Our Monthly Spiritual Themes guide our Chalice Circles, which are small, intentional groups of members and friends that gather for spiritual enrichment through personal sharing. For more information on Chalice Circles, please email Linda Benson at chalicecircles@uuprinceton.org.

Our Chalice Circle thoughts and questions around the theme of “Welcoming” this month are:

“Circles create soothing space, where even reticent people can realize that their voice is ‘welcome.'” – Margaret J. Wheatley

What circles in your life have welcomed your voice?

 

“Perhaps our synagogues, our temples, and our churches,” Archbishop Tutu added, “are not as welcoming as they should be. I really think that we do need for these fellowships to do a great deal more to have those who are lonely come and share. Not in an aggressive way, or in order, as it were, to increase their records or their ranks, but really just keenly interested in one person who comes and gets what they did not have before–warmth and fellowship. …” ― Dalai Lama XIV quoting Archbishop Desmond Tutu in The Book of Joy

Why welcome? What makes this a spiritual practice?

 

“When visitors come to a worship service in my own religious tradition, a great deal depends on how warmly they are welcomed and whether they feel included or excluded by what they hear during the short time they are with us. We may have exactly one shot at communicating who we are to people who know nothing about us – or who think they already know a lot about us – but who, in either case, will remember us at the embodiment of our entire tradition, the prime exemplars of our faith.” ― Barbara Brown Taylor

What one thing is most important to communicate when welcoming?

 

The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. – Emily Dickinson

What does it mean for the soul to stand ajar? When has yours been open and welcoming?