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. A Coming of Age program for our youth in grades 7 and 8 is offered every other year and will be offered again beginning in the fall of 2009. 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. Those who are interested in participating in the 2009 Coming of Age program are welcome to contact Alice Springer, Director of Lifespan Religious Education, at 982-9674 ext. 11.
Mentor a UUCSF youth
A meeting will be held on November 1, at 12:30 in the Library for all adults interested in mentoring a youth in this year’s Coming of Age program. Our program seeks to connect UUCSF adults with 7th and 8th grade youth for five months of fun and learning together.
Coming of Age provides the oppor- tunity for youth to become acquain- ted with adults from our congrega- tion, learn about our faith and practice the principles. Topics range from UU history to death to bullying and decision making. In our time together we find that our faith journeys are continuous and ever- changing. In other words, this time together broadens adults as well as youth.
This year’s program will begin with a mentor orientation in mid-December, with the program beginning after Christmas. Please contact Alice Springer, CDRE in the office for more information, 982-9674, ex. 11.
