Coming of Age Update

This year, for the first time, I am a mentor for one of our junior high youth in the Coming of Age program. Due to the

“Dynamic Duo” of Mike Owens and Jennifer Pruett and ongoing support of Kennan Girdner, I am not leading the Sunday classes. However, once or twice each month all of the mentors gather to participate with the youth for conversa- tion and the topics are varied and thought-provoking. Our past two sessions together have engaged us in deciding on and planning a service project. The process was noisy, engaging, and ultimately satisfying, and I wish more of our adults could have witnessed the decision-making process. We could all learn from our youth and their teachers. They displayed thoughtful comments (even when disagreeing) and respectful leadership displayed throughout the class time.

Youth and mentors decided that this project would benefit both animals and people in need. Money will be raised and divided between two agencies or charities and to do this there will be a Souper Lunch and Bake Sale sometime in the next two months. It will take place on a Sunday after church, so watch for additional information, posters, and opportunities to assist, purchase, and/or eat with us.

Most of these youth have grown up in our program, and I am so proud! I hope you are too.

Alice Springer, DRE

Coming of Age Program

Coming of Age programs are offered to young people in many Unitarian Universalist congregations across the continent. Such offerings are similar to the study and ritual of other faith communities, e.g. confirmation and bar and bat mitzvahs, and are based on the belief that today’s youth have few, if any, authentic rites of passage marking the transitions between childhood and youth or between youth and adulthood. Coming of Age meetings are held after church on Sundays and involve times spent with adult mentors, with fellow COA participants and with other committed adult leaders. Keys to the Coming of Age journey are 1) the relationship formed with an adult mentor who acts as a sounding board. 2) full participation in new and challenging activities –physical, intellectual and emotional – that are designed to stimulate, broaden and deepen imagination, physical ability, trust, and world view.

Coming of Age is for junior high youth and is facilitated at 11:00 by Mike Owens and Jennifer Pruett with assistance from Kate Dow and the addition of adult mentors once or twice each month. Coming of Age involves exploration of self and community and includes ethics, wonderings about God, faith, life and death. After completion of COA, a celebration is held and many of our youth choose to become members of the congregation.