Chalice Circles are opportunities to explore ideas and delve into our beloved community this year.
As diverse as our community is, so too are the Chalice Circles being offered by your fellow congregants starting this fall. The Chalice Circle options are: Spirit in Practice, CommUUnity Connections, Poetry as a Spiritual Practice, Transitions and Passages, Toward a Beloved Community Embracing Anti-racism: Telling Our Stories, Council Meeting, and A 7-Principled Perspective of Current Events.
Each circle will meet monthly from October through June on the Zoom platform.
Registration is open during September. Please send an e-mail to ChaliceCircles@uusm.org with the name of your preferred Chalice Circle in the subject line, then in the body of the email, include your name, email address, and the name of the Chalice Circle that you desire. List first and second choice if you are interested in two, in case there is space available. Registration closes September 30.
Spirit in Practice
This Chalice Circle explores and nourishes the many ways in which regular disciplines, or practices, can help us connect with the sacred ground of our individual being. Spirit in Practice affirms religious diversity while seeking unity in our communal quest for meaning and wholeness. Topics will include personal and communal practices, mind and body practices, and justice practices amongst others.
Co-facilitators: Patricia Wright and Cynthia Cottam
Date and time: Third Tuesdays, October through June, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
CommUUnity Connections
This Chalice Circle is a place to connect with our community by listening deeply, sharing our feelings, perspectives, and personal connections to a variety of topics. These topics may include our human connection to nature, personal growth, love, spirit, our inner narrative about current events, and connecting deeply with each other.
Co-facilitators: Wendi Gladstone and Margot Page
Date and time: Second Thursdays, October through June, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Poetry as a Spiritual Practice
Join us to explore the ways in which poetry can enrich our lives and deepen our spiritual practice. We will discuss topics like Beauty, Observing Nature, Social Conscience, and others. We look forward to sharing together.
Co-facilitators: Rima Snyder and Dorothy Steinicke
Date and time: Fourth Wednesday, October through June, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Transitions and Passages
With monthly ministry themes as a starting place, we will explore the transitions and passages in our lives and the ways they have expanded the depth dimension of our lives.
Co-facilitators: Denise Helton and Bettye Barclay
Date and time: Third Thursdays, October through June, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Toward a Beloved Community Embracing Anti-racism: Telling Our Stories.
This Chalice Circle offers the opportunity to engage together in the lifelong spiritual work of anti-racism and anti-oppression. We will do this by telling our own stories and exploring our relationship with race and racism. We will explore white identity and unearned privilege. We will look at how racism acts as a barrier to building beloved community. Together we will build a brave space so we may talk about the uncomfortable reality of racism in ourselves and in the larger community.
Co-facilitators: Sue Stoyanoff, Dorothy Steinicke and Audrey Lyness
Date and time: Second Wednesdays, October through June, 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Council Meeting
This small group ministry provides a space for people to be seen and heard in a facilitated practice for connecting to ourselves and our community through listening and speaking with intention. It is an opportunity to explore our growing edges, understand our shadows as protective responses to challenges. Through deep listening and sharing we will practice connecting with ourselves and one another while expanding and deepening our community.
Co-facilitators: Jo An Peters and Grace Edgerly
Date and times: Third Mondays, October – June, 7:00-9:00 pm
A 7-principled Perspective on Current Events
Featuring ways to explore current events, our group aims to maintain helpful and influential perspectives on today’s news cycle from pre-election through the election and post-election phases and beyond. Grounded in UU principles, we hope to manage what we take in through media in a way that fosters spiritual health and growth.
Co-facilitators: Tom Peters and Leon Henderson-MacLennan
Date and time: Fourth Sundays, October through June, 12:00 – 2:00 pm
