What's With Youth Cons?

Last weekend I was a chaplain at a district youth conference at a nearby UU church. The youth planned the con around a social justice theme (they called it 'Con-tanamo'), and had workshops on topics of interest to them. Certainly parts of this planning were a bit ragged, but parts were very creative.

There is a concern about the future viability of this particular con, and maybe youth cons in general. They are not a central part of Unity Church's Youth Religious Education programming, though some of the youth do participate. Unity Church is big enough to offer a stable youth program, including sleep-overs and other con-like experiences. But I worry about the smaller congregations, where there is no critical mass of youth for an effective program, and the youth drift away. I also think that secondary school kids need to have experiences away from the home turf. Cons provide this larger connection, in fact, some groups drove five hours to be at this one.

I was roused at 4 am on Sunday morning to help supervise the 'lock in'. I soon sat, coffee in hand, listening to the sleepy murmur of the few young people who were still awake. I wished I had had such opportunities as a teenager. Maybe this is part of the reason I left the Methodist church of my youth, and became unchurched for many years. As our youth remind us, 'cons rock'.