"COMING OF AGE" CURRICULUM

A Pilgrimage to Boston

By: Giselle "Gigi" Osborn

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or sh rine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. Muslims have Mecca, Jews have Israel, and Unitarian Universalists have, well . . . Boston. When comes to heritage and history, Boston is as close as we come to having a sacred site. In addition to our denominational headquarters, Boston is home to many of our earliest Unitarian and Universalist churches.

A pilgrimage to Boston is on its way to becoming a reality for the Youth in my 8th Grade Coming of Age class here at UUCA. This is an opportunity for myself and my fellow classmates to experience firsthand the thrill of seeing where the roots of our beliefs began, and allow us to walk along the same footsteps as many of our Unitarian and Universalist forbearers.

In order to make this a reality we have a great deal of work and planning to get done. We have at least 12 Youth planning to attend. At a cost of about $500 each, we need to generate a great deal of money in order to make this dream come true. We are planning our Boston trip for the week of July 7 to 13 of 2008. While still in the planning stages, our plans hope to include a visit to the UUA Headquarters & the UU Service Committee Headquarters, King's Chapel, a walk along the Freedom Trail and a boat ride in Boston Harbor (possibly even a whale watching expedition!)

You may have already noticed a table in the Social Hall where the COA class has been selling jewelry and ornaments, hand crafted by my classmates and me. (Thank you to Michelle and the parent volunteers!). We hope to be there most Sundays, so if you've missed us, please make it a point to stop by and check us out. In the near future, we will be selling t-shirts with a unique chalice drawing that each of the COA participants created, along with a quote by a famous UU. Our class will be hosting a Wonderful Wednesday dinner on January 9 th, with dishes which will reflect our diverse cultural heritage. The Sunday morning bake sale proceeds from January to May are being donated to our fundraising efforts as well. (Thank you to Jerolyn Lowry!)

Not only would a trip to Boston be a great learning experience and an amazing amount of fun, but would allow us to experience our UU heritage in a way that will forever be a part of who we are. Don't miss out on your opportunity to give shape to this dream. Thank you in advance for your support, and I hope that future COA classes will look back on this year as the beginning of a new and wonderful tradition at UUCA!