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Organizers focused on young adult Unitarian Universalists say they see a common issue: How do we attract new young adults without a robust YA membership already in place?
To 23-year-old climate justice organizer Zoë Johnston, part of the equation is what she calls “cliffing.” There are plenty of resources for high school-aged youth in UU congregations, Johnston says, but that investment often drops off for programming specifically aimed at young adults, identified as ages 18 to 35.
It’s an important life stage for both lifelong UUs and those who are seeking connection built on UU values.
“There is a shared kinship of being in your 20s and early 30s and figuring yourself out, and having that community is really special,” says Robbie Economou, 25, a young adult organizer involved with First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, New York.
The wide age span of “young adult” means there are many life stages represented—such as schooling, new jobs, dating and partnerships, parenthood, and moving or traveling, so to welcome YAs is to recognize the group is not a monolith, says Jennica Davis-Hockett, who serves on the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Youth and Emerging Adult Ministries team.
It’s difficult to say exactly how many young adults are members of UU congregations. While the UUA does track membership, participation, and religious education enrollment through an annual certification report from congregations, it doesn’t currently differentiate youth from children in its reporting, or young adults from other adults.
“I fully believe our movement won’t survive if we don’t figure out how to shift towards YA leadership and needs.”
But this age group is vital to Unitarian Universalism, says Nico Van Ostrand, a young adult who serves on the UUA’s Youth and Emerging Adult Ministries team.
“I fully believe our movement won’t survive if we don’t figure out how to shift towards YA leadership and needs,” says Van Ostrand. “Not just because young people are ‘the future,’ but also because ignoring our thoughts is ignoring a huge part of the people we UUs broadly claim to serve, meaning we are ultimately only a partial religion.”
Several organizers of successful UU young adult groups who spoke with UU World cited a key way to attract and retain this demographic: creating community for them to encourage belonging and help them flourish. Here are some ways UUs are doing just that.
Fostering Friendships that Last
At the UU Congregation of Columbia, Maryland, nothing sparks continuous young adult involvement long after graduating quite like building lasting relationships within the youth group.
Valerie Hsu, 33, who was hired in 2019 as the congregation’s director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries and is now executive director, says the work of creating a strong YA circle began by offering a consistent, supportive community for teens. Many of their youth group graduates have returned to youth group friendships and spaces in force on college breaks and visits home because they feel robbed of time in that community by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hsu says.
Many of their youth group graduates have returned to youth group friendships and spaces in force on college breaks and visits home because they feel robbed of time in that community by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hsu says.
Davis-Hockett says she has observed that many young adults have a strong desire for building connection, community, and rituals for transition and rites of passage because they missed out on much of this due to the pandemic and because of the threats posed by the economic and political landscape for young people, especially those with marginalized identities.
Hsu has been touched by the commitment of former youth group members.
“They organized themselves to have a little reunion, and they wanted to do it at the church,” Hsu says. “They didn’t think . . . ‘Let’s get lunch.’ They thought the default place was just to pile back into that youth room. And that felt like a really lovely success that these 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds felt like this is their place of belonging.”
Providing a Network of Community and Ministry
For the Young Adult Revival Network (YARN), a priority is easing the discomfort of this transitional time and helping young people reinvigorate their involvement with Unitarian Universalist spaces.
YARN, a program run out of First UU Society of San Francisco and led by and for young adults, offers a newsletter called The Sweet Potato with young adult-centered events and a database of active YA programs across the country for young adults seeking events, belonging, and friendship with like-minded individuals.
Carol Maciel, a 26-year-old community director with YARN who is based in Latin America, says the network aligns specifically with UU principles.
“I see a huge sense of commitment and concern to well-being,” Maciel says.
Part of what makes YARN special is its firm commitment to intersectionality and inclusion. For example, the network takes great care to center events for queer young people to meet one another in a UU context with organizations like BLUU (Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism).
Gen Z wants every part of their lives to reflect their political and ethical values, and many are finding Unitarian Universalism to be an ideal way to merge spirituality and activism, Johnston said.
One thing organizers keep in mind: While some young adults have been part of Unitarian Universalism since childhood, others have discovered the faith more recently. UU young adult groups attract people without religious backgrounds, as well as people who have moved away from the religion in which they were raised.
Gen Z wants every part of their lives to reflect their political and ethical values, and many are finding Unitarian Universalism to be an ideal way to merge spirituality and activism, Johnston said. As a climate justice organizer, Johnston has noticed that young people are eager, now more than ever before, to mix their politics and theology.
Branching Out from Traditional Programs
One organizational pursuit of the UUA and congregations across the country that organizers say has been widely successful in attracting and retaining young adults over the years is c
onferences — or cons — in part because of their focus on social bonding time and shared experience.
Building on that idea, Economou says First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn attracts
and retains young adult members in part by facilitating social gatherings such as lunches and movie nights. It has become a fixture of young adult organizing in New York City, attracting members from all five boroughs and New Jersey because of its established community
Economou largely credits large group gatherings with the relationships and experiences that have inspired him to stay so involved in the UU young adult community.
Economou largely credits large group gatherings with the relationships and experiences that have inspired him to stay so involved in the UU young adult community. Earlier this year, he was preparing to embark on a trip to Unirondack’s summer camp for UU youth in the Adirondack Mountains. He attended as a camper when he was younger and says he now looks forward to returning as a counselor with the opportunity to reunite with other young adults he met as campers.
And in the end, that idea of showing up for their own community—both young adults with young adults, and young adults mentoring youth—is a foundational part of what makes these relationships strong.
“A big part of why the work of young adults is so inspiring is because (we) are in a unique position where many of us were raised UU and can apply what we have been taught,” Johnston says.