First Parish in Cambridge Young Adult Group

From Cambridge YAG
Revision as of 18:53, 15 January 2020 by Mattmccutchen (talk | contribs) (Update schedule of structured meetings)
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Who We Are

The Young Adult Group (YAG) is a thriving community for ages 18-35 at First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Unitarian Universalist). With a focus on kindness and respect, we welcome a diversity of people and ideas, and seek to build deep, lasting relationships. Knowing that our inner lives of self-discovery are enriched through participation in an intentional community, we strive to grow together in awareness, conscience, and spirit. We meet once a week for spiritual discussion, worship, community building, and creative activity. We usually go out for brunch after Sunday services, as well as hosting potlucks, local outings, hiking, and occasional group retreats.

Our young adults come from a variety of faith traditions and backgrounds; they may be unaffiliated with a religious denomination, nonreligious/secular, searching for a spiritual community, "spiritual but not religious", undecided, or a combination of the above. Many are also members of the Unitarian Universalist congregation, and find deeper fulfillment by participating in other aspects of community life. We are mindful that each brings something unique to the group, and that growth is a process of teaching and learning from one another. We are an inclusive circle and invite our members to participate as they are able and comfortable. All are welcome!

See our mailing list and calendar.

Time and Place

The First Parish in Cambridge Young Adult Group hosts several events per month at First Parish in Cambridge, located at 3 Church St. in Harvard Square (map) in addition to several special events each year.

We meet one Tuesday each month from 7:00PM to 8:30PM for a structured discussion or activity. The date each month is typically chosen by a poll. See the mailing list for announcements of polls and of the specific topic of each meeting (generally one day in advance of the meeting). Also once a month, we host a lunch that follows the Sunday service at First Parish Cambridge. Sunday services start at 10:30AM followed by a coffee hour, and lunch begins around 12:00PM. This is an easy way to meet people and learn more about YAG. Check our calendar for the most up-to-date event listings.

Weekly Topics

We have a rotating schedule of topics that include Community Building, Spiritual Discussion, Creative Activity, Creative Sharing, and Worship. Details on our topic schedule and planning guides can be found here.


Unitarian Universalist Young Adult Resources

Boston-area hubs for UU activity include The Lucy Stone Coop, a housing cooperative in Roxbury that hosts weekly community dinners, events, and leadership trainings focused on social justice; The Sanctuary Boston, a new community of vibrant worship and real connection that alternates between First Parish in Cambridge and First Church in Boston; and UU young adult groups at Arlington Street Church and First Parish in Brookline. See a complete list of young adult groups here.

Looking for an online community? Check out Quest for Meaning to meet others and explore their collection of blogs, articles, and facebook pages about spirituality and religion. There is also a young adults section.

Interested in joining a campus group? Explore the Unitarian Universalist Association's resourceful campus ministry page and email ya-cm@uua.org to connect with an existing group or start your own!


Other Online Resources

Finding a Spiritual Home: Unitarian Universalism for Young Adults, Online Article by Michael Tino.

An Overview of Unitarian Universalism, hosted at The Pluralism Project (and authored by one of our own UU young adults!)

"Blue Boat" the Unitarian Universalist Association's blog about Young Adult Ministries

These are also available on our former Resources page.


Contact

If you have any questions or would like any additional information please feel free to contact us at youngadults@firstparishcambridge.org.

Internal Resources

We keep some of our internal documents on Google Drive rather than the wiki. Ideally each would be linked from the appropriate place, but for now we're collecting some of the recent public documents in this Google Drive folder.