PCD Youth Ministry Facilitation Process
A Resource of the Common Ground Council
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“We do not have all the answers, not one person controls the outcome. All that is needed is our willingness to try a new way of being together.
We can choose a new way forward. We hold our own wisdom gently, and we open our hearts and minds to more wisdom and many truths. We can choose a new way forward. We trust that, if we are willing to stay at the table together, something can emerge that we never could have dreamed of alone. We can choose a new way forward. We can choose something different together. We can choose a new way forward.” Excerpt from “Chalice Lighting for a New Way Forward” Curated by Rev. Samantha Wilson with words from Process Participants 
Welcome!
This webpage is a place for connection, stories, and resources about the facilitation and dialogue process for youth ministry in the Pacific Central District. |
Process Overview
The situation of youth ministry in the Pacific Central District can be told, and has been told, in many ways. There have been actions and reactions over multiple years that have affected different individuals and different groups in different ways. To tell one version of that story is not possible.
However, what is known and experienced is that the larger context of youth ministry in
our district has felt fragmented, conflictual, painful, and challenging. New members to our communities—whether they be parents with youth entering our churches for the first time, ministers who arrive from other regions of the country, or religious educators eager to support faith development—all enter a system that may feel confusing, fragile, and disconnected.
In Fall 2018, a hiring committee of Rev. Mary Foran (UUMA – PCC), Eric Bliss (PWR),
and Maddie Tuning (YRUUP) hired a restorative practices facilitator, Rev. Samantha
Wilson, to support a group process for PCD youth ministry.
Phase 1, which occurred from January to May 2019, involved over 50 ministers, religious educators, parents, advisors, and youth leaders of the Pacific Central District (PCD) collaborated on an innovative facilitation process to discuss the history and future of youth ministry in the PCD.
The process, informed by practices from the field of restorative justice, engaged participants in dialogue, small group, and large group conversations. This Transformative Community Conferencing process aimed at imagining a new way forward for youth ministry in the district.
The situation of youth ministry in the Pacific Central District can be told, and has been told, in many ways. There have been actions and reactions over multiple years that have affected different individuals and different groups in different ways. To tell one version of that story is not possible.
However, what is known and experienced is that the larger context of youth ministry in
our district has felt fragmented, conflictual, painful, and challenging. New members to our communities—whether they be parents with youth entering our churches for the first time, ministers who arrive from other regions of the country, or religious educators eager to support faith development—all enter a system that may feel confusing, fragile, and disconnected.
In Fall 2018, a hiring committee of Rev. Mary Foran (UUMA – PCC), Eric Bliss (PWR),
and Maddie Tuning (YRUUP) hired a restorative practices facilitator, Rev. Samantha
Wilson, to support a group process for PCD youth ministry.
Phase 1, which occurred from January to May 2019, involved over 50 ministers, religious educators, parents, advisors, and youth leaders of the Pacific Central District (PCD) collaborated on an innovative facilitation process to discuss the history and future of youth ministry in the PCD.
The process, informed by practices from the field of restorative justice, engaged participants in dialogue, small group, and large group conversations. This Transformative Community Conferencing process aimed at imagining a new way forward for youth ministry in the district.
Phase 1: “A New Way Forward” Report and Webinar.
Report
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Insights and possibilities generated by the January to May 2019 (Phase 1) effort have been written in a report, “A New Way Forward.” This report includes:
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Webinar:
On October 2, 2019 from 12PM-1PM PST, process participants will host a recorded webinar to highlight key learnings from the report, innovations for congregations to consider, and share some of the possible ways forward in 2019-2020.
Phase 2: The Common Ground Council (CGC)
One of the primary action items requested by Phase 1 participants was the creation of a Common Ground Council (CGC). This Council will serve as the next iteration of the PCD Youth Ministry Facilitation Steering Committee that supported Phase 1 of the facilitation process. It is intended to be a hub of connection, communication, and collaboration. This group will help steer the next phase of the process, be dialogue partners with the facilitator(s), foster communication across stakeholder groups, and help design future opportunities for dialogue, trust, accountability and healing, and relationship building.
The Council includes membership from the UU Ministers Association (UUMA-PCC), Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA), Young Religious UU’s of the Pacific (YRUUP), and the Pacific Western Region (PWR).
The Council includes membership from the UU Ministers Association (UUMA-PCC), Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA), Young Religious UU’s of the Pacific (YRUUP), and the Pacific Western Region (PWR).
2019-2010 Common Ground Council Members:
Reign Miller, YRUUP (as of 9/27/2019)
Megan Foote, YRUUP
Meghan Kelly, MUUGS
Pamela Miller, Parent at Redwood City Congregation
Bob Miess, LREDA and PCD Board, Livermore Congregation
Rev. Marcus Hartlief, UUMA, Congregation of Marin
Marena McGrego, PCD Youth Retreat Coordinator
Eric Bliss, PWR Youth and Emerging Adult Ministry Specialist
Kristin Famula, LREDA and Co-Facilitator
Rev. Samantha Wilson, Lead Co-Facilitator
Advisory Support for CGC:
Rev. Andrew Mertz, Pacific Central Chapter of the UUMA Co-President
Rev. Catherine Ishida, Pacific Central District Board President
Megan Foote, YRUUP
Meghan Kelly, MUUGS
Pamela Miller, Parent at Redwood City Congregation
Bob Miess, LREDA and PCD Board, Livermore Congregation
Rev. Marcus Hartlief, UUMA, Congregation of Marin
Marena McGrego, PCD Youth Retreat Coordinator
Eric Bliss, PWR Youth and Emerging Adult Ministry Specialist
Kristin Famula, LREDA and Co-Facilitator
Rev. Samantha Wilson, Lead Co-Facilitator
Advisory Support for CGC:
Rev. Andrew Mertz, Pacific Central Chapter of the UUMA Co-President
Rev. Catherine Ishida, Pacific Central District Board President
Charge of the Common Ground Council (CGC):
The CGC is supported by the co-facilitation of Rev. Samantha Wilson and Kristin Famula. Rev. Wilson, our Phase 1 Facilitator, and Kristin Famula, a Phase 1 participant, are both trained in restorative practices and alternate approaches to conflict engagement/dialogue.
CGC members will serve for one year. In May 2020, the CGC will discern next steps for the CGC, invite new members or suggest a new approach for our community going forward.
In 2019-2020, CGC members and facilitators will work together to consider:
CGC members will serve for one year. In May 2020, the CGC will discern next steps for the CGC, invite new members or suggest a new approach for our community going forward.
In 2019-2020, CGC members and facilitators will work together to consider:
- How to foster communication
- How to engage and welcome more people to the process
- How to design and support opportunities for deeper accountability and healing across stakeholder groups for those impacted by previous conflict or harm (grieving, dialogues, truth telling, ceremony/ritual)
- How to support YRUUP leaders in examining their existing Restorative Justice process with support from ministers and DREs to increase transparency and communication among stakeholders
- How to host an open, generative dialogue about youth ministry policies and practices across stakeholder groups. This would include strategic dialogue about:
- Designing youth ministry opportunities that honor multiple needs and serve different purposes and age groups
- Age ranges, safety, developmental concerns
- Relationships and communication between youth ministry efforts and congregation efforts
- Valuing the wisdom and experience of existing youth ministry leaders
- How to support and resource emerging adult and young adult ministries in the PCD
A Note About this webpage being hosted on this website: As the Common Ground Council gets up and running, it is likely that it will develop its own communication channels and ways to disseminate information. Until a permanent communication channel is live, the Pacific Central Chapter of the UUMA has volunteered to host this page for this effort.
