Thursday Mar 11

What is Y.O.U. ?

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 18:27 Written by Ben Georgoff Friday, 21 August 2009 12:12

What is the Youth of Unity Chapter?

The Youth of Unity (YOU) Chapter is under the guidance of a Unity Church affiliated with the Association of Unity churches and serves teenagers ages 14-18.  The primary focus of a YOU chapter is to provide a loving environment where teenagers can learn and practice Unity Principles.

 

The Members

Young people in YOU have the opportunity to:

  • Be involved in spiritual and service activities
  • The opportunity for social interaction
  • Encouragement from other teens
  • Have a safe place to be heard and respected, to stretch and grow.
  • Discover, explore and develop an inner Christ potential in an atmosphere of openness, freedom and unconditional love.
  • Discuss with other Truth-oriented teenagers the challenges that everyone faces in growing up and becoming independent.
  • Have fun, plan activities, and serve others with a group of accepting friends.
  • Participate in regional and international gatherings where they can get to know other teenagers from Unity Churches in their areas
  • and from all over the world.


Unity’s Basic Truth Principles

1.  There is only one power and one presence in the universe, God—Creator of all.

2.  God is individualized in each person as Christ Consciousness, as demonstrated by Jesus.  Jesus’ example shows us the way to find and express our Divine nature.

3.  As Spiritual beings, we co-create with God through the power of our thoughts, actions  and feelings (law of mind action).

4.  Through prayer and meditation, we can experience the presence of God and connect with the spiritual reality of our nature.

5.   We move forward putting these principles into action.


Youth of Unity Yearly Events

Regional

  • Fall Retreat (October)
  • June Rally (June)
  • International Event (July)


Local

Various times throughout the year

  • Sub-Regional Events
  • Service Projects
  • Fund Raising Projects

Youth of Unity Events create an atmosphere for teens to experience themselves and learn more about how to apply Unity to their lives.  This is achieved through various group activities that include group meditation and prayer, family groups, workshops, joy songs and heart talks.

Creating an atmosphere of loving support and safety is key to any Youth of Unity activity.  Each unique individual is accepted with open arms.  Whether the emotion is laughter or tears, teens are honored for the Christ within them and accepted as an expression of God.

Lessons

Active learning and peer to peer teaching are the two pillars of Youth of Unity lessons.  Though lessons can be on various topics such as the Five Unity Principles, The Twelve Power of Man, Religions of the World or spiritual books, lessons always reflect concepts, ideas and challenges that are relevant to teens.

Youth of Unity sponsors serve as spiritual leaders, facilitators, coaches, mentors, chaperones and the liaison to the church and region.  Through the modeling and encouragement of sponsors, teens are often motivated to research, develop and deliver Sunday lessons to the entire chapter and even the congregation.

YOU Has a Three-Fold Focus

Spiritual

Weekly a spiritual lesson is offered to assist theYOUers in the understanding of spiritual laws and their practical application into daily life.  Time is also spent in prayer and meditation and developing a consciousness of Oneness.  YOU’ers sometimes attend weekend retreat which allow for more intensive exploration of their divine nature through group workshops and interaction.

Service

YOUers conduct projects to assist their church and community.  A service project is a donation of time, love, and energy to accomplish good through the service to others.  Each YOU group organizes and implements a wide variety of service projects depending on the needs of the group, church and community.

Social

YOUers believe in celebrating life and appreciate the joy of togetherness.  They take leadership roles in creating fun activities such as:

  • Lock-ins
  • Movie and pizza night
  • Scavenger Hunt


These experiences provide an opportunity to practice spiritual principles as they apply to daily life.  It is a loving place to build friendships, self-esteem and interact with others of like mind.

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