UNIVERSITY UNITARIAN CHURCH

Reflection Groups

Fall 2026 Soul Matters  Reflection Groups

Application for Fall 2026 groups now open

We welcome you to join us for another season of small-group sharing and deep-listening as we explore this fall’s spiritual themes: Courage, Healing, Awe, and Thresholds.



Reflection Groups at UUC were introduced  in Spring 2022 to foster discovery, solace, hope, and courage through spiritual exploration, reflection, and meditative practice in the supportive company of others. In the fall of 2025, UUC adopted the Soul Matters curriculum for these groups. Each month’s Soul Matters packet aligns with the congregation’s theme, giving participants a shared focus to explore more deeply in a small group setting.



“Joining a Soul Matters group helped grow my friendships within the congregation and guided me to listen more deeply to others and to myself to hear where spirit might be leading me.”


Why the Soul Matters curriculum?

Soul Matters packets are designed to support a month-long exploration of each monthly theme in a small group. Each packet offers a wide range of spiritual exercises, personal discernment questions, readings, poetry, quotes, movies, podcasts, and music. Although the packets are rich with possibilities, participants are invited to choose just one spiritual exercise and one discernment question each month. We listen for the exercises or questions that personally call to us and then meet and share our stories of where they led us.


“The journey was by times surprising, beautiful, humorous, and challenging, but it felt like one we made in trusted community.”


How are the small groups formed, and how do I sign up?

Applications are now open for the four-month fall season, October through January. There will be another season of Soul Matters, February through May of 2027. Groups are formed based on availability of participants and facilitators, with an eye to balancing warm companionship with a diversity of perspective. This Fall we will also add the option of an Intergenerational Women’s Soul Matters Group and continue the option of a Young Adults Soul Matters Group.


Most groups meet in person at the church. Arrangements for Zoom participation may be possible in the event of illness or travel. Additional cohort groups, e.g. a parents group, may be available if there is sufficient interest. When you fill out your application, be sure to indicate all groups and times/dates you are open to so that we can maximize options for your participation.


If you have questions about registering for Soul Matters, please contact Morgan Sherwood, UUC Congregational Engagement Coordinator.


About the Soul Matters curriculum

Soul Matters was started by UU minister Rev. Scott Tayler over 10 years ago, but now a staff of religious professionals research and publish the monthly packets.


The Soul Matters themes for 2026-27 are: September: Beginnings, October: Courage, November: Healing, December: Awe, January: Thresholds, February: Commitment, March: Balance, April: Emergence, May: Play, June: Horizons. UUC fall sessions will cover October through January.



Guiding texts/curricula for past UUC Reflection Groups:


  • Spring 2022: Welcoming the Unwelcome, by Pema Chödrön
  • Fall/Winter 2022-23: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • Winter/Spring 2023: See No Stranger, by Valarie Kaur
  • Fall 2023: The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
  • Spring 2024: Fierce Love, by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis
  • Fall 2024: We Were Made for These Times, by Kaira Jewel Lingo
  • Fall 2025: Soul Matters (UUA)  Topics included: Cultivating Compassion, Nurturing Gratitude, and Choosing Hope.
  • Spring 2026: Soul Matters (UUA)  Topics included: Paying Attention, Embracing Possibility, Awakening Curiosity.