Newtown Youths Complete

 Year-Long Church Program

Eight Newtown youths recently celebrated their completion of the Unitarian Universalist Society’s Coming of Age Program. Coming of Age is the Unitarian Universalist equivalent of a confirmation or bah mitzvah.

The purpose of the program is to provide a means for each young person to explore and develop understanding of the church heritage, service to others, religious understanding, values clarification, and personal growth. Each participant had an adult mentor from the congregation, who was responsible for providing guidance, encouragement, and caring attention.

Community service was another component and each individual committed to volunteer at least 15 hours over the course of the program. Many of the participants volunteered at Ashlar of Newtown, Dorothy Day soup kitchen in Danbury, and AmeriCares.

Highlights of the year-long endeavor were a trip to Boston, where the youth and their chaperones visited the Unitarian Universalist Association headquarters, and a Sunday service planned and implemented entirely by the youths themselves.

The group totaled 23 students from all over the greater Danbury area. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Northern Fairfield County is located on Picketts Ridge Road in Redding. Information about programs at the church is available by calling 203-438-7190.