By Jessica Holland

U-Night got in the holiday spirit during December by volunteering at the Peninsula School of Art. We helped make bowls for the SOUP! project and taught families how to make their own. Please consider attending the SOUP! event on February 4th to help those in need and enjoy the beautiful pottery!

This month we discussed gay rights, bullying and college. We are very proud that all of our members that applied to college have been accepted!! Please congratulate any seniors if you see them; we are going to miss them next year!

As always, thank you for supporting U-Night. The time that we spend together making friendships and thinking critically about the world is invaluable. We look forward to working on the back room with UU members – thank you for meeting with us this month!!

Peace and Happy New Year!

By Jess Holland

U-Night members are excited to be back in school (mostly). Because of homework and early mornings, we have decided to return to our 7:00 – 8:30 pm schedules on Wednesday nights.

We have been approached with many projects for the fall and hope you’ll join us for some. Karen Cruz visited U-Night in September to teach us about Human Trafficking and Kathleen Ann Thompson’s performance See Me! Hear Me! at Stella Maris Catholic Church in Bailey’s Harbor on October 1^st at 7 pm. We helped assemble posters and flyers for the event and helped Karen spread the word about the performance by posting flyers and contacting Gibraltar about possibly hosting Thompson for a program.

U-Night is teaming with HELP of Door County, Inc. for Domestic Violence Awareness Month by painting silhouettes that will be posted around the county to spread awareness of domestic violence as well as teen dating and bullying issues. We will also make the long haul down to Sturgeon Bay for their First Friday event on Third Avenue, October 7, from 6 – 8pm. U-Night members will be playing music to entertain shoppers while businesses stay open later than usual to bring the community together. We would love to see you there!

Thank you again for your support!

By Jessica Holland

U-Night has been busy the past couple of months! In July we were very happy to work with Meg Vermillion and Imuka, the amazing musical act that visited the DC Auditorium from Tanzania. U-Night baked (some of us for the first time!) dozens of cookies, muffins and slices of banana bread for the troupe. Additionally, a few U-Night members volunteered to work the merchandise table at the concert and had a lot of fun selling gear and watching the performance. Thanks to Meg for asking us to help!

Also in July, we had our first All Night Lock-In. We played games, watched movies and made art. There were more than 15 students in attendance! Even with everybody’s crazy summer schedules, U-Night has been meeting with good crowds. We made our first music videos which can be found on our Facebook page and have continued to discuss great topics such as: Gender Roles, Friendship, Self-Esteem, Teen Pregnancy, Dreams and many more.

Thank you again to the Fellowship for support! U-Night has been a gift to us all!

by Jessica Holland

U-Night has been a huge success! Since our first meeting of the year in January, our group has grown to a consistent group of 10 or more teenagers every Wednesday night. We have covered exciting topics such as: Sex in the Media, Self Image, Teen Angst and Coping, Gay Rights, Cognitive Disorders, and (the always exciting) Aliens. Many members share music, poems and art during meetings and we have been lucky to receive art supplies to enable us to get creative while we are together.

Thank you to everyone who has donated incredible items such as our stage and to parents who stay during the evening to help keep supervision under control. And of course, we thank Anya and Evan for pulling us together at U-Night so that everyone has a chance to be part of the community.

Everyone is anxious to use the back room again and we thank the UUFDC for the space, inspiration and support.

Jessica Holland is the UUFDC-paid facilitator for U-Night. Each week she leads a discussion and engages the group in creative endeavors. U-Night meets on the first, third and fourth Wednesday each month.

By Katie Dahl

U-Night had its last meeting on Wednesday, August 18, closing the summer chapter of the Fellowship’s successful new youth program. Each of the five summer U-Nights had its own distinct flavor, beginning with participants sharing work of their own and continuing with discussions on a variety of topics. As a group, we U-Nighters had a great time and learned a lot. We’re hoping to continue U-Night into the school year and are currently working to figure out ways to make that happen.

By Katie Dahl

The Fellowship’s youth gathering “U-Night” is well underway this summer, giving youth of all backgrounds a place to gather and express themselves creatively and intellectually. Each U-Night meeting includes an open mic, in which participants can share a piece of art (music, poetry, visual art, etc.) that they have either written or admire, and a discussion on a predetermined theme. Themes so far have included creativity, freedom, and pop culture stereotypes. Certain U-Night gatherings will also include featured appearances by Door County performers. There are two more U-Nights this summer: July 28, and August 18, 7-8:30 PM each night. The gatherings are held at UUFDC in the back room that had been painted and decorated by the participants. All youth are welcome and encouraged to bring friends!