Taryn Strauss

Director of Religious Education

REflections

March 2010

This past Sunday, I led worship for the youth, ages 11-18, in Jefferson House. So begins a youth worship initiative, to implement youth-centered worship at least once a month. Our youth should feel comfortable in a worshipful setting, and by the end of high school, they should be competent in leading their own worship. Currently, we offer meaningful children’s worship, repeated rituals and songs that hold meaning for the children who are worshipping together. In our children’s worship, we address topics mirroring those being explored in the adult worship service. Why neglect our youth’s connection to worship, just when they are reaching an age where they are capable of deepening their spiritual experience? Jasmine Kimmel, Early Childhood Coordinator, will lead children’s worship once a month, while I lead the youth worship in Jefferson House.

Last Sunday morning, we each checked in with one another after our week. Then we said our chalice lighting words together. The youth voted to keep the chalice lighting words they recited when they were younger children. I read a meditation about mindfulness and awareness.

Together, we read a poem on love and love for life, by Khalil Gibran. We closed with a singing meditation. As the room dispersed, it was clear the energy among us had changed. A few minutes earlier, we had all rushed in, harried and chaotic. After our worship ended, youth and teachers moved at a slower pace, and everyone seemed more focused. Today’s teenagers are busier and more stressed than they have ever been, and with the advent of social networking, cell phones, and texting, they are rarely invited to share a quiet, contemplative space together. We all yearn for this and for a chance to really share with our community what’s in our hearts. Social networking sites cannot fill the deep need for authentic, spiritual renewal. By fostering our youth’s connection to worship, we are strengthening their identity as Unitarian Universalists for the rest of their lives.