This is an early draft of what a con is.  You can use it and link it if you would like to help explain what a con is to people.  Please also give us notes if you can think of other things we should add.  Written by Rachel Stevenson, Edited by Ben Polson

What is a Con?

When someone in our community talks about a con, we are usually referring to a weekend event, or “conference” held at a UU congregation in our district (JPD).

Young Adult Con's usually involve 50-60 people from various different congregations that give UU Young Adults a chance to network and come together in community with one another to discus issues within the faith and within society.

Many cons have common activities including workshops, worship, and some sort of communal fun event. Workshops can have a wide range of topics from social justice issues to comic book heroes. Worship tends to take the form of a circle worship in a Young Adult community, and the communal event in our district usually takes the form of a Saturday night open stage called a “Coffee House”

Con's can have a plethora of possible topics, but most cons fall under these major categories:

- Social Justice: Our faith and community does not take social justice lightly. At these cons we have workshops which focus on educating our community on some of the major issues concerning social justice and the particular topic we have chosen. Worship tends to ask our community to think about what we can do in our everyday lives to make the world a better place. During our downtime we also tend to be very engaged about thinking critically about the topic at hand, and other related topics, with one another. We consider this a “working con” since we are working towards a better world, and to better ourselves. To be clear though, the idea is to do the work through having fun gathering together.

- Spirituality Development Con (SDC): This is also considered a working con, again with the idea that the work is done through the joy of being together, and doing the work with friends. The workshops focus on how to bring the spiritual practices in which we are interested, into our lives. The worships are concerned with understanding ones self and how one feels connected to that which one wishes to feel connected to. Worships are also more frequent during these cons. Together we tend to have more philosophical discussions, exploring our own spiritual levels, what type of spirituality we prefer, and our relationship with “religion.”

-Leadership Development Con (LDC): This is another working con. Our worships strive to lift us up, so that we may feel proud and empowered to be a leader in our community. Workshops focus on how to be a leader, whether it is in our spiritual community, or the wider community. These cons are a time for our community to be impressed with one another's abilities and inspire, and teach one another how to be leaders, and increase our self confidence.

- Community: This is not a working con. This is a con focused on our connections with one another; A time to remember that although working towards a better world is important, it is also important to simply be in community with one another. Workshops focus on games, music, crafts, and other community building experiences. The worships can varied, from being community led, to recognizing people in our community moving on. These are great cons to go to if it is your first time.

What will happen at a con?

A Typical Con schedule may look like this:

Friday

8-9pm Registration and Welcome – A time to play with one another and get to meet and greet each other.

9-9:30pm Opening Circle – A time to welcome everyone, go over the schedule, re-affirm out covenant.

9:30-10pm Touch Groups/Family Groups – These are small groups that allow members of the community to get to know other YAs from other congregations. Please note that in the 2010s there has not been much training for Family Group leaders, and this practice may look different in the future.

10-11pm Worships

11pm-12am Free time/Lights out

Saturday

7am Wake up!

8am Breakfest

9am Opening Circle - Introduce Morning workshops

9:30-11am Workshop Block One

11am-12pm Lunch

12-1pm Free time

1:30-3pm Workshop Slot Two

3-3:30pm Touch Groups

3:30-5pm ALL CON (an activity setup before hand, where the whole community participates)

5-6pm Dinner

6-7pm Free time

7:30-8:30pm Worship

9-10pm Clean up

10pm Coffee house

11-12pm More Coffee house?/Free time/Lights out

Sunday

7:00am Wake Up

7:30 Clean Up

8:00 Breakfast/Closing Circle

What are these people talking about?

Deans – Usually two people who are the “leaders” of the con. They are the go to people if you need advice or help. They themselves might not have the answer, but they will point you in the direction of the person who will. They help make sure that the con stays on schedule, and that the community is healthy.

JPD – Joseph Priestly District. A Unitarian Universalist district which encompasses the metro Philadelphia and metro Washington DC area.

Mess Kit – Travel supplies to eat food with. Basic flatware that is easy to carry and clean.

UU/Unitarian – a Unitarian Universalist.

UUA – Unitarian Universalist Association. The organization that oversees Unitarian Universalist congregations at a continental level.

VUUYA – Virginia Unitarian Universalist Young Adults. An organizing body which produces Young Adult Cons, and other activities in the Virginia area. Sometimes collaborates with YACPACC (defined below).

Worship Coordinator/Chaplin – a Young Adult Leader in the community who oversees worship and provides spiritual guidance to the community.

YA/UUYA – A Young Adult/A Unitarian Universalist Young Adult. Usually synonymous in a UU context, but not always.

YACPACC – The Young Adult Conference Planning And Coordination Committy. The current organizing body that helps produce Young Adult cons in the JPD.

What should I bring to a con?

Mess kit

Sleeping bag

Poems, Songs, materials for Coffee House

Clothes

Toiletries

Anything else that is specific to the con and in emails you receive about the con.