Ministry to youth in our association of congregations is on the edge of an exciting new era, and I want to be a leader and a supporter for the changes that are underway. Youth ministry will have an important place in my priorities for our association and its future.

The UUA and a group of representative stakeholders has recently completed an intensive process of studying ministry for and with youth, and is now undertaking implementation of the vision and recommendations from that process. The implementation process includes some specific recommendations for mobilizing and focusing the resources of our UUA staff. The report from the 2007 Youth Ministry Summit acknowledges that this process will involve several years of work and will stretch into the next administration. It is not clear where the process will be when the next President takes office.

I respect and affirm the inclusive leadership that President Sinkford and the UUA Board have offered in identifying issues and engaging a process for the next steps in serving these two important groups within our intergenerational congregational communities. I want to continue that leadership and this engagement.

I approach this work from my conviction that our congregations are gathered to transform the lives of all who participate in them, people of every age and stage and station. The transformation we seek is towards greater wholeness and integrity, wherever we are right now in our individual life journey. The Youth Summit recommendations rightly identify the spiritual challenge that ministry to youth presents to our congregations. Ours is a faith for all people at all times of life! We sell ourselves short and we insult those youth who have found inspiration and community among us if we act or sound like this is a faith that only appeals to people over forty! The UUA must engage and offer resources to change congregational cultures which are locked into the preferences of a single age spectrum.

For many generations we have seen inspired UU professional and youth leaders emerge from our youth and young adult organizations. Yet these leaders are virtually unanimous in agreeing that one size cannot fit all as we plan our program and resource priorities for the future. We need to provide new resources as close to home as possible to serve the different experiences and needs our youth and young adult groups demonstrate. We need to explore both professional and lay training for youth ministry that can involve our theological schools and our district structures. Just as UU’s value diversity in our theological positions, we must value the diversity of cultural experiences involving racial and ethnic identity, class, and education that exist within the youth and young adult communities. We have only begun to learn what it means to be together as UU’s in a truly intergenerational faith that both empowers and values the power of all of us.