What People Thought of LRY

bad rumors and truths
SCOYP highlighted some of the key problems and some things that were working, but ours is a small denomination, and the rumor mill is hyperactive. One woman says, "My understanding, based on the rumor mill, is that some youth groups were out of control. There were alcohol and sexual activities taking place that adults didn't care for. There was a power struggle and eventually funding for LRY was taken away. In some churches youth groups were dismantled. Lots of hurt feelings were created." (Atkinson, Elizabeth)
The above is typical. Many, indeed, most people who were not directly involved with LRY in the late seventies and early eighties have a similar impression of the situation which led to the dismantling of LRY. Those rumors are very similar to the ones which were spreading during the seventies. Some of them were true. There were unsuspecting people who got "dosed" with LSD from unmarked Kool-Aid. There were people smoking marijuana at conferences and even organizational meetings across the continent. But there were also groups that were clean and functional. Some were dismantled with no explanation from the church.
So what really happened? The truth is, we can't know completely and for sure. Because of the highly congregational organizational structure of our denomination, things can be wildly different from congregation to congregation, and even more dissimilar between sections of the country.
good truths

Jeffrey Crist

bearing in mind the period of my involvement (late '60s) i had a role as a general clearinghouse of information on civil rights and peace/non-violence activism. the "info packets" were widely used not only by UU youth - but were distributed widely to other youth orgs in other denominations as well. my "packet" on femminsm and womens issues was most likely a first by any denominational youth group.

Deirdre Shaw

UU's are such a staggering minority in the world. I liked knowing other UU youth and realizing I was not alone. The UU youth gave me a sense of community and acceptance that was hard to find in the regular world. Plus, youth group conferences were fun.

An East Coast LRYer

I was in LRY in 1969, 70 and 71. I went to Metropolitan Area Federation (MAF) conferences during that time and during the Christmas break of 1971-72 I attended the Mid-winter Continental LRY meetings in Chicago in a last ditch effort to keep my fed alive (which ultimately failed). Also, I went to Rowe Camp from 1969-73, as a junior higher, a senior higher and then as a spirit (counsellor type thing). I have been an advisor since 1992, first at All Souls Church, NYC and now at 4th Universalist. Have been YAC adult co-chair, Adult-at-large to Youth Council, Advisor at Star Island, UUUNO conference, trained as a leader of Leadership Development conferences, Adult Coordinator or Con Con, and now advisor representative on the Youth Programs Review Committee...
I remember having conversations with the waves at Compo Beach in wintertime (I grew up in Westport) in my early teens. Later, I realized that this was my nascent attempt at communicating with something larger than the world around me. When I was at Rowe, probably my experiences with supportive community, evening worships, etc., were my first religious experiences.