The Next Generation of SEE May 4, 2011

“Wanna have your mind blown? Take SEE classes.” ~Zeb Walter after two weeks of SEE classes at Unity Village

For a couple years now there has been a conversation about having a SEE week created for NGUers. We asked: What if classes were taught toward multiple learning styles in a highly interactive format? What if there were evening social activities planned? What if the cultural context of the classes was that of young adults? What if many of the instructors were the young ministers of Unity?

This summer, for the first time, we are planning a SEE week that will be all this and more.

Spiritual Education and Enrichment (SEE) is about an individual’s spiritual development. For some it is a stepping stone to becoming a licensed Unity teacher or Minister. For others is it about deepening the understanding, awareness and practice of spiritual principles.

NGUers have been participating in SEE classes online, in their local churches and at Unity Village for as long as they have been offered. It has been a wonderful experience too. NGUer Christopher Czarnecki writes this about interacting with his classmates in an online class “Hearing their ideas, getting their encouragement, and engaging in discussion that will further the Unity Movement have all lead to a deeper fulfillment and the empowerment of living life from our own level of Christ Consciousness.”

“Ultimately it was during that week of SEE, that I honestly felt myself become the Christ. An experience like that stays with you and anchors you into the Unity movement in a way that nothing else can.” ~Betsy LeBard

I personally had some amazing experiences taking SEE classes and can’t wait to co-teach with the amazing Rev. Robin Reiter and sit in classes from a dynamic passionate cast of instructors. My hardest decision is which classes to attend! I hope that we have many people come from all over to be a part of co-creating not only the Next Generation of SEE, but of Unity.

“The experience of being at Unity Village is unlike any other, and the feeling it gives you ignites the fire that burns the intention to go forth toward your own spiritual calling!” ~Christopher Czarnecki

What does this mean for you? If you are an NGUer this means that you can have a great week at Unity Village with your peers. For ministers and leaders it means deepening the consciousness of your community.

Who do you know that would love this event? Is it you? Claim your intention, and it will be. There are groups forming to carpool and fundraise, to join them, visit the link below.

For more information visit Next Generation SEE

I hope to see you there!

Rachel

PS, If this sounds like a great time to you we want you there (even if you’re a young adult with ‘experience’)

PPS Visit Unity Online Radio to hear myself and SEE dean Rev. Paul Hasselbeck on Village Events and Voices discussing this week with some instructors and NGU consultants. (April 18th)

The Art of Asking March 24, 2011

The art of asking

In September I was on Rev. Jamie Sanders Unity Online Radio show, Spirituality Today. He asked me how to get young folks engaged in church, classes and the Unity movement. I said simply, “ask them.” We went on to talk about what a simple and obvious but overlooked method this is. It doesn’t say in the Bible stand on the stoop and someone will let you in, it says knock and the door will be answered.

People want to be wanted, they want to belong. So ask them. Personally invite the young adults and teens in your community to be a part of SEE classes, ask them what would be an alternative service that they could bring their friends to. Ask them if there is a way they would like to be involved in the community.

It’s so easy, yet so overlooked. The power of invitation is a thousand times more provocative than an announcement in the bulletin. And for the NGU readers of this blog, the asking goes both ways, if there is something you are interested in doing at your church, ask. If there is a class you would like offered, Ask.

We are all a part of this community and together we make it the best it can possibly be. How do we come together? We ask others to join us.

I’m asking you to join me in sharing Unity with the world.

Namaste

PS, you can hear my whole interview with Jamie episode Sept 8, 2010 third section

Research and trends February 14, 2011

Every now and then I get an email from Barna research; they are a company that looks into trends in spirituality and Christianity. The most recent one, about if a business identified itself as Christian influenced buying habits, got me thinking. Now as a general disclaimer, I am not an expert at understanding statistics, but here’s what I got out of it.

In general, half of the US population says it makes no difference to them if a company has Christian business practices. More interesting to me is that while 27% of the overall population said they were ‘a lot more likely’ to buy from a business with Christian principles, only 13% of mosaics (ages 18-26), and 23% of busters (27-45) agreed.

In another study, Barna says that 31% of twentysomethings and 42%of thirtysomethings attend church on a typical Sunday. Before you go there, you should know these numbers aren’t just because of college, only 22% of those 25-29 attended church regularly. Still, 75% had prayed in the past week.

One more interesting thing from the survey is that only 4% of young adults are serving as lay leaders in their church even though young adults are more likely than more mature generations to consider themselves leaders. They also are hungry from more training to become leaders, but are more interested in hands-on and mentorship opportunities than classes.

In still another Barna study, we find that while 7% of the boomer generation has been on a service trip, the number for young adults is 12%. Also, 10% young adults say that they plan to go on a service trip in the next three years while for boomers it’s only 3%.

If you have made it this far, first, thank you, second, what does all this mean? I’m sure there are many conclusions that could be drawn, but what I notice is that young adults want to contribute in meaningful ways such as leadership and service, and that these might not look the same as they did for the generations before. Being Christian (or church related) isn’t necessarily a deterrent, but it isn’t much of a draw either. Rather, showing up as a community that cares about the world and the people in it, valuing young adults for their leadership and perspective and creating meaningful service opportunities are more likely to get the younger generations engaged.

One more thought: the language we have been learning about for the Unity branding is in alignment with my above ideas. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of a community that ‘Provides practical teachings to help people live healthy, prosperous and meaningful lives?’

If you are a Unity leader, I encourage you to ask the young people in your congregation what is compelling to you and how can your passions support our community. If you are a young adult I encourage you to get involved in a way that calls to you. If there is something you want to learn about or be involved in, ask!

what ‘Has To’ Happen February 4, 2011

People ask me all the time what ‘has to’ happen in a group. Are there officers? Who should do what? I believe in a much more organic model of leadership. Assuming that a NGU group is going to be led and governed by the members of the group and that those member are busy people, I have a few tips and ideas.

Follow the interests of the group. If there is someone excited about community service, or creating lessons or social activities and the group wants to be a part of it, go for it. Every group is made of individuals and that means each group will have its own personality. Build on the strengths and the group has much better chance of success.

It’s lonely to lead alone. The responsibility to plan, schedule, and communicate everything for the group can be wearing for one person. If possible share responsibilities. Since everyone is busy if everyone helps out where they are willing/able then not only is there a greater sense of community ownership, leaders are less likely to get burnt out.

As for what ‘has to’ happen… my response is, for the most part whatever the group wants to have happen. There are two things I think are essential and someone needs to step up to do. Communicate with the NGU group and communicate with the church. While it is probably pretty obvious why these things are important, I’ll make a few points just in case.

Someone needs to be the person who has the master list to email/facebook/text the members and keep them updated about what’s going on and if there is a change in schedule. Someone needs to be the point person to communicate with the church to coordinate use of space, announcements and communicate with the spiritual leader or designee about how the group is doing. These can be the same person or a team, but they have to stay in contact with each other to ensure information is getting to the right people.

You can do it folks! It’s all about listening and working together. I believe in you.  Go and be fabulous!

Holiday opprotunities December 23, 2010

Christmas is literally right around the corner. This is a time when new folks and people we might have not seen in a while show up at church. It is also when young adults often are visiting home. What can we do to reach out and help them feel like this community, their church community is ‘home’?

Maybe it’s giving a Daily Word subscription to the young people in your congregations that have moved on to college, the workforce or are in the service. Maybe it’s inviting members of your community to be prayer partners with these folks. Maybe it’s creating a bulletin board where updates and prayer requests can be posted.

Yes I know Christmas is in 2 days, a little to close to implement these ideas NOW. I post these here to stoke your imaginations and invite you into co-creating a year where every person in our community feels welcomed and loved.

Wishing you peace, love and joy for the holiday season and always.

Rachel

Asking questions October 11, 2010

Frequently I am asked “Rachel what do I do for young adults in my church?”, “why don’t they come?” or a long list of similar questions. The answer of course is that there isn’t a simple answer to this. Just as each of our spiritual communities have a different flavor and personality, what is going to ‘work’ for the young adults varies from community to community.

At the 2010 Unity People’s Convention I was honored to co-present a workshop (twice) with Ogun Holder titled ‘Intergenerational Ministry the Top Ten’. One of our main points was that finding what works takes time and persistence.

Over the next few months as I share what Ogun and I presented and new things I discover, I hope you share too. What is working, what you have questions about, what definitely didn’t work.

Hopefully together we can start answering these questions and co-creating a world that works for all.

With Joy,

Rachel

The beginning September 27, 2010

This is the beginning of a blog that I hope will be a center of ideas and dialogue. The intention of starting this blog is to have a venue to share interesting information I discover that is related to Next Generation Unity (NGU) and young adult ministry and for you to share what is working for you.

Why young adults? Look around. Many church members and leaders I talk with agree that they are missing from their communities. This is not just a Unity phenomenon, this ‘gap’ is happening in many faith communities. According to some census data I dug up in the US those who are currently 20-34 years of age are about 20% of the population. Twenty percent! I doubt anyone reading this has that kind of numbers in their spiritual community (and if you do, please, let’s talk).

I firmly believe that a multi-generational community is the best and only way to have a fully thriving ministry. Which is why I am  focused on this age group, to have balance in our communities they must be a place of belonging and growth for all ages.

We are going to discover and explore ideas for growing this population in our Unity community. Not every idea presented here will be the ‘right’ one for you, but I hope it will be helpful and thought-provoking.

Let the exploring begin!

Peace and Blessings,

Rachel

PS that census data was at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_QTP1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U