Dear ones,
This month’s musing on the state of Religious Education at First Parish of Watertown comes with an ‘ask.’ Please consider whether you might be the right person to answer this call.
Contrary to all popular adult misconceptions about what youth are like, the youth at First Parish of Watertown have been pretty consistently ambivalent about meeting on Zoom. Our youth group met at first, and we finished our OWL classes virtually, but really… on the whole, the youth group has been in hiatus this year. The one time I was able to offer an opportunity to meet in person – for the sword dance in preparation for the pageant – every single youth in our group showed up. They are longing to be in person with one another. Even those who swim in the digital ocean by nature need to come up for air.
And this year all five members of our Senior Youth Group are supposed to be doing Coming of Age. The RE Committee and I decided a few months ago to wait until springtime and offer a program that can meet at least some of the time in person. At that time, it wasn’t even clear that there would be a vaccine available, but the fact that there is gives me hope. That said, we’ll still begin cautiously, meeting outdoors, staying distanced according to regulations set forth by the UUA and by our state and local governments.
Mentors are a vital part of the Coming of Age program at FPW. Our kids really cherish the opportunity to get to know an adult in our community, to hear about your personal faith journeys as they contemplate their own, and to have that connection with a non-parental adult. COA relationships between youth and their mentors are special and wonderful and long-lasting.
We have five awesome youth about to come of age in our church, and they will need mentors. A mentor does not have to be a person who has all the answers, does not have to be a life-long UU. The qualities we seek in a mentor are people who are committed to exploring our UU faith alongside the youth they mentor.
We meet roughly once a month and cover a variety of topics in preparation for our youth to present their Statements of Belief (also called Credos) and, if they so choose, sign the membership book.
If you think you might be ready to walk this path alongside one of our wonderful young people, or if you have questions about the program, please contact me at dre@fpwatertown.org.
Thank you!
FPW Religious Education 