The Church of the Younger Fellowship (CYF) was created out of several desires: to help our UU YAs Keep the Faith, provide a vehicle for increased YA representation at GA, and to give physically and spiritually isolated YAs a venue to gather in spiritual community.

This vision was articulated in the originating documents of the CYF as follows:

The Mission of the Church of the Younger Fellowship is

1. to foster, build and support an inclusive international faith
   community through Unitarian Universalist principles,

2. to provide opportunities for worship, spiritual reflection and
   fellowship for our membership,

3. to represent our members within the UUA and the various divisions,
   departments and regional agencies of that body,

4. to cultivate cooperative relationships with other UU young adult
   ministries.

At the time of its founding, the CYF was made as a semi-autonomous organisation within the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF), as there was no other method for a non-brick-and-mortar congregation to be in Association with our faith and thus gain access to the General Assembly. Regardless of the CLFs patronage, at no time was the CYF a creation of the CLF, nor did the CLF own the CYF name or identity.

Since the CYF website was shut down by the CLF administration in 2012, the CLF has continued to use the CYF name and brand on what the CLF considers a young adult ministry, by operating CYF Groups and pages on Facebook.

We, the undersigned, do not believe that the minimal work the CLF is doing under the name of the CYF at all approaches the mission or vision of the CYF as created, and is an affront to all those young adults and their allies who helped to make the CYF a reality. A Facebook page cannot be a complete young adult ministry, and addresses none of the vision or mission of the CYF.


We ask that the CLF act in good faith and move toward right relationship with the young adults of our faith by ceasing all use of the name “Church of the Younger Fellowship” and “CYF” effective September 1st, 2014.
Further, we request that all Facebook groups, pages, and accounts remain intact until December 31st 2016, that the CYF may reclaim those identities in the event of its being re-chartered as originally envisioned and in accordance with revised UUA Bylaws.