Youth Council 2004
Whittier College – Whittier, CA

August 2-8, 2004

 
Plenary Session 1 August 3, 2004

 

Community Building

(All my friends and neighbors)

 

Check in

(Meggie is sweaty and pumped for youth council)

(People are tired maybe they need to get to bed earlier)

 

Announcements

Resolutions need to be done by 7pm Thursday

 

 

 

YCR District/Region Reports

 

Joseph Priestly

Lack of respect for DYSC

Their web site was hacked in to by an old con go-er

Held a LDC (love youth office)

They had decide to never have a con in PA in December

Increasing communications about events

Both their disks (old and new) met and talked about positives and deltas and how to work on them

CAC (con affairs committee) (deal with breaking rules

No AR this year but will be having an AR con in January 2005

 

New Hamster Vermont

Had a AR work shop at their election con

Younger crowd

YAC is mostly under 18

Breaking down in communication

Canceling cons because of not having churches booked

There age range may be changing to 14-20 \

 

Massachusetts Bay

They had 5 cons

At second con they did YCR selections

No having cons in Malden too much snow

They had an LDC (had problems with advisors and there behavior)

They had a really successful SAC con

Massive con (resistance to AR work, advisors behavior)

Next year want to do a SDC and AR conference

Advisors taking control of meetings being disempowering

 

Northeast

Had a SAC con (did workshop about homelessness)

Elected new YAC

Had a problem with distrust with youth

Youth want co-ed sleeping areas and adults don’t want

Youth are trying to come up with solutions

Adults do not want it to happen and are holding process up

Had AR training

 

Pacific Northwest

Hold 2 large cons fall and spring (250-+ people)

They have smaller “clusters” which are small groups that lead smaller conference

Gold mine  (youth leader ship camp) (people from other districts can go)

Youth work camp (UU youth and muckle shout youth) if successful hope to do more in the future

 

Metro New York

6 cons

Not a lot of problems

Problems with not having a spirit committee meeting when they feel they should have

Had a good bridging con

Now they have 5 chaplains (both youth and young adults)

Maybe having a SDC in 2005

Also may have a AR con or SAC con

AL and Sean worked a lot so there was at least 1 SAC workshop

Mookie is trying to work with YAC bringing things from local to district

 

Thomas Jefferson

Had to let go of a couple of their disk reps

How to further incorporate their adults in their district

Maybe changing the name of the district

 

Quebec, Ontario, Maritime

Central and eastern Canada

YAC is having trouble with

            Large (land mass

            Not enough money

            Hard to communicate with local youth

            Communication issues

            No social justice done yet

            SAC has disappeared

YAC is really tying to have at least one con in this coming year

They had the Quam con

            Elect YAC

St. Laurence district cons

Had an Advisor trainer

 

Clara Barton

Had problems with YAC

            No communication with each other

            Low attendance due to no flyers

            No Bonding activities

            The web site person was feeling unheard so dropped off YAC

Last YCR has been MIA

They have a new website

Going to be sending out flyers to churches

People will be going to churches to Hype Cons

 

Pacific Central

Little attendance to cons

Need more adults to come to cons

YAC 19 people

            Fears not having younger youth not wanting

Board will be revising the Youth and young adult relationships

            Made before looking at YRUU’s policy

Having a large con that includes

No AR work

            For the

 

Energy break called @ 10:30 am

“Gigolo”

 

Southwest

Lot of problems with rule violations

2 major violations at SDC LDC

Big 4 a problem

But trying to work on skits to solve

Spirit Committee at all rallies and chaplains

YAC is revising their election process because of under qualified people running for positions

There are 5 dates broken up between the regions

They are trying to clarify what it means to be on YAC with binders and notes explaining Job

Jedi Program-Older experienced youth helping younger youth

Looking for a TAR to head up the Jedi Program

AR con was small but people who went got a lot out of it

Working on another one with more people

Problem was that it was right after a rally

 

Florida

9 cons

Each con is run by local youth group funded by the district

There were 6 all age cons 12-20

2 Transition in cons 12-14, which are introductions to cons

1 social action con but it wasn’t very social action oriented

No Anti-Racism or Anti-Oppression no diversity

YCR would like to work on creating more diversity.

District Board wants the YAC to go to the AGM

But it conflicts with the election con and there is no youth programming at the AGM

There are 9 more scheduled for this year

Lost the website because of a buyout but then bought it back

 

Western Canada

DYSC is called RYSC

A bunch of members were voted in last October.

Newsletter is up and running and looks awesome!

Working on email list serves

Only one regional conference a year

Upcoming conference has a junior high con as well as a LDC

AR/AO there were workshops at the election and at the LDC there will be a component of AR/AO there too

 

Ohio-Meadville

3 senior high cons

1 junior high con

1st overall conference size small

Might be due to a higher registration fee

Cons ended up being on the same weekends as holidays

Social Action conference grew quite a bit

New SAC and Chair

Held and LDC went great

High level of tension between Youth and Adults

Many rules broken

Having problems with cliques and popularity vs. leadership

AR/AO little

Problems with Communication between YCR and district and old YCR

Trying out the cluster model

2 YAC events

Summer elections

Website is hopeful

Financially set

The future of YAC is safe

 

St. Lawrence

Did some AR work

            Movie

People look at cons as a hang out time

Made up of white people mostly

Advisor training in Oct.

Trying to connect with Canada

Not allowed to give them money

Social action has not been happening

Joint YAC meeting somewhere

 

Central Midwest

Youth adult relationships really good

The relationships between YRUU and the congregations is not as good

People were tense at the last con because the church it was held at was very touchy

Social action work was food drives and clothing drives

AR/AO is not very good

3 Cons a year 150-200 people @ each con

Running well

Working on a Con manual to help churches plan a con

Thinking about holding and LDC and a SDC

Worried about costs

Had some problems with drugs at last con

Sex Death Squad looks for people having sex and doing other bad things

 

Ballou Channing

Interim DYSC

Interim YCR

Very first election con coming up in December

Having problems with the district youth consultant

Having problems with youth empowerment

Finally pushing their way through

AR/AO is not a main focus but after the DYSC is set there will be hardcore planning

Social action is a biggy at cons

No bylaws

District has not been quite as supportive as hoping

Working on a project to bring a youth caucus to district events

Cons are great with very few problems

Out reach program right now to get more youth involved

Adults at Large have been great

Communications are poor

 

Mountain Desert

Mistrust between the adults and the rules

Due to a sexual assault at the bridging con last year

Trying to fix through group discussions on a local and district level

The issues of mistrust seem to be dissolving

A couple of the new rules have been affecting the community in a negative way

There is a district rule change committee

New website! And there is a District Newsletter

Communications officer has been doing a good job

There has been much about bridging the gap between YA and youth

Outreach to Texas and Montana

They now attend con

There was a Junior Senior conference held in Montana which was good

13 Cons

3 Social action cons

4 cluster junior high retreats

Week long summer con

And junior high senior high retreat

And an advisor training in Bozeman

No AR/AO

 

British Columbia

Trouble with elections

Got a SAC

LDC in the fall, which was a success but a problem with a youth leader

A ginger bread-making workshop for fundraising

Wasn’t too successful and there was trouble selling some of the houses

7 principle T-Shirts was another fundraiser

11 people going to cunoodle

Plans for an SDC in the fall

For spring con 2005 there was trouble finding a youth group

BC YAC is going to organize

Joint meeting in Victoria BC

PNWD YAC chair took full chair

Communication issues

Coffee houses have been other fundraisers

 

Mid South

YAC has made final steps to the emergency system task force

Revised many of the Bylaws

Advisor Training

1st YAC meeting was canceled due to poor planning

1st con was Social action con

Set calendar for the rest of the year

Supposed to be an SDC but it didn’t go through

Discussed Youth adult relations at YAC meetings

Large focus is on Youth Events Manual

March small con Consumption

April Contemplation

First youth led AR workshop

May Last High school youth con of the year

June Junior High Con

Southern Poverty Law center led a workshop at con

Trying to strengthen AR/AO

And working on youth empowerment

A website is new and a Spirituality Development coordinator

 

Heartland

Biggest con at the beginning and smallest was at the end

Only 40 at the election con due to poor outreach

Advertise more to get more people

They need to update their list serve

Con staff was elitist

A few people have been in the same positions

Need new leaders

AR/AO was not so great

Social Justice Con Concern was good but only twenty went

Some youth said they have noticed change in Anti Oppressive language

Hope for a solid AR/AO work

New cluster system

Hoping to beef it up

AGM many many accounts of youth disempowerment

AR/AO is not very great

SAC moved

Tried to have a SAC con but cancelled due to poor registration

Not very many people push for stuff at their district

Cons are well attended but the cons are very good

A lot of people view mandatory as lets go take a nap

Upwards of 200 people

YAC has been really bad with power dynamics and Youth Disempowerment

Spanking committee

A newsletter called Visions

Drug problems need help

 

Southwest

Much more opportunities

Several largely attended AR cons

Great senior high camp

PSWD is getting more involved in continental YRUU

Large attendance to GA

3 our whole lives cons

Outreach to Arizona

SDC this year

Winter con on Social Justice

Several rule infractions executed by youth in leadership positions

Reformative Justice

Board resigned

No scholarships

Brainstorming possible ways to avoid these problems in the future

 

 

 

Logistics of Plenary

 

Steering Committee (SC)  elections

Elected by members of Youth Council

3 members are elected by PoCC

5 At large positions

18-20 Rep, 16-18 Rep, 14-16 Rep Bring the viewpoint of the age duuhhhhh………

Elections will be Sat during Plenary 6

 

People of Color Caucus (PoCC)

1-year position that can be run again

Same jobs as at large

Share the work

 

Adult at large

Like a youth advisor

Support the SC

And brings an adult perspective

 

Position on Appraisal (POA)

Process observe the group

All SC meetings as well as Youth Council

Not elected but the Youth office decides on using consensus

Research other organizations for reference

Strongly support the AR/AO work

 

Board of Trustee (BOT) Rep

Works with the SC as a member

Tries to offer the view of the Board of Trustee to the SC and tries to be a liaison

 

SC basics: HARD but REWARDING

 

 

 

Covenant:

 Description of a covenant- a promise with the community that we all create together and promise to with hold during our time together

 

 

 

Anti Racism with Jenny, Clare and Chris

(ARTOP and Challenging White Supremacy)

 

Day 1

-Introductions

-Covenanting

-Group Culture

-Learning Zone

-Goals

-Building Common Analysis of linked Oppressions

-Resources

-Evaluations

 

Jenny introduces her self

Chris introduces what Challenging White Supremacy and the history of how it became

Clare talks about how she got involved with CWS

 

Covenanting

Step up step down

Challenging assumptions (ask non confrontational questions)

Stay at the table (be present)

Talk to each other

Engage in Conflict Lovingly

Share what is said (not who said it)

Get out of your comfort zone

Think out side the box

Right to pass

Challenge the statement and not the person

Be aware of power dynamics

Plus group covenant from plenary

 

Group Culture (dynamics)

Strive for equal participation from youth and adults

Wait 10 sec. Before talking (pop corn style)

White people asking POC to explain them selves and educate

 

Learning Zones (from training for change)

How do you know when you have gone in to these zones?

 

Comfort zone

Bored, heard it all before

Feel safe

Routine

Agree with every thing

Muscles loose

Stop caring what is said

You’re in controlled

 

Growth zone

Afraid

Intimidated

Questioning

Excited

Inter act more

Stretching

Sit up more and you are alert

Heart races

 

Red zone

Angry

Defensive

Can’t communicate

Frustrated

Every one else is wrong

Clenching muscles

Melt down

Sadness

 

Goals

  1. Support YRUU in its on going work to be an effective organization
  2. Help develop a base analysis if white supremacy as a 
  3. Connect AR politics to grassroots organizing and social justice
  4. Help

 

People write their personal goals

                 

Active participation activities

 

People Sculptures of:

Capitalism

-A system of government based on money

            -Oppressive power (People with lots of money over people with out money)

            -Pawns in the system

            -Works in with other systems

            -Goal is profit

            -Consumerism

            -Rigid and controlled

 

Patriarchy

            -Had power over the “clay”

            -Superior

            -Ability to disapprove

            -Masculinity

            -Dominating power

            -Nothing but what “I” said mattered

            -Socially it is handed down to people

            -Domination of white culture

           

Heterosexism (with a little emotion)

            -Males are more arrogant

            -Females are submissive

            -Over-sexualized

            -Plays in to patriarchy

            -Close mindedness

            -Assuming everyone is in heterosexual

 

Gender binary System

            -Gender does not exists

            -There is nothing past male and female

           

Group Sculpture of:
White Supremacy

            -Had the power or did not have the power

            -Not many POC were in it

            -The POC who were in it were put in positions of powerless

            -White folks with most of the power

            -Some white folks stepped in and tried to “protect” the POC

 

Group Sculpture of:

Liberation

Observation

            Lots of white people taking over POC’s sculpture

            Surrounding POC doing their own thing

            People using the Black Power symbol (a symbol of the black power movement but was stolen by white folks)

            Not many youth and young adults

           

All these systems are connected and support each other

 

The interaction of white folks doing liberation work and working with people of color and these all inter weave

 

 


Plenary 2 - Wednesday

 

Canada at large

            They have a slightly larger RE budget

            Conuudle went well

            The radical religious people are helping pull together

            Age rang issue they were told By the CUC that the age range for the national conference

 

Continental Social Action Coordinator (C*SAC)

            Have been defining their roll

            Working on a system where there would be chapters where district SAC’s organize the local SAC’s

            Sean- made some great connections at GA

            Both- YSJC pre site was good

            SAC-Pack is going to be done by YSJC

            The first Regional YSJC is going to be in CMWD

 

Post High Transitional Age Range Representative (TARR)

            Created a questionnaire to find out the needs of 18-22

                        5 sets of questions

Received 5 questioners back

                        Need to have more transitioning

            Re-think AR/AO programming

           

Junior High TARR

            Clarification of position

            From Heartland

            Create a resource for junior high events

            Help start junior high work in your district

            Tried to have a JH welcoming circle at GA did not go so well

 

Working Action Manager (WAM)

            Education Reform and Multiculturalism

            YSJC-Inner City Struggle did a great job

            At GA did a lot of networking

                        Met William Upskie Wimsatt

            The SWAT PoAT is amazing

                        Education reform

                        Un schooling

                       

Super Working Action Team  (SWAT)

                        Working on education reform and multiculturalism

            Challenging- not many people know about the SWAT POT

            Need a congregation to support the issue

 

Lifespan Learning (Canada)

            Established a Youth advisory group

            4 Reigns

            Building Communication

            Grateful for the YFUUD grant

            Tim and Jessie went to the Conference

            Sylvia made Tim an official CUC member Gave him a pin

            Had SDC’s and LDC’s

 

UUA Youth Programs Director

            We got 30,000 dollars for Youth Advisor Hand Book and Youth group Hand Book (will be printing soon)

            Youth advisor handbook has been re-printed

                        5 steps on how to higher a paid youth advisor

            Youth group handbook will be coming out before GA 2005

            Go to the web site for great resources

            Youth office is with the Life Span faith development

                        Coming of age resource

                        Poetry resource to spared poetry (social justice, etc.)

            Talk to youth office about your ideas for new resources

Jesse is nervous because Bill and Nada are watching

Jesse talks about budget

 

UUA (filled with nice people who need to be paid)

            APF annual Program Fund (your church gives money to UUA)

            Friends of the UUA- fund raising effort (on line you can find out how to donate)

            Just did a capital campaign that raised 35.2 million

            UUA endowment

            And large gifts

            Talk to your parents about giving to youth programming

Story time with Jesse (oh I love story time with Jessie)

            Youth can pledge also

            If your family have means talk about making a large gift

           

Youth Office

            Money            

                        Operating budget

                        Capital campaign (bucket with money in it and can use it for special                         Projects) (not a real bucket)

 

            YRUU

                        Money (Can be used for scholarships, etc.)

                                    Gets money through events (Youth caucus, Con Con, etc.)

                                    YRUU checking account (small scale fund raising)

                                    T-shirt from GA

                       

Are we going to get back our 3 YPS?  No time soon

                       

            Capital Campaign

                        Used money to support DRUUMM and youth and young adults of color

ARTOP (Jason found an out side source from the UU Sunday School Society)

                        Utilizing volenters to help get their work done

                        Also summer interns

                       

In the upcoming year

                        Keep funding DRUUMM

                        Resource development

           

Staff

                        Megan and Jason were AMAZING

                        They did so much and started so many new things

 

Nada Speaks

            Worked with LRY (back in the day)

            Why we had common ground

                        Myths of LRY and its falling

There was stress between adults and youth

                        The scapegoat period; if there were any problems they were blamed on youth

                        The youth thought that if you gave the youth all the money it would all be ok

                        Adults checking out (not showing up)

                        The Truth of LRY

                        Adults were getting frustrated with the direction

                        There were adults who were doing youth empowerment

                        Local groups were in disarray

                        Youth were doing organizing

                         Lots of things political and social justice in the country

                        Adults did show some times and they were shut down

                        Yes there may have been nudity

                        Did not have any formal training for advisors

           

            Concuss shuts people up

 

 

 

Anti Racism

Defining Racism

Development of us racism

Institutional racism

Internalized racism

Allies

Evaluations

 

Siri does a reading

 

Common analysis

Picture of person

                        It’s a woman

                        Putting down seeds

                        Child/youth

                        Pollution

                        Hope

                        Dark ness falling on her

Comment about how people assumed it was a woman

Next picture

                        No smoking

 

Racism = racial prejudice + institutional power

Development of U.S. Racism

 

Genocide- the violence/intentional killing of people and a culture 

 

Genocide

Japanese concentration camps- during WWII took Japanese

Christopher Columbus coming to America- landed in to the Caribbean and

Taking of children of first nations taking and putting them in schools not teaching their native langue

The sterilization of women of color

 

Enslavement and slave labor

The abuse of Chinese labor building labor

Prison/drug laws and how they target people of color

The Patriot Act- putting people of Arab decent in jail for no reason

 

Theft of land and resources

Manifest destiny-

 Europeans puritans coming and spreading gods will that they span from cotenant

to save the native people from them self

            Trail of tears- moving the native peoples away from their land

           

 The first time white came up referring to people

            -You could vote if you owned land

            -You had a choice

            -It also has manifested its self in other countries and the colonization of them

 

White

The term white (people) was created by Virginia Slave owners and colonial rulers in the (7th century) it replaced terms like “Christians” and “Englishmen” to distinguish European colonists from African and indigenous peoples.  European colonial powers established “whites” as a legal concept after Bacon’s rebellion in 1676 during which indentured servants of European and African descent had united against the colonial elite.  The legal distinction of “white” separated

 

The term People of Color

People of color in the U.S. share the common experience of being targeted and oppressed by racism.  Unfortunately one of the ways racism operates is to keep People of Color divided.  Many people only think about their specific ethnic racial group when discussing oppression or the need to keep political power.  By using the term people of color, we begin to push people to think more broadly.  We need to build relationships with other groups of color the term people of color has movement building potential. 

Western States Center

(Not a black white issue)

 

Universalizing White Experience

When “white” is presented as standard/normal/good, people with white privilege internalize this superiority and sense of being “normal”, viewing the world through that lens.  Images of leadership, beauty, “average Americans” in institutions like schools, the media and popular culture; presentations of history that foreground white figures and their influence; and other ways in which whiteness is made central led to an institutionalized standard of experience.  This phenomenon is often invisible to those who experience. This phenomenon is often invisible to those who experience and protesting are the right/best/only ways.”

 

Deracialization

Deracialization is to remove an issue from its context, treating it in a way that does not recognize the impact of racism or that reduces the propriety of directly challenging those impacts.  Deracialization an issue restricts the self-determination of the people who are most impacted by that issue to be defining their won struggle.  In a white supremacist society, all issues intersect with racism; the privilege to reframe an issue with out understanding the impact of race is not available. 

 

Blinded by the White

Reinforced by deracialized politics, this is a blindness of white activists to seeing and understanding resistance coming from communities of color.  500+years of liberation struggles on this continent have been led by people of color, from colonization on through today.  The backwards idea of “recruiting” people of color into “the” movement, defined as white radical struggle, ignores this historical and contemporary reality.  Instead of “recruiting” people of color into majority white organizations in an attempt to “diversify”, white social justice activist can focus on participating in anti-racist struggle. 

 

Contradictory Resistance

Non-ruling class white people caught in the intersection of experiencing privilege and also oppression, and so their resistance often expresses this contradiction: protesting that which oppresses while fighting to maintain privilege.  Along racial lines, this often has maintained privilege.  Along racial lines, this often has manifested as white activists sacrificing long-term strength and the goals of activists of color, in order to win short-term gains for their own agenda.  The resulting dynamic has historically shattered the potential of various multiracial movements, which were making real progress toward radical social change.

 

These definitions are used by Anti-Racism for Global Justice, a project of the Challenging White Supremacy Workshop.

 

 

Plenary#3

 

YPS reports

 

Jason:

·   -Hey I’m September. YPS

·   -We lost January YPS. So each YPS has more work

·   -Anti-Racism Identity Development (ARID) resource group includes design team, Anti-Racism Trainer-Organizer Program (ARTOP), Youth Office

·   -Been working with the design team

·   -We don’t have enough money to do AR…SCARY!!

·   -The money just isn’t there

·   -Please keep talking about how to raise that money

·   -Trying to network with YA

·   Lot of recent AR STUFF HAS BEEN YAYA

·   -Been working with Laurel in the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry; Petra is Laurel’s replacement.

·   -We been working with our strong adult allies

·   -We need to keep UUA accountable to AR work

·   -GA went well, it was huge

·   Sheraton letter said awful things that aren’t all that true but been working with the GA Planning Committee and Revisioning Taskforce to change the bad things

·   -We also been trying to do more drug and alcohol awareness so we don’t develop leaders into this addiction problems

·   -SATUURDAY was cool,

·   -Didn’t do local support, we don’t have the structure for it

·   -No new leadership coming up

·   -There also needs to be more two-way relationships

 

Betty Jeanne

 

·   -Had an exciting start

·   -Went to GA; GA staff was awesome

·   -Impressed with id groups

·   -SATUURDAY awesome looking forward to continuing working on queer caucus

·   -For SATUURDAY has a great interim group to keep momentum going and finding new youth leadership for SATUURDAY

·   -Big event YSJC, good pre-site, this year will connect a lot more with faith

·   -Working toward regional YSJC to empower more local and regional leadership to take over

·   -Trainings…. every year training or trainers people who go will be sent out to work on helping local/district youth to develop leadership skills

·   -Shout out to Nan Moore for doing amazing work on trainings

·   -AR being apart of AR working group, hard because of lack of funding

·   -Excited about fundraising for AR programming

·   -Excited about supporting DRUUMM and white allies

·   -Working with interns on synapse theme is anti-racism

·   -Thrilled about BOT here at youth council encourages people to talk to them about important concerns

·   -Jason in for a few weeks call him and say hi!!!!!!!

·   -Call Betty Jeanne and say HEY really inspired by all of us people at youth council

 

 

SINKFORD SPEAKS!!!!!

 

·   -Thanks for welcoming him back to YC

·   -Truly blessed with people serving as YPSs gives thanks to them

·   -In an effort to make a better communication path agrees that YPS and bill would meet so that he could get a person sense of what’s going on with YRUU

·   -Came into UUism through LRY, culture with YRUU and LRY connect

·   -Lots of hair colors in YRUU….hehe

·   -Likes the openness that UUism gives to youth

·   -Likes how it has felt friendly to some but unfriendly to others and the dynamic and strength of YRUU and culture works for many but has not worked for all. Common Ground 3 (CG3) might help to fix this dilemma

·   -CG1 AND 2 different from the situation today with YRUU

·   -YRUU is healthy doing positive things and leadership for AR/AO is out passing the adult community

·   -Because situation is different sees CG3 as a way to continue strength and that it will help us take steps forward to strengthen youth and adult relations

·   -For cg3 to happen planning for it need to happen very soon

·   -Funding needs to be from a variety for sources

·   -Imagination calls for planning team, which is largely represented to do the work

·   -Requires us all to say we trust planning committee to do the best job that they can on CG3 so that we can do good work

·   -Thinks it’s a big opportunity for strength to be built

·   -Youth programming very good at GA

·   -GA this year a pivot point for UUism made worship central for the whole community 

·   -Important change was the presence of congregational-based community work

·   -Covenant groups at GA these groups changing the way we do religious intimacy

·   -How to get adults and youth to stay UU

·   -4th important thing that happened at GA for the first time made intentional effort to get congregational presidents to GA not just members/ GA junkies

·   -GA this year very big pivot point, moving ahead with building better community

·   -Happy to be here!

 

Questions asked to Bill

 

What if people aren’t a part of one congregation what do they do?

  Bill replies- if they belong to CLF we help to connect them with the larger community

 

We are 1st generation with principles how do you think leadership will change in the uua?

   Bill replies-wants us to look at religious language ethical to a fault but don’t contain religious language believes that principles have grounded much of the work we have done on AR and economical justice. How it will play out he doesn’t know

 

Heard him say CG3 is next summer or is it going to be GA 2006?

Bill replies -it will be GA 2006 active conversation with board on cg3, BOARD EXCITED about it.

 

What kind of work does uua do to support queer youth do they support SATUURDAY?

Huge support of marriage initiative.  Couldn’t have stronger support for queer youth. Not institutional support for SATUURDAY but supports the idea of it

 

Can you further explain changing the language of reverence?

As long as we don’t have a language and practice of reverence we need to recognize that we don’t walk alone and participate with something larger than ourselves thinks we need a language to practice ways to get deeper spiritual connection. UUs don’t like talking about power other then our own wants us to understand that there is a love which has not broken faith with us and we need to open ourselves to it.

 

What is your definition of youth empowerment?

Hopes cg3 will clearly define it wants kids and youth to be considered part of the community.  Knows some work in uua to increase leadership positions for youth what are these?

 

Board and committees working to have more youth and YA apart of things wants congregations to understand that youth leadership starts at home fundamental change needs to start there

 

Is it true that youth and YA don’t come back after they become adults?

Not in all cases but most people drift away after a period of time UUs seem to encourage it instead of work against it

 

There are challenges in districts/regions. To bring adult advisor trainings how can we help districts/Regions fund this?

-         It’s very easy in this faith to have a hub and spoke of what UUism is centered on authority. UUA is really us congregations and groups the way we do outer work I can direct things to happen but the work that we do is coming together to decide what need to happen around a cluster of youth work thinks cg3 will help this move forward

 

END OF SINKFORD SPEAKS, EVERYBODY CLAPS

 

 

 

Thursday

 

Anti-racism part III

 

Part two of the poem

 

Anti-racism Journey

            Being in the red zone

            Overwhelmed

            Examining why we censor ourselves (why we do it,

Feeling discouraged)

Transforming guilt into something else useful

Feeling like the blame is being placed all the white folks

POC- feeling like they have to justify every thing that they say having to do with AR wok

POC- having to censor self to white people so they don’t feel bad and feeling tokenized

 People are feeling uncomfortable

 

S.S. YRUU

           

Personal Racism

Most of what’s labeled” racism” on TV-land in news media is acts of personal racism- one person acting out their racial prejudice.  If we accept that Personal Racism            

 

Institutional racism

Education system   -imprisoning of so many People of Color   -“Justice” system   -stricter laws on crack than cocaine    -People of Color being paid less for the same work as white people   -poverty  

 

Cultural Racism

“Flesh” Color Band-Aids            -white is norm       –all white models in stores and advertising            –airplane emergency pamphlet people are white    -people of color playing stereotypical rolls in movies and TV shows        -color and how it relates to what good and what’s bad            -mascots for schools and how the are taking from different cultures       -comic books and super heroes  -over sexulizaition of Asian woman        - cultural misappropriation/theft

 

Cultural Misappropriation (what does to it feel like if this happened)

            -Changing the meaning

            -Violated

            -Taking away community

            -Create association

            -Destroying shared meaning

            -Issue of respect

-It can be hard

 

Most of the time when people are oppressed they can see it and those who are not oppressed do not see it because they have the ability to ignore what is going on

 

 

 

PLENARY 4 with Bill Sinkford

·        Overview of Consensus and lead into the discussion of the proposal for Common Ground III to happen

o       Question to the Board folks about how they intend to work with youth to help them feel empowered.  Answer from Bill Sinkford in addressing the power dynamics that exist hopes that the youth and adults could work together.

o       Lots of great ideas came out of Long Range Planning meeting but nothing came out of that and CG III needs to be sure that does not happen.

o       Question about the planning groups structure.  Answer from Laura Manning includes a direction to look at the letter that precedes the resolution.

o       Bill expands on the idea that there are areas to work on to address power dynamics that might come up

o       What are we trying to change?

o