Coming of Age

  • All high school youth who have not yet taken Coming of Age are invited to join this program, which will begin in October 2022 in conjunction with the First Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hunterdon County. Students must complete a separate application for participation. Please return the application to Sarah Ahrens, Director of Family Ministry.
  • NOTE – COA will be hosted again on-site at UUCWC in 2023-24. 
  • Grades 9-12 (Sept 2022 – May 2023) COMING OF AGE APPLICATION
  • The Coming of Age (COA) program is done throughout the UU denomination with 14 – 17 year-olds as a way to acknowledge the transition from child to adult.
  • The goals of COA programs are:
    • To encourage youth to explore what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist;
    • To help youth move into the adult role of identifying and acting on personal beliefs and values;
    • To recognize and publicly honor the movement of a youth from childhood to adolescence within the Unitarian Universalist tradition.
  • Through mentoring and classes, the COA program:
    • Encourages youth to discuss, reflect on, and clarify their personal religious beliefs as part of lifespan faith development;
    • Provides opportunities for independent thinking, assuming responsibility, decision-making and exploration of values;
    • Encourages youth to put faith into action in their own lives and community.
    • Components of COA usually include youth being paired with a mentor to work on above stated goals, planning and implementing a service project, and presenting a credo (statement of faith) as part of a Coming of Age ceremony. The program can include a trip to a site of UU heritage, such as Boston to visit the UUA and other historical UU places.