Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: Association Sunday

Sam
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Palo Alto, CA

Six years ago, when my parents first brought me to this church, I was unimpressed. I’d been used to the freedom of nothing to do on a Sunday morning for all ten years of my life, so it was natural that I’d consider having to actually go anywhere in the morning a major burden.

Four years later, I’d gone to several RE classes, and was then enrolled in the district Coming of Age program. The retreats I attended as part of that program brought together youth from across the South Bay, showing me a larger community that up until then I had been completely unaware of. The retreats were highly structured, adult-led and therefore suffered from Acute Lameness, but at them I met Riley McLaughlin, a San Francisco youth advisor, who recommended I try coming to youth-led YRUU conferences.

Pacific Central District youth-led conferences, run by the Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU), opened my eyes. Attending my first conference in February of 2007, I was immediately swept in and welcomed to the community.

Now, the whole welcoming thing is commonplace for Unitarian Universalists. But what made it amazing for me was that it was such an obviously tight-knit, intimate community — I’d liken it to 50 best friends — and yet they were so quickly letting me in to join. It wasn’t like school, where if you didn’t know a group and walked into their conversation, they would seize up or ignore you. Everyone was happy to talk, happy to share, happy to continue a conversation as people they had never met before arrived in it.

That is the side of Unitarian Universalism that has most impressed me. Not our spirituality. Not our social justice. Just the fact that our district youth program is able to capture and preserve such an ideal society.

Ever since then, I’ve been much more active in this church, UUCPA. I’ve been inspired, by that paradise of a community at youth conferences, to try to bring that living sanctuary here, for our youth, for our community. You really want to know why I show up every Sunday, why I’m working on becoming involved here, in this church, why I have the courage to stand up here in front of you all as Worship Associate?

Because of district youth conferences, and their oasis of paradise.