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Thanks for visiting the Mountain Desert District YRUU (Young Religious
Unitarian Universalists) web site.
YRUU is the youth organization that serves the youth in
the Unitarian Universalist faith at the junior and senior high school
age. The Mountain Desert District is one of the most successful YRUU
organizations in the country and we are proud of that status and strive
to keep it that way.
Special Announcement About the First CON of 2009/2010:
The first CON of the year will not be a CON at all.
It will be the MDD Annual Youth Conference.
High school age youth are invited to the MDD Annual Conference-
please register through the Annual Meeting form.
The cost is $75.00 and youth will be housed at Foothills Unitarian Church in Ft. Collins.
Youth and advisors are expected to arrive on Friday,
October 16 between 4:30 and 5 p.m. and dinner will be served.
The conference will end on Sunday morning at 11am
General information about high School
Youth Adult Committee (YAC) and Conferences
Special Note: Information about
"The process and dates for MDD Youth Ministry" can be found at
The "QUUest" page.
The YAC
The YAC holds three business meetings per year, which take
place on a saturday morning at YRUU Conferences. There are
eleven officers on the YAC Executive. A Youth & Adult Chair,
a Secretary, a Conference Coordinator, a Youth Council Rep., a
Youth & Adult Treasurer/ Communication officer, Energy Person,
and three Social Action Coords. The YAC also sponsors Social
Action Conferences by clusters and programming for youth in
6- 7- 8th grade.
The Conferences
YRUU Conferences are weekend events, and focus on YAC
business and Workshops. Everyone is expected to participate
in the planned events. The main focus is fostering a feeling of
community in which participants treat each other with mutual
respect. Youth ages 14 to 19, who have completed the 8th grade
may attend. Any youth wanting to attend must first attend a
Orientation with their parents; and be active (attending at
least once a month) in their local church. Registration forms
are sent to the churches about five weeks before the due date and
everyone wanting to attend must turn in a completed form to
their church by the deadline. MDD requires youth 18 years or
older, all youth in leadership positions, and adults to sign the
Code Of Ethics. Attendance ranges from 40 to 130 youth and
adults. YAC Adult Advisors must be 25 years old. YAC is
careful to maintain a ratio of no less then one adult for every
seven youth. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.
YAC is thankful for the support and involvement of parents.
Conference activities
At the Conference the Opening and Orientation set the tone
for the intentional community that is being created and the
behavior necessary to maintain it. The rules are read and
clarified so all participants understand them. Small groups,
called Touch Groups (as in touch base) do the work, making
and cleaning up meals and getting to know each other. Worship
is a central focus and the last event of every day. A UU Chaplain
will be on site at the Conference. Separate sleeping rooms for males,
females, and mixed genders are provided; the mixed gender room has
a awake adult or officer in the room at all times. There is an adult in
every room, and all rooms are checked at night by the night shift
adults and Spirit Committee. The curfew on friday night is 2 a.m.,
but there is no curfew on saturday.
Spirit Committee
Spirit Committee oversees the general atmosphere of the Conference
and addresses any problems with individuals or with the conference
community as a whole. The Energy Person chairs this committee.
The committee consists of the YAC Secretary, Adult Chair, one
other YAC Officer, the YRUU Coordinator, a youth and adult from
the host church, and at least two at-large youth and adult. All
participants, youth and adults are responsible for reporting rule
infractions to the Spirit Committee, and for making the Conference a
safe place. Anyone with a concern about any aspect of the
Conference should feel free to talk with a Spirit Committee member.
Confidentiality will be a priority. It is everyone’s responsibility to see
that the rules are followed. If someone reports a rule has been
broken the Committee will met and decide by consensus what should
be done. If it is determined that someone has broken a rule or
guideline they could be put on probation and may need to sit out the
next Conference and then be helped back into the community with a
peer mentor. Spirit committee members try to mix with everyone to
ensure a good experience for all.
We try to create a world that embodies our UU beliefs.
YAC encourages youth empowerment and responsibility.
Conferences are an opportunity for youth to put these
concepts into action.
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