This week we kick off our Soul Matters small groups with the first group on Thursday morning.  There are 12 groups meeting with 117 people participating.   I hope you are one of them.    If you missed the registration period, or are a newcomer to our congregation and would like to join in, please reach out to me for options.  I want everyone who wishes to participate to be able to do so.

We begin with the theme of deep listening – a great topic for the first month.   In the first session we will spend some time getting to know each other and review the covenant for our group.  We will also have some time for reflection and sharing on the theme.  The reflection questions for the first session are:

1. Who listened to you when you most needed it?  Who first gave you the gift of deep listening?
2. Why is it so hard to really listen to someone?
3. What if listening is an act of love?

The second session of the month we will participate in a process called Lectio Divina – Listening for God.   We will read a poem three times and have a different reflection question for each reading.   The basic idea is to deeply listen to a text by reading it multiple times through a different reflective lens each time. You can also think of it as bringing different discernment questions to the text, with each question inviting you to listen to the text in a new way. The plan for the October small group session is posted in the purple box on the Soul matters page.

UUSS is  a participant in the Soul Matters program and we receive materials on the theme each month that Rev Roger and I use in worship and in religious education. Our services for the next two Tuesdays will feature the theme. You can also find packet of materials for individual exploration of the theme at uuss.org/soulmatters.

Meanwhile- enjoy this article from the Soul Matters team.

Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent

https://medium.com/inc./neuroscience-says-listening-to-this-song-reduces-anxiety-by-up-to-65-percent-d69ae1343a27

I wish you deep listening in your life.

Rev Lucy

Oct 20 plan deep listening (PDF)