With special thanks to producer, Adrienne Brockaway, for her creative efforts in developing this resource, we are delighted to announce the YouTube release of the UCC Coalition's new identity video.  Please check it out, share it with friends, embed it in your website, and help us spread the good news of God's extravagant welcome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8NQGKDszq8

In 1991, several forward-thinking leaders in the Coalition and on the Coalition Council recognized that there was a need for specialized ministry in the United Church of Christ with sexual minority youth and young adults.  These included the Rev. Leanne McCall Tigert, the Rev. Jan Greisinger, Sam Loliger, and Tony Lewis. The Youth and Young Adult Program of the Coalition was established to meet the needs of lesbian and gay (and later bisexual and transgender) young people of faith around issues of sexuality (later including gender identity) and faith.

The first Youth and Young Adult (YYA) Coordinator was Gregory Anderson, who began in October, 1992. At the time, Greg was also a facilitaor with BAGLY, Boston Area Gay and Lesbian Youth.  It is, in fact, this group facilitated by Gregory which was featured in the video When a Kid is Gay, produced by Boston public television (and part of the Open and Affirming Study Packet). The program originally ran for two years with Greg as Coordinator and was funded by grants from the Carpenter Foundation and the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries Volunteer Service Program.  Workshops were presented in many locations, including the New York Conference Youth Retreat, Iowa Youth Rally, Grinnell College, Northland College, confirmation classes, as well as at denominational and secular events.

When the grants were exhausted in fall of 1994, the Coalition was not in a place financially to fund the Program, but it did recognize the importance of continuing to reach out to youth and young adults. In November, 1995, the Coalition Council hired Gayle MacFarland as the YYA Outreach Coordinator on a less-than-quarter-time basis.  One of Gayle’s primary tasks was to gather and distribute materials and to put together a speaker's list. Gayle and the Rev. Mitzi Eilts made presentations at the 1996 UCC National Youth Event.  Under Gayle’s leadership, self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were present for the first time at the National Gathering in Columbus, OH, in 1997.  Gayle served until 1997.

Timothy Brown has served as the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator since 1997, overseeing significant expansion in resources and programming for youth and young adults, including ecumenical and secular efforts and two successful General Synod resolutions. 

How You Can Help: Contribute to the Coalition to support the continued growth of our Youth and Young Adult programming.

Identifying a need for coming out stories from a faith perspective, Leanne Tigert and Tim Brown teamed up to gather stories into a collection for young people, as well as offer additional information to YYAs, parents, clergy and congregations.  The result was Coming Out Young and Faithful, which was published by United Church Press in 2001.  The contributors are from the United Church of Christ, as well as a variety of other denominations. 

Over time, other resources have been created as well.  Youth in the Central Pacific Conference created a three-session curriculum titled Bridging Our Differences.  A study packet for youth groups and campus ministres, Same Gender Marriage, was created in 2004 and updated in 2009 to include more current information in view of the number of laws both for and against same gender marriage that have been instituted in various states.

Tim Brown has taken his handheld video camera to several events this summer. He has begun capturing the voices (and faces!) of UCC youth, young adults, and other YYA supporters. Check out our new YYA YouTube videos!

Oby Ballanger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii4GPiP8s1s

And more at http://www.ucccoalition.org/programs/yya/whyona/

Send your own video clip to Tim at yya@ucccoalition.org.

As part of Equality Forward, an ongoing diversity initiative focused on fostering a greater sense of connection and opportunity within the LGBT community, the Human Rights Campaign recently released a new report, “At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality, and Gender.” The report [pdf] is the culmination of an effort launched two years ago to reach out to LGBT people of color by surveying individuals from across the country in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding about the complexities at the intersection of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The report and related resources are available at www.hrc.org/EqualityForward.

Key findings include:

• Diversity is a reality, but inclusion is the real challenge.
• We all have more in common than we realize.
• Religious attitudes are a major source of prejudice.
• Race still matters.
• More information and media images of LGBT people of color are needed.
• Protections from violence and job discrimination are bridge-building issues.

The full report is available at www.hrc.org/documents/HRC_Equality_Forward_2009.pdf.