we make to one another. We decry the cultivated culture of fear that divides and weakens us. By coming together in Fort Lauderdale to deepen our understanding and demonstrate our concern we will make a powerful statement about what matters most to Unitarian Universalists.
Yours in Faith,
Rob Eller-Isaacs
Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs
UUMA President
Please feel free to distribute this letter as you see fit; we only ask that you distribute it in its entirety.
For myself, I'm not sure I understand the hubbub. After all, most people going to GA are going to fly, and they have to go through security checkpoints there, right?
I would just as soon have someone checking for guns at GA entry myself. Anyway, here's Rob Eller-Isaacs in a thoughtful essay:
January 17, 2008
Dear Partners in Faith,
I write as President of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and in the name of the UUMA Executive Committee to express our sadness and to share our plans regarding the General Assembly. We are deeply disappointed that those attending the General Assembly will have to pass through security checkpoints in order to attend. We believe such requirements violate the high value our religion places upon inclusion and full accessibility. We are torn between a deep commitment to those values, and a like commitment to face-to-face engagement and deliberation. Some respected colleagues tell us that as a matter of conscience they will not cross through security. For them it violates a core commitment to the civil liberties of our neighbors. Others, regretting the situation and insistent that steps be taken to ensure full and open access at all future meetings plan to attend. The UUMA is responding to the situation in the following ways:
- We are moving Ministry Days, our pre-GA gathering, to a fully accessible location outside the security zone.
- We are designing Ministry Days programming to include opportunities for thoughtful consideration of civil liberties, immigration, and profiling issues arising from the situation.
- We are presenting a workshop at the General Assembly itself devoted to effective ministry in a time of fear.
Most members of the UUMA Executive Committee plan to attend the General Assembly. We have deep respect for those colleagues whose conscience calls them not to attend. They will be missed. We affirm that showing up is a promise we make to one another. We decry the cultivated culture of fear that divides and weakens us. By coming together in Fort Lauderdale to deepen our understanding and demonstrate our concern we will make a powerful statement about what matters most to Unitarian Universalists.
Yours in Faith,
Rob Eller-Isaacs
Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs
UUMA President
Please feel free to distribute this letter as you see fit; we only ask that you distribute it in its entirety.
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