YRUU was an organization at the continental level primarily run by youth, ranging in age from 14 to 20, with mentoring adult partners.

[3][4] YRUU members often made their presence known in public demonstrations; for instance, in the June 23, 2006 protest in St. Louis, Missouri, against Victoria's Secret for allegedly printing its catalogues on paper from endangered North American forests.

"[6] Two months later, the UUA Board of Trustees announced it would cease its funding for the continental level YRUU activities in June 2008 and refocus its North American youth ministry endeavors.

The YMWG concluded in 2009 and issued a final set of recommendations of concrete actions that could bring forth a vision of vibrant, congregationally-based youth ministry and truly multigenerational faith communities.

In 2007, the UUA's Office of Youth Ministries halted publication, identifying a lack of submissions and staffing, and announced that Synapse would be replaced by a newsletter that would be published three times a year.