Helping our youth shape their own UU identity and embrace the values that will shape their lives.

This program supports youth as they explore, develop and articulate their personal values and faith identity.  In 2025-26 this program is offered to all ninth through twelfth graders on most Sunday evenings, except the fourth Sunday, from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. There are also group adventures that will occur at other times. It will begin in October 2025.

The Three Dimensions of the Spiritual Life:
​Becoming’s theological approach frames the spiritual life around three core themes and questions. This 3-part framework originated from work being done at the Sacred Design Lab. Here they are:

• Belonging –  To whom or what do I belong?
• Becoming –  Who am I becoming?
• Beyond – What is beyond me?

The Big Questions:
Within these three general areas of the spiritual life, we invite youth to wrestle with more specific questions as they shape their personal religious identity.

For instance, under Belonging we invite youth to ask themselves such questions as “What values am I committed to?” “How do I balance my responsibilities to family, friends, society and the faith community to which I belong?” and “How do I resist exclusion and support the belonging of others?” 

Some questions related to Becoming involve asking “How do I bravely honor my true self?” “What does it mean to live with authenticity and integrity?” “What parts from my upbringing do I want to hold onto and let go of?”

Some questions related to the Beyond involve asking “What is my relationship to the sacred?” ”Is life random, indifferent, trustworthy, loving, dependable, threatening, cruel, good?” and “What are my responsibilities to needs greater than my own?”

The Five Lenses: 
Finally, we use five unique lenses to address all of these “big questions.” On their way to answering the session’s question for themselves, youth first explore how they are answered by…

• UUism (our principles, sources and history) 
• Pop Culture (music, movies, social norms)
• Life (direct experience of life and faith in action activities)
• Beloved Others (peers, family and mentors)

If you have questions or are a youth or have a youth who is interested in participating, please reach out the our Director of Lifespan Faith Development, Jenni Papp.