Small Groups
Community Groups, Spiritual Practice Groups, Journey Groups, and Chalice Circles
Journey Groups and Chalice Circles are a wonderful way to deepen your connection to others at the Fellowship, as well as to your own spirituality and UU identity. Contact senior minister Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, [email protected], with questions.
Journey Groups
Journey Groups encourage close relationships and deep connections with a commitment to attend monthly 90-minute meetings with the same people for 10 months (September thru May). A packet of materials, including readings, spiritual exercises, and other resources, is emailed to you in advance and a structured meeting format allows for deep sharing about what you explored that month. The themes of the meetings tie in with the themes of our Sunday services.
Chalice Circles
Chalice Circles are a new addition this year to our Adult RE program. They can be thought of as “Journey Groups Lite.” The same commitment is required– monthly attendance at 90-minute meetings with the same group of people for 10 months (September thru May). The materials you will explore in advance of the meeting will be abbreviated– perhaps only one reading and spiritual exercise. Additionally, the meeting format will be less formally structured, allowing for deep sharing but with more cross-conversation.
Registration is closed for the 2024-2025 program year. Registration for the 2025-2026 program year will begin in late June 2025.
Monthly Themes for 2024-2025
The Practice(s) of…
• September: Invitation
• October: Deep Listening
• November: Repair
• December: Presence
• January: Story
• February: Inclusion
• March: Trust
• April: Joy
• May: Imagination
Small Groups: All Are Welcome!
Joining a small group is a wonderful way to meet people! Our small groups love it when someone new joins in. Feel free to reach out to the facilitator or senior minister Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, [email protected], with questions.
COMMUNITY GROUPS
These groups meet regularly to connect over shared identity, interests and values.
Goddess Group
Mondays; 9:00 am CT, in person
Contact Connie Swift at [email protected] with questions.
Weekly Monday morning group of women sharing “what’s tugging at our hearts” and usually a book study.
Men’s Group
Monthly on the third Tuesday, 7:00 pm CT, in person
Contact John Duffin at [email protected] with questions and for meeting location.
This group welcomes all who identify as men to gather for the chance to talk in a deep, meaningful, and personal way. Alcohol and other substances are not allowed when attending our meetings. Those in attendance share an update, and then we discuss a topic such as “sheltering at home” or “favorite movies and why we liked them”.
Senior Wonders
1st Tuesdays, 12:00 pm, in person
Contact Janet Hughes at [email protected] for meeting location and with questions.
Monthly noon meetings at the Fellowship during winter months and at a park when weather permits. Meetings may include bringing lunch. Love and laughter, sharing life’s challenges and joys.
Unpacking Religious Baggage Group
2nd Sunday of each month, 12:30-1:30 PM
Are you carrying around religious baggage from your upbringing? Do you want to have less negative reactions when other people mention religion or God? Do you want to heal from religious wounds, and move forward with a healthier, more inclusive, and loving sense of your spirituality, whatever that might mean for you now? We’re with you! Join us for our monthly conversations to connect with people who have similar experiences and support each other in developing our spiritual identities. Our ministers and lay leaders will help us develop some self-work and topic exploration to do in between our meetings.
Contact Rev. Christina if you have questions or want to hear more about what the group is doing: [email protected].
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE GROUPS
These groups meet regularly to deepen a particular spiritual practice.
Christian Spirituality Group
4th Sunday of each month, 12:30-1:30 PM
If you identify as a UU Christian or simply want to spend some time exploring UU spirituality around ideas of God, Jesus, or the Bible, join us for a UU Christian Spirituality Group, which is new and still developing how we want to use our time together. We hope to see you at our next meeting.
Contact Kathy Rose if you have questions or want to hear more about what the group is doing: [email protected]
Gathering Circle: A Pagan Small Group
4th Monday of the month in person (no meetings in May and December); 6:30-8:00 pm CT
Contact Heather at [email protected] with questions.
Does your spirit respond to nature? Do you follow the seasons or find spirituality with the elements? Pagans believe that nature is sacred and that the natural cycles of birth, growth and death observed in the world around us carry profoundly spiritual meanings. Human beings are seen as part of nature, along with other animals, trees, stones, plants and everything else that is of this earth. All who want to explore these topics are welcome to join the reinstated Gathering Circle Small Group. Heather Westley will again be the facilitator, and the group will mostly be conversation, but may include short rituals and outdoor gatherings.
Joyful Mind Sangha
Saturdays; 7:00 am CT, online year-round
Contact Cindy Darling at [email protected] for more meeting information.
We are a lay-led, Soto Zen Buddhist-inspired sangha that is a small group of the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. We draw from many sources of wisdom and inspiration to guide us in our path of awakening. We meet every week and share what has been helpful with each other.
Our members include people from the Soto Zen, Vipasana, Plum Village, and Insight meditation traditions along with those who do not identify as Buddhists at all. We seek to be a welcoming, inclusive, respectful group open to all those seeking to deepen their wisdom, compassion, and mindfulness in life.
Our sangha meetings start with 30 minutes of meditation followed by a brief service. We finish with a dharma talk and discussion.
Photography as a Spiritual Practice
Contact Mary Ellyn Vicksta at [email protected] for meeting information and for questions.
We explore contemplative photography as a spiritual practice through traditional cameras, smartphones, and other means of image and video capture. A key component of this spiritual practice is to reflect on visual images, discover insights about self, connection with others, and journey towards spiritual insights.
Our meetings are devoted to each person sharing about 5 minutes of their still images and short videos around the month’s challenges and any insights or discoveries made. The monthly challenges are sprinkled with inspiration from other photographers, writers, poets, and artists and are formatted as “prepare”, “do”, and “reflect” to prompt contemplation.
Any means of photographic ability is welcome. We love smartphones as well as other means of capturing photos like digital SLRs and P&S cameras.
Smiling Dandelion Sangha
Sundays; 6:00 – 7:30 pm CT, online
Questions? Email [email protected].
Our usual format is sitting meditation for 25 minutes, followed by a teaching and discussion. Currently, we are watching a video or listening to a podcast by a different Buddhist teacher each week, covering a variety of topics and traditions.
We welcome anyone who is interested to join us. You do not need to be a Buddhist or have meditation experience. We start our meetings with silent meditation and then begin the reading and discussion, so you can join us for the meditation or link in after that.
Interested in starting a small group at the Fellowship? The best way to get started is to have an event to gauge interest.
Complete THIS FORM (linked here) to propose an event.
Once you’re ready to start a group, they must be led by two Fellowship members. Our staff will be in touch after they receive your proposal to determine next steps.
Complete THIS FORM (linked here) to propose a small group.
