Connection Groups

A major purpose of UURMaPA is to establish ways for retired ministers and partners to connect with one another in meaningful ways. The Connections Coordinator creates structures and facilitates affiliations through which retired ministers and partners create, deepen, and sustain personal relationships with one another. Small groups are one of many ways to make these connections.

Benefits of UURMaPA Small Groups

A small group is a safe place where you can talk about your circumstances, concerns, joys and/or topics of common interest with others who will not judge or criticize you. Being in a small group can also help you:

  • Learn better coping strategies. In a small group, you will learn coping skills from people who have found success using them first-hand. You might learn tips on meditating, journaling, or things you would not have otherwise considered. 
  • Grow through shared experiences. A small group gives you opportunities to get things off your chest. Sharing your own experiences with the group can help ease your emotional burden and feelings of isolation. As others in the group share their stories, you can gain valuable insight into how others deal with similar situations.
  • Focus on self-care. Small group participants may offer up innovative ideas for how to care for yourself, manage stress, combat fatigue, and feel mentally and physically stronger.
  • Maintain a sense of hope. Being around your fellow small group members can help boost your mood and sense of optimism, giving you the emotional reserves to realistically envision a better future.

UURMaPA General-Interest Groups

Upon becoming a member of UURMaPA, and at any time thereafter, ALL members (retired ministers and partners) are invited to join in a facilitated small group experience. Like Small Group Ministry or Chalice Circles, General-Interest Groups:

  • have up to eight members, 
  • form a covenant of how to be with one another,
  • covenant to meet regularly by Zoom technology (usually monthly, for 60-90 minutes),
  • have one member “convener” who lightly facilitates the session, 
  • open & close with a Chalice Lighting/Extinguishing reading,
  • devote 50% of the session to “Deep Check-Ins” (5 minutes/person),
  • devote the remaining time to a group-chosen discussion topic and choosing the next session’s topic.

In October and April, each group Convener polls their group to see:

  • if everyone wishes to continue meeting,
  • whether those continuing want to change anything in the schedule or format, and
  • whether they would be open to new members.

New groups can be formed at any time. Places for new members in existing, ongoing groups can occur all through the year, whenever someone shows interest.

If you are interested in helping form a new general-interest group or joining an on-going group, contact the Connections Coordinator at connections@uurmapa.org.

UURMaPA Focused-Interest Groups

UURMaPA supports the formation of small groups who covenant to focus on specific shared interests. 

Groups currently active and open to new participants are:

>>Caregivers 

An on-line support group for UURMaPA members who are partners in care meets monthly. If you are caring for another person, you are welcome to join other caregivers for an hour of check-in, shared resources, and caring for one another. Participants covenant for confidentiality. The group meets using Zoom technology, which can be used from a computer, tablet, or smartphone with a camera, or you can phone in.

The facilitators will help you get set up to use Zoom if you are new to technology. For more information and to join the group, contact one of the Caregiver conveners: Makannah Morris, Yvonne Strejcek and Kathleen Ellis   

>>Grief Support

An on-line support group for URMaPAns who have been recently widowed and are grieving the loss of their partner meets monthly. Duane Fickeisen (convener) says: “For an hour and a half, we check in, catch up as we process our grief, and share resources. Each of us grieves in our own way. We offer a safe and confidential space to find support on our separate journeys.”  For more information and to join the group, contact Duane Fickeisen.

>>Writing for Witness as Resistance 

This group is for anyone refusing to shut down and shut up, as seniors are often expected to do, in response to the chaos, corruption, and cruelty of the current administration. Group participants write on a chosen topic to access and then share their knowing, experience, and wisdom, thus creating a record of Truth against “mis and disinformation” we are subjected to daily. 

A group doing this work together supports one another’s clarity, courage, and commitment to the challenge of pushing back against the deliberate dismantling of our democracy. Writing for Witness is an option for elders who are no longer physically able to be on the frontlines in demonstrations, marches, and protests who have a wealth of experience and wisdom to share historical perspectives that will be important when the time comes to rebuild what has been broken or lost, so the younger generation need not start at square one. Whatever writings emerge could eventually be self-published for posterity. For more information and to join the group, contact Gail Collins-Ranadive. 

>>Goddess 

The Goddess small group is a non-judgmental and confidential gathering that provides a safe space for members to share their life experiences, connect with their feminine energy, and support each other’s personal growth, empowerment, and spiritual development.  Sydney Morris (convener) writes: The Goddess Group meets monthly. We check in, and then go around to answer the question “How has the goddess shown up in your life this month?”  For more information and to join the group email Sydney Morris. 

Ongoing Focused-Interest Groups at Maximum Number and Seeking Additional Conveners

>>Partners 

A partners’ small group is an opportunity for retired ministers’ partners to:

  • Come together with other partners to discuss topics chosen by the group, share personal experiences, and establish a social network.
  • Share information that is practical, constructive, and helpful.
  • Offer support and encouragement to other group members and receive the same in return.
  • Share joyful moments and have fun.

To start a second Partners’ Group, a convener is needed. If you are interested in convening a Partners’ Group, contact the Connections Coordinator at connections@uurmapa.org.

Creating Additional Focused-Interest Groups

UURMaPA is exploring additional focused-interest groups to better address the interests and needs of its members. Ideas for groups are:

  • Navigating Aging Together: Supporting each other as we handle social, cultural, physical and/or mental challenges
  • Living on the Edge: Supporting each other as we deal with financial challenges such as rising healthcare costs, reduced or fixed incomes that may not keep pace with inflation, accumulation of debt from previous decades, falling victim to financial scams, managing the costs of senior living, and adapting finances after the loss of a spouse. 
  • LGBTQIA+: This group would offer LGBTQIA+ a safe space for thoughtful discussions related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) issues. A space to foster support and sustain collective agency and thoughtful collaboration.
  • BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color): Provide a safe, supportive space for connection, discussion, and healing from racial isolation and oppression within organizations and communities. Participants can openly discuss their experiences with racism, oppression, and privilege in a way that feels emotionally safe, free from judgment or the burden of educating others. 
  • A Living Library: A group where participants become “books” and are “borrowed” by “readers” (other participants) to have a conversation, allowing individuals to share their unique life experiences. In this format, the “books” (participants) share stories and wisdom from their lives.
  • Color Outside the Lines: Small group for artists or “wana be” artists of all genres for the purpose of igniting, encouraging, and celebrating creativity. Discussion topics could be: art projects individual members are pursuing or want to pursue, mental blocks to starting or completing artwork, anxiety about sharing creative works, finding the time to make art, and setting goals and gently holding each other accountable for achieving desired goals.
  • Book Discussion Group (Novels)
  • Book Discussion Group (Non-Fiction)
  • Poetry Group

If you would like to convene any of the above groups or have an idea for a focused-interest group you’d like to convene, contact the Connections Coordinator at connections@uurmapa.org who can assist you with starting the group.