A SHAMELESS CON ADVERTISEMENT

Registration is now open for [con name] at [congregation] on
[dates]. This is the first con since Covid, and many of us have
never been to one, either as a youth or as an adult
sponsor/advisor[1].

So what is a con anyway? A con, short for “conference”, is a
district-wide gathering of youth, either for fun (a “social” con, like
this one), or for a specific purpose, e.g., social justice or
antiracism (a “working” con).

What happens at a con? A typical social con has anywhere from about 40
to 100 youth, with a youth:adult ratio of 4-5:1. Historically, a con
has consisted of:
* Circle-up: This is where everyone at the con gathers in a large
space, usually for announcements and such. There are a few during the
con. After arriving and checking in, the first circle-up officially
starts the con. The con also closes with a circle-up.
* Workshops: There are several time periods where workshops take
place, and there are usually a few to choose from during each period.
Typical workshops include board games, henna tattoos, worship
planning, Name That Tune, Silent Football (which is neither silent nor
football), meal prep, and whatever else people come up with.
* Touch groups: The con attendees are split into “touch groups” of 6-8
people (I wish there was a better name), each led by a youth. Touch
groups meet a few times during the con and eat together for one or
more meals. Touch group meetings are quieter breaks from the high
energy of the con in general. They’re also focused on making
newcomers, introverts, neurodivergent people, etc., feel comfortable.
* All-con: A long event during the afternoon that everyone
participates in, usually involving some sort of competition among
touch groups. Always fun!
* Caucuses: During Saturday lunch, instead of eating in the main area,
you can eat with a caucus of your specific peers, e.g., LGBTQ+, BIPOC.
* Worship: There’s a more formal worship conducted Saturday evening,
that may have been planned ahead of time, or during workshops earlier
in the day.
* Coffeehouse: After the worship, people are given the opportunity to
perform skits, songs, poetry, etc., in a very safe and supporting
space. Coffeehouse has been a lot of people’s first time in front of
an audience *ever*.
* Sleep: There might be some.

It really is a great weekend, which you should come see for yourself.

Before Covid, there was a vibrant con scene for many years. There were
three social cons and one or two working cons most years. There was a
Youth-Adult Committee (YAC) that watched over cons from a higher
level, coordinating which congregations hosted cons through the year,
what was working well, what needed changing, etc. It was a solid,
radically inclusive community of people from many congregations and
many walks of life, from probably the most diverse district in the
UUA. I’d love to see that happen again.

To the adults: Social cons are planned and run entirely by youth.
Adults are there to support their advisees, and to handle things that
require adults, e.g., medical issues. I’ve been an advisor at enough
cons that I’ve lost count. It’s not something I *have* to do, it’s
something I *get* to do. Unlike junior high cons, adults are full
participants at senior high cons alongside the youth. I usually have
as good a time as any of the youth. If you’re 25 or older, and
especially if you went to cons as a youth, I highly encourage you to
offer to sponsor youth from our group. (You can sponsor youth from any
congregation but they have to be people you already know personally.)

Thank you for reading this far. I hope I’ve piqued your interest
enough to sign up and make this first post-pandemic con a success!

[1] I use the terms “sponsor” and “advisor” interchangeably.