Activities

A Chalice Group is an intentional gathering of about ten people who commit to be present to each other in a genuine, meaningful way. It is more than a discussion group, more than a social club, and is definitely not a committee meeting. There is no agenda, no action items, and no expected outcome or product. A Chalice Group exists only for people to listen and to be heard.

A Chalice Group is covenantal because the members of the group form a covenant - a sacred promise of meaningful relationship - among themselves. It is shared ministry because its purpose is to focus on the relationships among the members, and the process by which they share their thoughts and feelings with each other. A Chalice Group is not about coming to agreement, debating, or solving problems; nor is it group therapy. A Chalice Group is a support group – in the sense that by truly listening to one another, members both hear and are heard, and grow to know each other in a deeper way.

Besides the existence of a covenant, the other way a Chalice Group differs from a “normal” discussion group is the practice of deep listening. As the name suggests, this is a practice of actively and intentionally focusing one’s attention on the person who is speaking. It is a practice of listening to the other’s words, noticing feelings, and truly being present to the one who is sharing. Deep listening is in contrast to a typical conversation, when the listener might be mentally formulating a reply or challenge. This type of listening is listening to hear, not listening to be right.

Chalice Groups meet about twice a month, typically in the home of one of the members. These groups can be affinity or theme-based, but they don’t have to be. Each group meeting follows the same structure, with opening words or ritual, chalice lighting, check-in and sharing, discussion, and a closing ritual. Within this structure, the details are up to each individual group.

The essence of a Chalice Group is to nurture the seed of a sacred promise of meaningful relationship - into the flower of beloved community.

Chalice Groups 2008-2009

There are six groups meeting from October 2008 to June 2009. Contact Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd () for more information or to join a group.

Non-thematic Groups

There are currently no “open topic” groups – please contact Rev. Nancy, if you are interested in being in a chalice group that is not tied to a particular theme.

Special Focus Groups

BRUU chalice group facilitators are selected by the minister, with input from existing facilitators. Prospective facilitators should have previous covenant group experience at BRUU or elsewhere. Facilitators meet monthly with the minister to practice the Chalice Group model and discuss administrative items related to the entire program.

The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Inc. ("CUUPS") exists for the purposes of:

• Promoting the practice and understanding of Pagan and Earth-centered spirituality within the Unitarian Universalist Association,
• Enabling networking among Pagan-identified Unitarian Universalists,
• Providing for the outreach of Unitarian Universalism to the broader Pagan community
• Providing educational materials on Paganism and Earth-centered spirituality for Unitarian Universalist congregations and for the general public,
• Promoting interfaith dialogue,
• Encouraging the development of theological and liturgical materials based on Pagan and Earth-centered religious and spiritual perspectives,
• Encouraging greater use of music, dance, visual arts, poetry, story, and creative ritual in Unitarian Universalist worship and celebration,
• Providing a place or places for gathering and for worship, and
• Fostering healing relationships with the Earth and all the Earth's children.

Anyone can be a member of CUUPS. There are only a few requirements:

1. Identify your spiritual path as Pagan.
2. Be an active voting member of CUUPS Continental and a member of a UUA member society or the Church of the Larger Fellowship.
3. Participate in CUUPS activities on a regular basis.

If you have any questions about joining, please speak to any of the current members. Just look for the "CUUPS of BRUU" logo on the name tags!

Kate Granville is the POC for our chapter as well as the Chair for the CUUPS of BRUU committee (within the BRUU organization).

This webpage has been created specifically for congregational feedback. We encourage open discussion about CUUPS of BRUU. We are an integral part of this congregation and we have a lot to offer:

• More diversity for our Sunday services
• Additional resources for RE classes — both classes for children who are learning about the world's religions as well as classes for adults (One immediate example is the ongoing Pagan Discovery/Discussion group)
• Official Pagan resource to the community (We have had Pagans come looking for us, and there is no "official" way to connect our Pagans with these seekers)
• A way to attract new members who may not know that UU congregations are inclusive until they see CUUPS and the Pagan presence
• An established, "in-place" group that has strong ties to Nature and environmental issues (Green sanctuary!)
• An educated source for natural alternatives: herbs, oils, crystals, etc and their uses for life's little issues.

CUUPS of BRUU is very pleased to have its association with the local Pagan group, The Circle of the Crystal Grove. The Circle is an open and eclectic group of area Pagans who have joined together to share their spiritual paths. They actually named the group for its most frequent meeting place, Tom Noll's garden. Those of us who have been there can appreciate the imagery invoked by the name — all that greenery, the trees, and of course, all those crystals.

The Circle of the Crystal Grove (or CotCG) is active within the local Pagan community. Even as a fairly new group, it has already established strong ties with the Open Hearth Foundation (http://www.openhearth.org/) and the Washington-Baltimore Pagan Leadership Conference. Its members have attended the OHF's annual charity ball and they were one of the sponsors for the event. CotCG is also a WitchVox sponsor, helping to support one of the nation's largest online resources for Pagans. (http://www.witchvox.com/)

The Circle is a resource for CUUPS of BRUU that enables us to support the diversity in our congregation. We appreciate their participation in our open rituals and in providing information and education about Paganism for our RE.

The mission of the Green Sanctuary Committee is to raise awareness of the fragility of our earth, and what we can do to stop or at least lessen the impact of our use of the earth’s limited resources. We are members of the UU Ministry for Earth, pledging to carry out the 7th UU principle of respect for the interdependent web of which we are all a part.

The Green Sanctuary Committee is a standing committee with the following goals:

1. Continue to bring the message of care for our environment to the congregation.
2. Provide suggestions and opportunities for members to improve their habits and usage in regard to the impact of their actions on the earth and to the social imbalance resulting from wastefulness and greed.
3. Create opportunities to learn new ways to improve.

Hiking in the Thompson Wildlife Preserve, Linden

We have activities weekly, monthly, and annually.

• Sale of Coffee, Tea, & Chocolate during Social Hour on Sundays
  (Organic, Fairly Traded, & Shade-Grown)
• Hikes to Wildlife Preserves
• Earth Day Sunday Service
• Meetings on 3rd Sunday

You Are Here

We offer these links to environmental information for our members and their communities as part of our Green Sanctuary Program. The local geographical area includes Prince William and the adjacent counties of Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Stafford in Virginia.