Last week to sign up for 2024-2025 Covenant Groups!

Covenant Groups are part of the Adult Religious Exploration Program at JRUUC.  Groups are randomly created at the start of each church year, based on the availability of people interested, and they meet monthly.  They are closed groups, for confidentiality and community-building, and are made up of 6 to 10 people plus a facilitator.  They have several purposes: to build relationships through the practice of deep listening, and to practice shared ministry with each other and our congregation as a whole.  Please see this brochure for more information, and sign up here by the end of Tuesday, September 17 if you’d like to be part of a virtual or in-person Covenant Group this year.

Please contact Rev. Karen if you have questions. 

Covenant Groups: Small Group Ministry at  James Reeb UU Congregation 

Small Group Ministry is a program of intentional small groups that deepen and expand our shared ministry. The basic elements of Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry have evolved from the experience of many people in diverse congregational settings. Those basic elements are their power and their promise: intimacy, ultimacy, and growth. 

Intimacy: Small Group Ministry helps build community  and provides opportunities for deeper relationships. 

Ultimacy: Small Group Ministry provides an opportunity  for deeper spiritual exploration and search for  meaning.  

Growth: Small Group Ministry provides opportunities to grow leaders, as group members become facilitators. It has the potential to grow our congregation in numbers, as well as in generosity, cooperation, and  sense of well-being.

Covenant Groups are part of the Adult Religious Exploration Program at JRUUC. Groups are randomly  created at the start of each church year, based on the  availability of people interested, and they are made up  of 6 to 10 people, plus a facilitator. Groups are open  for the first two meetings, to allow people to decide if  they would like to continue for the year, and are then  closed to encourage trust and depth of sharing. 

Covenant Groups have several purposes. One is to  build relationships through the practice of deep  listening. Another is to practice shared ministry with  each other and our congregation as a whole. We  recognize that all of us are responsible for the ministry of  caring for one another and our congregation.  

Each group creates a covenant during their first  gathering – a set of relational ground rules or agreed upon behaviors of how members will be with each other. Having a covenant creates a safe environment  and enables a small group to build trust and share  spiritual exploration. Ground rules typically include time  management, commitment, respectful listening,  confidentiality, and speaking from one’s own  experience (“I” statements). The group’s covenant is  read or acknowledged at the beginning of each  gathering. The groups also covenant with the  congregation to engage in service to the  

congregation and larger world. Having clear expectations ensures that all members benefit from the  Covenant Group experience.

Covenant Groups meet monthly at JRUUC. Each group begins their time together with a chalice lighting and  check-in, and then are guided through times of silence,  and sharing and deep listening, based on a reading or  set of readings. Members are encouraged to share the  stories that come up for them, and to be present to  each person sharing. Each gathering ends with a short  time in which participants briefly share responses to  what they have heard, followed by closing words. 

Group facilitators are self-selected, and meet with Rev. Karen at the beginning of the month for their own  covenant group. Each facilitator serves two roles in their group: holding the space within which participants freely share their lives and minister to each other, and maintaining their group’s connection to the larger program. As they focus on these roles, the facilitators’ sharing in their groups may be a little limited. There are options for in-person and virtual groups. 

Once a year, each group engages in service to the congregation and/or the larger community. Serving  together as a group gives members a chance to get to know each other in a different way, to understand how  our values and actions shape each other, and to perform service as a group of Unitarian Universalists  rather than as individuals. 

Each month, the covenant groups reflect together on a theme, which is also the basis for that month’s worship services and religious education for children and youth.