Unitarian Universalist Church of Utica offers lay-led small group ministry based on Soul Matters monthly themes.  Soul Matters small groups are intended to give participants a chance to get to know others in a manner different from the experiences of committee work, Sunday service and coffee hour. All participants have the opportunity to share their perspectives, tell their stories, and listen deeply. Each monthly group session has a theme and follows a structured format which will provide the opportunity to explore facets of spirituality with your personal truths, while honoring and respecting the truth of others’ lives. Small groups are great places to get to know other people and to get to know yourself. Over time, participants build deep connections with one another, with the congregation, and with the sacred. 

Each group meets once a month. Each month, members receive a new small group packet on the current monthly theme. These packets are designed to support Soul Matters unique approach to small group experience and include spiritual exercises, questions that encourage reflection on daily living and pages of recommended resources that help participants explore the themes in more depth. 

Soul Matters groups offer the gift of spiritual connection. Soul Matters is an invitation to listen more deeply and intentionally, in three distinct ways: First, we listen to each other. Second, we listen to our lives. Finally, we listen to our deepest selves. Listening is not passive. It’s hard work to listen with an open heart rather than an analyzing mind. It requires putting aside judgment, categorization, and evaluation and instead just hearing the story that is told, and the feelings behind it. Some people say they can feel themselves shift from their minds to their hearts when they are truly listening. Some describe deep listening as a sacred experience. 

Please contact John Camilleri, Soul Matters Small Group Ministry coordinator at jpcot235@gmail.com for additional information.

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