Chalice Circles at UUCB

UUCB organizes chalice circles for congregants who want to be involved in small group discussions that present an opportunity to get to know other UUCBers on a one-to-one basis.

A chalice circle is a small group of 8 to 10 people within our church who commit to meet one to two times a month with a trained facilitator. The groups form deep, meaningful relationships, minister to one another, share their spiritual struggles and growth, learn from one another, help each other to find meaning in their lives, and enjoy each other's company.

Members of a chalice circle group get to know one another by participating together in discussions of topics of universal human significance. The spirit of community that develops in a group radiates outward, increasing each member's connection to UUCB as a whole. The primary emphasis of a chalice circles is to care for people, encourage them to spiritual growth, and help meet their needs for affirmation and acceptance. By creating an open, supportive, and nurturing environment to promote spiritual growth, chalice circles offer opportunities to search and grow at an individual's own pace while learning together with a caring, loving group. As individuals identify and use their own spiritual gifts, they will be moved to contribute of themselves and their resources.

Below are suggested topics that chalice circles can use as a starting point for discussion. These topics can be the focus for a single meeting, a series of meetings, or an entire year.

1. Conscious Consuming: How to meet your daily needs while consuming less, what are the environmental impacts of consumption.
2. Deep Listening: Explore individual life journeys through shared thoughts and experiences.
3. Dialogues: Genuine dialog, beyond debating. Listening emphasized as equally important to speaking. Topics will evolve and shift.
4. Death with Dignity: How do we feel when we acknowledge that we will die someday? How would we design our death if we could? What rights do we expect to have when it comes time for us to die? When we someday face dying, what will we regret in our life and what will we celebrate?
5. Exploring Creativity: Explore the creative process, its joys and difficulties. How does creativity enhance your daily life, your interests, and learning?
6. Exploring Diversity: Discussion of topics related to GLBT, ethnic and other issues around being different from the mainstream.
7. Exploring Spirituality: Looking at various spiritual practices, experiences, needs and ideas in a safe, nurturing setting.
8. Fate and Free Will: How much is predestined? Do our past actions determine what the world gives us in the present? How much choice and free will do we really have?
9. Gratitude: What are we grateful for in our lives? How can we increase our sense of appreciation and satisfaction with what we have?
10. Hope and its Impact on Us: What is the value of hope, the pain from hopelessness? How do we maintain hope when things are going badly? How do we balance optimism with reality?
11. Movie and Entertainment Discussion: What movie and TV is important to you and to society? What enriches you and what bugs you? What do you see as the impact of modern entertainment on yourself, your family and society?
12. Our Parents: What is it like to have aging parents? How do we handle the need and opportunities to support and help parents, while setting boundaries? How do we develop and maintain our own identities and lives when parents make demands on us?
13. Parenting: Discuss joys, challenges, opportunities of parenting. Share experiences and lessons with other parents. "Living with Teens" is a possible variation on this.
14. Sacred Treasures: Discussing our spiritual lives. Include a time of silence and mediation during each meeting. Share poetry, readings and music that is meaningful to us. Address questions and topics that members find compelling.
15. Spirituality and Books: Discuss spiritually significant books (or just a book if the group likes a variety of topics) that the groups selects and agrees to read.
16. Successful Aging: Discuss what helps our minds, bodies and spirits mature in healthy, harmonious and happy ways. What roles do community, activities, food, exercise, and family bring to bear?
17. Successful Living: What really counts in life? What supports us in our well being and growth, and what harms us? How can we change our thoughts, behaviors and feelings to make the most of our lives?