Young Adults and Youth in Prairie to Pine
The Young Adult And Youth (YAAY) Committee encourages all youth to participate in activities in their home congregations, in events in the area and in regional gatherings. Youth are also given many opportunities for leadership at youth events and by filling positions on the YAAY Committee. (Click here to learn more about this important committee and who serves on it.)
What is YAAY?
This community and program provides opportunities for young adults and youth to connect with other people who share similar values as their own. This is done through semi-annual young adult-led youth retreats, area-based travelling youth groups, young adult gatherings, and other events. Read on for more details!
Connect with us!
Instagram: @prairie2pine_yaay
Facebook: Prairie to Pine United Church Young Adults and Youth
Have an event that you want to advertise on YAAY social media? Email a poster to p2pyaay@gmail.com
Young adults and youth news
UCC at Winnipeg Pride Parade – June 7, 2026
The UCC was well represented at the Pride Parade with about 50 people walking representing Charleswood UC, United Church in Meadowood, St. Mary's Road UC, St. Andrews River Heights UC, Transcona UC, and Young UC. See a fun video montage here on...
Bradley’s Neechi Camp Experience
The following is a story by Bradley, one of the campers at our 2025 Neechi Camp, August 17-21, 2025 at Ochekwi Sipi Cree Nation, also known as Fisher River, Manitoba.This was my very first event...
United Church Summer Camps in Prairie to Pine Region
Did you know that there are two active United Church summer camps in our region? Rock Lake United Church Camp is located in southern Manitoba and Wellman Lake United Church Camp is further north in Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Both are beautiful...
Zeebu 2026 – Knowing Our Neighbors: Many Religions, One Community
From February 20 to 22, at Harrow United Church, 39 regional youth gathered for a memorable retreat with the theme “Knowing Our Neighbors: Many Religions, One Community.” The weekend was filled with learning, new experiences, meaningful...
Youth Job Opportunities
Explore summer youth job opportunities that help you gain real experience and grow your skills in a supportive and welcoming environment! The programs give young people the chance to earn income while learning valuable workplace habits that will...
What is a Youth Retreat?
A youth retreat is… well, it’s a lot of things! Mostly, it’s a great opportunity to meet lots of people and make new friends from all over our Prairie to Pine Region (Manitoba and North Western Ontario). It’s a time to laugh, learn, worship, dance, sing, talk, and more. It’s a chance to explore and deepen our faith in God in new and exciting ways. It’s a safe, warm, welcoming, and friendly environment where you can just be yourself! Everybody is accepted, and nobody is judged.
Our Two Retreats
Two region wide youth retreats are held each year for youth grade 7 to 12. The Zeebu Retreat is held on the February long weekend of Family Day (ON)/Louis Riel Day (MB). The Alf retreat is held in October, two weekends after Thanksgiving.
Why the names ALF and Zeebu?
The theme of the first ALF in 1987 was Adolescents Learning about Families (ALF). The second year was Adolescents Learning about Friends. Now the theme strays from the acronym, but the over-arching purpose of the retreat continues to be Adolescents Learning about Faith.
The Zeebu retreat was started by a group of youth in Russell, MB in 1994 and did not have a name the first year. Legend states that there was a stuffed animal named “Zeebu” present at that retreat and the retreat from then on took on the name “Zeebu.”
Letter: Inclusive dorm model
Upcoming Retreat:
ALF 2026
Faith in film
October 23rd – 25th 2026
Minnedosa, MB
Home Groups
Social time
Worship
Music
Theme time
and more!
Register here
For More information click here
Advertisment for alf
If you’re a church, a community or even just yourself and you want to help advertise alf 2026, you can print or share one of the documents below!
Powerpoint slide for services
Alf 2026 social media poster
Alf 2026 poster to print and hang
Events
The Prairie to Pine YAAY committee organizes and collaborates on events for youth and young adults of all interests to come together in community, whether locally or nationally or in between.
If you are interested or have any questions about our youth events, contact Twila by email at TMacNair@united-church.ca
Events in our region
- Regional retreats, Alf and Zeebu are both overnight retreats that include 2 full days of activities and fun for grades 7-12. For more detail look at the “Our Two Retreats” section above.
- Neechi Camp is a 4 or 5 day summer camp where Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth build friendships while learning from Indigenous elders and other community members about their way of life and their spirituality. This is done through hands-on experiences on the land. These experiences vary from year to year, but may include fishing, making hand drums, rattles, or ribbon skirts, cooking, learning dances and ceremonial drum songs, taking part in a sweat lodge ceremony, language learning, story telling, campfires, and games. As organizers, our hope is that the friendships made, teachings learned, and new activities tried will make a difference in the campers’ lives and in our journey as a community working towards reconciliation! To learn more and/or read a campers story see: Bradley’s Neechi Camp Experience
- Travelling Youth Group (TYG) is a still evolving opportunity for youth and leaders from different churches in and around Winnipeg to plan a youth group “evening” in their own church, to which they invite other youth. This allows small groups, even churches with one youth, to feel their planning effort is more worthwhile because they can plan for a larger group and know that other groups will reciprocate and plan something to which they can then take their youth. This significantly cuts down the work-load of one youth leader while introducing their youth to a wider circle of United Church peers. “Travelling Youth Group” events have typically been held on a Friday from 7 to 9 pm for grades 6 and up, but aren’t limited to this. For Planning, see: Resources and Ideas for Travelling Youth Group and Template for a 2 Hour Youth Group. The template is a tool, not a required format.
- YARG (Ages 18-30) or Young Adult Recreational Gatherings, are events put on by the Prairie to Pine YAAY committee. They aim to bring young adults together to grow friendships, and strengthen the young adult community in the United Church. Past events include potlucks, karaoke or games nights, and volunteering events.
National Opportunities
- Collective, is a spirit-filled gathering for youth, young adults, and their leaders, offering participants a space to grow in faith, build community, and reflect on shared experiences. The gathering includes three dedicated streams (youth, young adults, leaders), with programming that will encourage participants to wrestle with big ideas, engage in thought-provoking discussions, build confidence, and develop their leadership skills. For more information, click here.
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Youth Forum (Ages 15 to 19) takes place in the year of a General Council (GC) meeting. Youth Forum gives young people the chance to gather with youth representatives from other regions while learning about how decisions are made in the United Church of Canada. Youth also have time to discuss issues they feel are affecting them.
