2nd Sunday of each month a Soul Matters Group will meet in the new AFD space in the Lower Hall from 11:15-12:30 am

While many people appreciate Unitarian Universalism’s absence of dogma and freedom to explore, a common critique of our movement is that we don’t offer people the tools they need to carry out that exploration.  Again and again individual UUs express a desire for guidance and support in deepening their spiritual lives, and over and over they experience disappointment.

At the beginning of this church year, as one step in trying to respond to this desire, TJMC joined 145 Unitarian Universalist congregations around the country that are using the same monthly themes for their worship and religious education life.  Originally developed in 2006, the Soul Matters program was an experiment by the Reverends Scott Tayler and Kaaren Anderson (of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, New York) to answer a simple question:  could there be an integrated program that supports faith development throughout the life of a congregation?  They shared their experiment with a few colleagues, and word of the program soon spread throughout our movement.  As of 2011 there were 1,046 member congregations in our Association, which means that this Soul Matters program is being used in over 10% of all UU churches!

Each month, the congregation in Rochester develops materials to provide guidance to congregations, and the individuals within them, as they explore important themes concerning what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist in the 21st century.  These materials include reflections on the theme, spiritual exercises to help engage it more deeply, a series of questions to guide a more wide exploration (we’ve been including these questions each month in our Bulletin), as well as quotes and recommended books, movies, and websites.  We’ve been providing this packet of resources each month to our Covenant Group Coordinating Council (in case individual covenant groups would like to make use of it), and several individuals have asked for it to be shared with them as well.

Beginning in March 1 will be facilitating a monthly group dedicated to exploring these materials together.  On the 2nd Sunday of each month a Soul Matters Group will meet in the new AFD space in the Lower Hall from 11:15-12:30 am.  This is not a duplication of the Covenant Group experience, although there are certain parallels.  Anyone is welcome to participate, and while the experience will certainly deepen if you make a commitment to attending each month that isn’t necessary.  What is necessary is letting me know in advance that you plan to attend.  This way I can send you the packet of materials beforehand because it is essential that Soul Matters participants be working with the resources prior to the group’s meeting.

The themes for the rest of this church year are:

• May – what does it mean to be a people of blessing?
• June – what does it mean to be a people of simplicity?

If you’d like to give your spiritual growth and faith development a greater intentionality, the monthly Soul Matters Group is one way of doing so.  Materials are available near the end of the month previous (i.e., March’s materials will be available near the end of February).  Contact RevWik (revwik@uucharlottesville.org) if you are interested in participating.