Sharing Circles

Sharing Circles at All Souls

Supporting and Nurturing One Another on our Spiritual Journeys

Sharing circles are small group gatherings guided by trained facilitators to explore topics of personal meaning.  Groups meet at various times of the day or evening for a specified number of sessions.  Each session lasts up to an hour and a half.  The format in the past has been both in-person (pre-pandemic), and on Zoom during the pandemic.  Groups have also met outdoors in nice weather.


Sharing Circles are a way to connect with others in our congregation who wish to explore their values and ideas of spirituality in a small group setting. The group size is typically between 6 and 10 members, led by trained facilitators. Meetings occur once or twice a month for 90 minutes. Groups typically meet for a total of 4, 6 or 8 sessions, and participants are asked to commit to making attendance a high priority. As we deepen our connections to each other we are better able to care for and support each other—to minister to each other. It’s a wonderful way to get to know people from our congregation in a deeper and more meaningful way.

What Happens at a Sharing Circles Gathering?
The 
gathering begins with a chalice lighting and opening reading. We restate for ourselves the purpose of our gathering, which is to build connections and talk about what deeply matters. Then each member of the group is given the chance to “check-in”, sharing for a minute or two how things are going for them, spiritual or physical cares or concerns. After that we review our group covenant and begin our sharing on the topic for the day, with guiding questions to focus our sharing. Each person takes a few minutes to reflect on their personal experiences related to the topic, without interruption or commenting from any other group members. If there is time at the end of our sharing we open up the time for discussion. We end our time together with a check-out and a closing reading. It is really a wonderful way to spend 90 minutes, reflecting and listening to each other. If you are interested in joining a group there is a space for you.

Joining a Group
Are you interested in joining a Sharing Circle? Send an email to sgm@allsouls.net, or contact one of the Sharing Circle steering team members:

Carol Irwin            carolirwin108@gmail.com  

Susanne Colten-Carey      scc-c@comcast.net
Carol Cassidy                 
calway@comcast.net

 


Sharing Circle Sessions 

Below you will find sessions listed in four different groups - General Sessions, Exploring All Souls Sessions, Sessions for 60+ groups, and Youth Group Sessions. Those marked with an asterisk * were added in 2014. Those marked with ** were added in 2015. Those marked with *** were added in 2016.

General Sessions

Afterlife and Immortality

Aging

Animals (March 2017)

Ask Me What I'm Living For

Atonement

Beauty as Spiritual Impulse*

Be the Change

Beyond the Word God

Black Lives Matter - Waking up White ***

Calling - A Vocation to be Fully Human

Connections*

Covenants **

Dreams ***

Earth Day ***

Endings and Leave Taking*

Enlightenment in Winter **

Eulogize Me Now ***

Faith in Action

Fear

Forgiveness

Friends

Generosity

Getting Acquainted *

Getting to Know You

Gossip **

Grace

Gratitude

Holding Fast to Dreams**

Holding On and Letting Go

Hope

How We Are Named (Feb 2017)

Humor All Around Us ***

Humor Through Our Ages ***

If You Could Invite Three People

Into Adulthood-Adolescence and Teenage Years

Into Our Own - The Experience of Adulthood

It Matters What We Believe

It's a Matter of Time

Joy*

Letting Go **

Letting Your Light Shine

Listening

Live in the Present

Living in a Capricious World (March 2017)

Living with Anger

Loss

Making a Living, Making a Life

Money and Our Spiritual Lives

Movies With Meaning

New Year - Endings and Beginnings

Once Upon a Time

Our Relationship with Death and Dying

Peace

Play

Preparing for Christmas

Problems and Gifts

Questions at the End of the Day

Racism*

Racism - Soulwork*

Radical Hospitality

Reaching Out

Recalling Childhood

Reflections on Rumi's Poem - This Being Human

Remembering Our Parents

Resilience and Resistance (March 2017)

Sabbath

Sacrifice

Sanctuary

Sharing Our Passions

Sit It Out or Dance

Social Justice Passions

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual Journeys

Spiritual Practices

Taking Time to Think

The Bucket List

The Music of our Lives

The Oneness of All Things

The New Year's Resolution Dilemma

This I Believe

To Live Deliberately

Transformation**

Transformation - New Year's - Endings and Beginnings

Transitions **

Unwise Purchases

What We Love

Where Did You Come From - Where Have You Been?

Who's Your Daddy ***

 

Sessions Adapted for 60+ Groups

Aging

Compassionate Living

Gratitude and Grief

Gratitude

Holding On and Letting Go

Lifelines 1 Recalling Childhood

Lifelines 2 Adolescence and Teenage Years

Lifelines 3 Early Adulthood

Lifelines 4 The Experience of Middle Age 35-60

Lifelines 4a The Experience of Middle Age 35-60 part 2

Lifelines 5 The Senior Years 60+

Life's Journey and Spirituality

Mystery

People in Our Lives

Reflections on Death and Dying

Eulogies and Remembrances

Ask Me What I'm Living For

Transitions as We Age

 

Unitarian Universalist Principles

First UU Principle

Second UU Principle

Third UU Principle

Fourth UU Principle

Fifth UU Principle

Sixth UU Principle

Seventh UU Principle

Exploring All Souls Sessions

Spiritual Journeys

The Seven UU Principles *

Connections

Social Justice Passions

Belonging in Community

 

Youth Group Sessions

Competition

Counterculture and Its Impact

Dating

Gender

Music

Race and Justice

Santa Claus

Sexism and Feminism in Main Stream Media

Sports

Star Trek, Hope and Imagination