Soul Matters Themes and Small Groups

Dear Members and Friends, 

Beginning this month, our congregation shall reflect on monthly themes developed by a group of Unitarian Universalist ministers (of which I’m a part), called Soul Matters. We have an apt theme for September: “Beginnings." 

While our Religious Education classes have been using the Soul Matters themes and curricula for a few years, these monthly themes will now be engaged in worship at least one Sunday a month and in our newly forming Soul Matters Small Group Ministry program. The themes for this year are the following:

September:  Beginnings
October:  Courage
November:  Healing 
December:  Awe 
January:  Thresholds 
February:  Commitment  
March:  Balance 
April:  Emergence 
May:  Play  
June:  Horizons

In the next few weeks, Soul Matters groups will be created here at UUSG, ideally with 8 to 10 people, who meet monthly. These groups will begin in October with the theme of “Courage.” For those who would like to participate, I ask for a commitment of meeting for five months. Fill out this form to share your interest and availability. Responses will close on Monday, September 21 at 5pm. 

In a nutshell, Soul Matters groups offer the gift of spiritual connection. The objectives are 

• To foster circles of trust where we listen to one another deeply

• To provide opportunities for members to pursue self-discovery and deepen the spiritual practice of listening

• To give everyone, including newcomers, a place to connect meaningfully with others

Soul Matters is fundamentally an invitation to listen more deeply and intentionally in a small group. As I see it, we listen in three distinct ways:
We listen to each other. 
We listen to our lives interfacing with the world. 
We listen to our deepest selves. 
Together, these three sacred practices of listening – to each other, to the world and to our deepest selves – support our journey to a more intentional and authentic life.

Soul Matters uses the “Circles of Trust” format of Parker Palmer, a Quaker spiritual director, who says, “So what do we do in a circle of trust? We speak our own truth; we listen receptively to the truth of others; we ask each other honest, open questions instead of giving counsel; and we offer each other the healing and empowering gifts of silence and laughter... Our purpose is not to teach anyone anything but to give the inner teacher a chance to teach us.” 

Soul Matters is not so much a discussion group as a listening group. There isn’t back and forth dialog throughout much of the meeting. Instead, we give one another the space to speak as if there’s a talking stick. It’s an intentional methodology of sharing that allows us to listen one another into our deeper wisdom. 

In traditional small groups, questions are an opportunity for the group to think together, but Soul Matters treats questions as tools for individual exploration. Each month, prior to the meeting, Soul Matters participants are asked to read through a packet with a list of questions and find one question that “hooks them”— one that speaks to and challenges them personally. Ideally, the participant reflects on the question over a couple of weeks or perhaps only for 20 minutes. In the group meeting, participants are invited to share what question was chosen, why, and what came of the reflection. So each participant reflects on the question that is calling out to them.

Here’s the really tricky thing about Soul Matters groups. Everyone gets to share and everyone gets to listen to everyone else, but there is no feedback offered, no fixing, only “being with” one another in what is shared. This approach to engaging questions leads us away from abstraction and intellectualizing and instead invites us into a deeper focus on daily living—and cultivates the practice of spiritual discernment. 

In addition to the questions, there are a range of spiritual practices suggested, of which each participant is encouraged to choose one. The group gathering provides the opportunity to share what practice was chosen and what, if anything, came up through engaging it. In addition to the spiritual exercises and questions, there are readings to reflect on if you wish. But the expectation is to engage only with what calls out to you. 

I understand that several years ago this congregation created covenant groups. Soul Matters is a type of covenant group, because every group creates a list of the ways we agree to be together as a group. It includes the promise, practices and behaviors that guide our time together. Each group will have a trained facilitator. And I will meet with our group of facilitators monthly, providing them with their own Soul Matters experience. 

If you would like a more detailed explanation of Soul Matters groups, the Soul Matters Participant Guide is available here. 

Would you like to participate in a group, try out this spiritual practice, and commit to meeting with the same group of people for five months? If so, fill out this form. Please note that you can indicate if you'd prefer an online gathering or a group for writers.

Perhaps this isn’t the right time for you. Twice a year, we will create new groups or add members to existing groups. If you’d like to be considered as a facilitator when the need emerges, let me know. 

I love how Soul Matters invites the whole congregation to reflect on the monthly themes in worship, in religious education, and in these new small groups. Whether or not you participate in a Soul Matters group, I hope our collective exploration of these themes proves meaningful to you. 

Warmly,
Alan