Evensong, Volume 2
An Eight-Week Series of GatheringsBy Barbara Hamilton-Holway
- Theme and Description
- Evensong gathers together a small group of people from within a congregation for eight sessions of earnest listening and sharing of thoughts, beliefs, and journeys in spirituality and religious life. It is an experience of shared worship. The themes for the eight sessions of volume one are “Beginning Together,” “Religious and Spiritual Experiences,” “The Divine,” “The Human,” “The Messiah, the Christ, the Buddha: The Divine Made Manifest,” “The Community,” “Endings,” and “Ministry.” The themes for volume two are “Childhood Memory and Knowing,” “Scripture and Story,” “Prayer and Spiritual Practice,” “Fear,” “Generosity,” “Hospitality and the Stranger,” “Being Alive,” “Beliefs and Actions.”
- Goals for Participants
- To form closer bonds of community among members – old and new – of the congregation;
To create a sacred space in which listening to others’ stories, thoughts, and ideas is the central value;
To be able to “speak your truth” more fluently and frequently both in the small group and in everyday life apart from the group;
Developing listening skills that have positive results beyond the program itself;
To experience mutuality and reciprocity that nurture respect, safety, trust, and mutual regard.
- Age Range
- Adult
- Size of Group
- 10-20, including facilitators
- Space Requirements
- A meeting space large enough for chairs to be arranged in a circle around a low table.
- Number and Length of Sessions
- 8 sessions
Length: 2 hours - Leader Training
- Training is not required to lead this program, although it is recommended that leaders be already involved in the congregation and regularly attend worship services.
- Leader Preparation
- Up to one hour should be sufficient.
- Strengths
- Each session focuses on a significant theme or life issue.
Each session includes everything one needs in detail.
Effectively builds community and interpersonal connections.
Practices our value of the “inherent worth and dignity of every person” and “acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.”
Useful in congregations of any size. - Limitations
- Some groups may find the scriptedness (such as the amount of detail provided in the orders of service) of the curriculum confining.
- Adaptability
- Could be used as a resource by youth groups.
The format can be used with other readings and with other topics. - Unitarian Universalist Values
- #Encourages the participants to contemplate their own values alongside Unitarian Universalist theology and the sources of the tradition.
Reviewed on June 30, 2004
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Curricula
