Covenant Groups Session Plans/Topics

Topics and their associated session plans are selected by the Group Leaders in consultation with the Steering Committee or other members of the Covenant Group.  Many meeting plans are freely available from other UU congregations and others may be written specifically for UUCF. Participants are encouraged to suggest topics to their facilitators or to the ministers, and even to write session plans if they feel inspired to do so.

Groups have some leeway to decide how much advance warning they want to have about the topics. The facilitator will know all topics at the beginning of each meeting. S/he could tell the group all topics immediately, or the group could approach each topic spontaneously, arriving at each meeting without knowing the topic ahead of time. (Obviously if a topic is held over, you will go into the next meeting knowing what it is.) There are advantages to each system, and a group may work out its own in-between variation. The Steering Committee recommends spontaneity as a way of avoiding an overly intellectual approach to the topic, and we hope that each group will at least try a spontaneous session before rejecting the idea.

Keep in mind that purpose of the meeting is to draw each other out, not to have a discussion worthy of PBS. If you do know the topic ahead of time, the best way to prepare is to introspect, relating the topic to your own experiences. Studying for the discussion by reading books or articles can be counter-productive; you may enter the meeting ready to present someone else's thoughts rather than your own, and the other participants will learn little about your feelings and experiences.

Specific topics and plans will be listed on this page in the near future.