Living Our Greatness: Radical Inclusion

Small Group Ministry Group Session Plan Living Our Greatness: Radical Inclusion

Opening Words We have only begun to imagine the fullness of life. How could we tire of becoming? So much is in the bud. Denise Levertov (adapted)

Check-in/Sharing

Topic/Activity [People who show up at our doors] want a safe place to explore what happens to them when they start to deepen their lives. They are looking, in short, for a religious community—not a secular one….If we don’t serve their needs for depth, heart, spirituality, hope, faith, and love outside of an orthodox setting, who will? Rev. Christine Robinson, from “Risk Blessing,” UUA website, Winter 2011

Visionary churches will be places where people come into genuine, full-spirited, embodied contact with one another. We provide a healing calm…where people can relax into real relationship with one another. …Real relationships mean those that go beyond superficial or serial socializing to build authentic community. Radical caring calls us to create truly inclusive congregations...because of a deepening connection to our faith community; we are suddenly able to relax, to know that all our edges were accepted, that we did not have to choose which of our identities we can safely allow into the room. ~ Rev. Meg Riley, Adapted

Questions: 1. How does UUCC serve your spiritual needs for depth, real relationships, heart, hope faith, and love?

2. What would it mean for UUCC to open its doors to radical inclusion? Where do you see UUCC living this vision? Where do we fall short? Where are we actively growing?

3. What are you willing to invest (time, talent, money, ideas) in this vision of Living Our Greatness?

Check-out/Likes & Wishes

Closing Words The mission of the Unitarian Universalist Church is to address the social isolation and rootlessness that is characteristic of modern life, to minister to the hurts and hopes of those in our community, and to radically define our community beyond our membership borders, seeking to bring people who need our support into our churches and into our lives. ~Rev. Glenn Turner