Youth Programs

We Welcome You. For Real.

Adolescence is not the time to step away from youth and Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation is committed to remaining a strong companion along their continued faith development. We are restarting our programing for adolescence but you can see below what we have done in the past. 

Middle School Youth

With the middle school kids we recognize this is a tender time. Emotions run close to the surface or get stuffed far below; friends can be closer than ever or painfully absent. Their capacity for reasoning grows by leaps and bounds. Through friendships and mentoring relationships, they engage in the age-old question “Who am I?” and do the serious (and not so serious) work of identity formation—gender identity, racial identity, and religious identity. Our aim is to grow people who know themselves and are valued for who they are, with all their gifts and quirks. Our programs build social confidence, personal and religious identity, and friendship bonds that cross generations and last into the high school years and beyond.

We offer:

  • community and acceptance,
  • joy and love of life,
  • exploration of ideas and beliefs,
  • development of ethics and values, and
  • a chance to work alongside others to make the world a better place.

This year our middle school youth are ​exploring some of life’s Big Questions with a UUA-developed curriculum called “Riddle & Mystery.” Its aims include teaching students to appreciate mystery as part of human life and the starting points of religion, exploring UU responses to Big Questions,​ and helping students develop their own responses to them

Consistent attendance and participation is very important to make this class effective. Not only will the material be covered over multiple Sundays, but it is important that youth build trust and community amongst themselves.

Other programs in support of our Middle School Youth are:

  • Puget Sound Middle School Youth Conference –
    • In the fall we join with other UU Congregations around the Pacific Northwest for the Middle School Conference at Camp Sealth on Vashon Island. This last weekend in September gives our 6th – 8th graders a chance to expand and deepen their UU connections, and gives our Middle School youth the opportunity to gather with their UU peers while having FUN! Workshops and activities may include field sports, drama, music, arts and crafts, swimming and boating (with certified lifeguards), and games.
  • Our Whole Lives (OWL) Program –
      • Our Whole Lives is a UU sexuality education curriculum that helps youth make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, sexual health, and behavior. We offer the OWL Program for the different age groups on a rotating basis. The next 7th-8th grade level of OWL is being offered starting in the fall of 2017 with the plan to offer it biannually thereafter. More information on the OWL Program can be found here http://www.uua.org/re/owl

High School Youth

As a congregation we are called to nourish the hearts, minds and spirits of our youth, recognizing they are the next generation of builders of the world we dream about. A world of radical inclusivity where, however you identify, you can find a home. We are spiritually diverse and know “we need not think alike to love alike.”

To that end, our youth program provides a well-rounded religious education to our high school youth. While the details vary by year, the pillars remain the same:  Community Building and Relationships, Social Justice and Service, and Worship and Spirituality.

On Sunday mornings youth meet from 10:30-11:30 a.m., at the same time as the service, with their adult advisors. Each Sunday supports our program in a diverse fashion.

We also have a strong commitment to partnering with our greater Unitarian Universalist region in offering additional opportunities for spiritual, leadership, and community development.

These programs include:

  • Pacific Northwest District Fall & Spring High School Youth Conferences
  • The Social & Political Action Group Conference for High School Youth
  • Goldmine Leadership School
  • Summer Seminary
  • Youth, Young Adult & Adult Chaplain Training