MARIAL CENTER COLLOQUIUM
Suzanne Meyer, Pat Kahn, and Ray Gangarosa
"Coming to grips with Coming of Age: Developing
a Year-long Adolescent Rite of Passage for a Unitarian Universalist
Congregation"
Wednesday, October 4th, 2000, 4:00 p.m.
A task force at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Atlanta is initiating a one-year program for 8th and 9th
grade participants, to promote diverse life skills in the transition
from childhood to adulthood. Consistent with our faithÕs open-minded
religious and humanistic traditions, we are borrowing from extremely
varied sources and encouraging the participants to form their
own beliefs and values. The task force encompasses diverse experiences,
backgrounds, perspectives, interests, and styles. Although we
emphasize different aspects of the course, ranging from secular
life skills to deep spirituality, we find common interests in
presenting a broad-ranging inquiry. We have drawn from extensive
experience in religious education; reviewed curricula from similar
programs conducted elsewhere; talked with course leaders at
a nearby congregation; consulted published descriptions of rites
of passage; studied books related to adolescent development;
carried on a lively face-to-face and e-mail dialog; and presented
our ideas and plans to parents and prospective participants.
Most of the course planners have teenage children who will participate
this year, two of whom also have critiqued some of the curriculum
and planned activities. One of us has developed a novel theory
of common interests, which may help combat cynicism and promote
citizenship.
We think American culture makes the transition
through adolescence unduly difficult, trying, and dangerous
for our children, families, and society, and wish to correct
that serious problem. We want to tap into constructive American
myths and to develop new rituals that will serve these and future
course participants during adolescence and throughout their
lives. We hope this program could be adapted to various communities,
both religious and secular, to smooth the transition to adulthood.
The MARIAL Center
Emory West, 4th Floor, Room 415E
Refreshments will be served
DIRECTIONS TO THE MARIAL CENTER
Convenient and quick transportation to Emory West is available
every 10 minutes from the Campus via shuttle (Route W, which can
be found on the corner of Asbury Circle and Pierce Drive, Along
Pierce Drive, or in Front of the Administration Building). It
is a 5 minute ride. Or you can drive and park close in at Emory
West, 1256 Briarcliff Rd. Tell the receptionist at the front window
that you are here for the MARIAL Center lecture.
