COA is a FREE program being offered by First Universalist. If you would like to volunteer for snacks or food preparation please contact DRE Naomi Blackwood.

There is a parent and youth orientation that is mandatory for all who register to be part of the Coming of Age program. The session will include information about the program, introductions to those in the program such as teachers and mentors, going over the schedule and projects we are working on this year.

There will be multiple opportunities to join the orientations in July and August of 2024.

Our Coming of Age program will be running from the middle of September to the middle of May 2023. Please view the COA Schedule here.

We will be having a service of recognition to end the class on a Sunday in May during service to honor the work and effort your youth have accomplished. This service is to help bring our community together to acknowledge each youths credo statement.

The core building blocks of the program are thirty one workshops that engage youth and leaders in topics ranging from spirituality to social action to congregational leadership. They are uniformly structured but vary somewhat in length and number of activities. Though most stand alone, there are key activities in some workshops such as, credo writing, journaling, check-in, worship, mentors, and Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide discussions.

We want to encourage our youth to become more involved in the wider community, opportunities for community service are written into the program. Parents are encouraged to plan a community service project during their small group sessions. This project can be with the youth or done on their own.

During our time together, we are working on answering questions such as, “Who am I?” and “How do I belong?”
Coming of Age trips can be formative in terms of young people’s identity. Youth leave their familiar environment and travel together to a new place. This year, we will be exploring other places of faith, including other Unitarian Universalist Congregations, museums, and landmarks to name a few. Exploring these destinations under the lens of Unitarian Universalism, can help young people know who they are in relation to their religious tradition. It can bring history alive for them.

We will have a service at the end of the year for the students to explain to the community their credo statements, and as a community we will welcome them and acknowledge those statements!

Because our program seeks to be inclusive of all its participants, parents / caregivers are invited to participate in small group ministry series. As children grow and transition into different roles in society, the job of parenting them does not lessen, but it does change. These sessions provide time for adults to support each other as they begin this adventure together. These sessions will include:

• Check ins
• Centering thoughts
• Discussions
• Opportunities to build relationships and connections with other adults who understand the complexities of raising youth during these times.

Small groups will be held at the same time as your youths class schedule. More information will be sent out as we get closer to starting COA.