Coming of Age

The UU Church of Palo Alto (UUCPA) is offering the popular Coming of Age program in 2024-25. This program helps Unitarian Universalist teens to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and articulate their own beliefs. The Coming of Age ceremony usually features the youth reading their statements of personal belief (credo statements) to the congregation with a huge celebration afterward.

The goal of our Coming of Age program is to help young people sort out their ethical and religious identity (recognizing that some young people do not feel religious at all), so that they may make rational decisions about the kind of person they want to become.

We have three objectives that help us reach this broad goal:

1. We want participants to have fun, and to bond with a community of young people who share similar moral and spiritual values.
2. We want participants to articulate their own ethical and religious identity, to gain a deeper sense of identity and to present that identity through the arts, spoken word, etc.
3. We want participants to engage in direct action, including social justice projects and the arts, so they can experience living out their religious and ethical values in the world.

We will help young people meet these three objectives through five types of fun activities:

1. 18 regular meetings: Participants will have 14 class meetings to get to know each other, have fun, and reflect on religion and ethics. Most meetings will be on Sundays, December through May.  Participants should attend an absolute minimum of 12 of the regular meetings.
2. Participants cook and serve dinner with Hotel de Zink guests.
3. Participants will write a “credo statement” setting forth their ethical and religious identity, at this moment in their lives. These statements are usually about 500-700 words long. You can read some sample Coming of Age credos online here.
4. Participants will lead the Sunday morning service at UUCPA in late May, during which they present their “credo statements.” After the service, participants attend a closing celebration with a potluck lunch; parents and family members may also attend the closing celebration. Participants must be present at the service and the lunch afterward.

Youth say that the Coming of Age program is both fun and meaningful. The program will help them grow in self-knowledge, it will allow them to spend time with youth and adults who share similar values, and express themselves.

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for this program, contact Rev. Cat Boyle.

Coming of Age Meetings planned for 2024-2025

(Page updated July 31 2024)