All Souls New London - Sharing Circles

Sharing Circles at All Souls

Supporting and Nurturing One Another on our Spiritual Journeys

Sharing circles are small group gatherings guided by trained facilitators to explore topics of personal meaning. Groups meet at various times of the day or evening for a specified number of sessions. Each session lasts up to an hour and a half. The format in the past has been both in-person (pre-pandemic), and on Zoom during the pandemic. Groups have also met outdoors in nice weather.

Sharing Circles are a way to connect with others in our congregation who wish to explore their values and ideas of spirituality in a small group setting. The group size is typically between 6 and 10 members, led by trained facilitators. Meetings occur once or twice a month for 90 minutes. Groups typically meet for a total of 4, 6 or 8 sessions, and participants are asked to commit to making attendance a high priority. As we deepen our connections to each other we are better able to care for and support each other—to minister to each other. It’s a wonderful way to get to know people from our congregation in a deeper and more meaningful way.

What Happens at a Sharing Circles Gathering?
The gathering begins with a chalice lighting and opening reading. We restate for ourselves the purpose of our gathering, which is to build connections and talk about what deeply matters. Then each member of the group is given the chance to “check-in”, sharing for a minute or two how things are going for them, spiritual or physical cares or concerns. After that we review our group covenant and begin our sharing on the topic for the day, with guiding questions to focus our sharing. Each person takes a few minutes to reflect on their personal experiences related to the topic, without interruption or commenting from any other group members. If there is time at the end of our sharing we open up the time for discussion. We end our time together with a check-out and a closing reading. It is really a wonderful way to spend 90 minutes, reflecting and listening to each other. If you are interested in joining a group there is a space for you.

Joining a Group
Are you interested in joining a Sharing Circle? Send an email to sgm@allsouls.net, or contact one of the Sharing Circle steering team members:

Carol Irwin carolirwin108@gmail.com
Susanne Colten-Carey scc-c@comcast.net
Carol Cassidy calway@comcast.net

Sharing Circle Sessions

Below you will find sessions listed in four different groups - General Sessions, Exploring All Souls Sessions, Sessions for 60+ groups, and Youth Group Sessions. Those marked with an asterisk * were added in 2014. Those marked with ** were added in 2015. Those marked with *** were added in 2016.