Covenant Groups

A covenant group consists of 5 to 12 people who meet monthly to support one another in topics and activities of mutual interest. They meet in a home or in the church in a welcoming environment that respects diverse opinions. Led by a facilitator, the group makes and agrees to a covenant defining the group's mission, its relationship to the church, and how the members treat each other.

Active Covenant Groups

BAUUC has many active Covenant Groups. For information about a particular covenant group, please contact the leader of the group in which you are interested, or contact Covenant Group Committee Coaches: David Throop or David Overland

Ancient Reflections Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (ARCUUPs)

This group discusses Earth-centered religious traditions and practices and their contribution to Unitarian Universalism. The group is an official chapter of CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarin Universalist Pagans). The group meets on the 1^st, and 3^rd Tuesdays of the month at 7:15 p.m. The first monthly meeting is a the church and the second in a members home.

Contact Melissa Magdaleno

Buddhist Meditation Covenant Group

This group practices sitting and chanting meditations. The group meets each Sunday at 7:00 p.m.

Contact Linda Kato

Connections Covenant Group

These groups invite you to come talk about things you usually don’t get to talk about! Recent topics included: How do you remain positive? How do you cope by living in the information age? How are you affected by stereotypes/discrimination/ racism and how do you unknowingly contribute to them? If you could go back to a particular time in your life, when would it be and what would you tell yourself? We have four of these Connections groups, and new ones forming.

Contact: Christine Gietzen

Christian Covenant Group – Re-launching after a hiatus

This group meets for prayer, study and discussion of the Christian faith.

Contact: Shirley Chambers

Creativity as Spiritual Practice Covenant Group

This group meets to explore and expand their creativity as an expression of spirituality. They share sources of inspiration and support one another in their artistic expressions. Please contact this group for meeting dates and time.

Contact: Mariah Lee

Mental Health Support Group

This group provides support discussing how families and friends relate with persons with mental health issues. They meet every Saturday at 10 a.m.

Contact: Darcy Truehan, for questions, please contact the Office

Nichiren Buddhism Covenant Group

This group includes dharma talks and a chanting meditation as a spiritual practice, general discussions on Buddhism, and celebration of annual Buddhist events, including the Buddha’s Birthday and Enlightenment, O-Bon (memorial service), and Winter Solstice. The group meets two times monthly, on the first and third Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

Contact David Overland

Parents’ Covenant Groups

These groups discuss parenting issues. Children are welcome, and child care is available.

— Parents of Young Children Covenant Group

Meets on the third Sunday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at a member's home.

Contact Michael Banks

— The Parents of Preteens Covenant Group

Meets on the second Saturday of each month at 5 p.m. at a member's home.

Contact Ted Bierzalo

A covenant group consists of 5 to 12 people who meet monthly to support one another in topics and activities of mutual interest. They meet in a home or in the church in a welcoming environment that respects diverse opinions. Led by a facilitator, the group makes and agrees to a covenant, which defines the group’s mission and its relationship to the church, and also defines how the members treat each other. Different groups have different formats, but some elements are common:

• We open with a reading from a UU source.
• There is a check-in, allowing each member to share about how life is going for them, and what their concerns, joys and struggles are.
• The group does its major activity. For most groups, that is a period of facilitated discussion. But it may also be a time of meditation, or performing a service, or doing crafts, or studying texts, or exercise, or many other things.
• Each group has a covenant, describing how the members agree to treat each other, and describing how the group ties back to the church.
• There is always an empty chair, welcoming the people who have not yet joined the group.
• The group agrees to do some service for the church or the larger community annually.

Why We Have Covenant Groups

• People come to our churches to be lifted out of the ordinary, to be drawn up from the mundane, and to be seek relief (preferably in an interactive way) from the omnipresent materialism of our culture.
• People, living in our society of frequent re-locations and diminished family support, come to our churches to find friends, community, "a place where everybody knows your name."

Covenant Groups provide for both those needs in ways that our Sunday services, coffee hours, committee meetings, Dinners for Eight, and other gatherings cannot. Proof that the organizational model most of us are currently using does not meet these needs well is in our statistics.

History of Covenant Groups at BAUUC

In 2000, Rev Bob Hill was the district executive of theSouth West Unitarian Universalist Conference, of which BAUUC is a member. He preached a guest sermon at our church in January '00, and gave a small workshop on CGs that spring. Five BAUUC members attended a longer workshop at SWUUSI.

At BAUUC in Fall '00, Rev Hill had a daylong workshop on Covenant Groups. About 50 UUs from the Houston area attended. In Nov '00, Rev Tom Burdett asked David Throop and Tom Price to form a group with him to lead CGs at BAUUC. The first groups were launched in January '01. The BAUUC board set "Having 5 Covenant Groups Running by June '01" as a goal at it's Feb '01 retreat. We met that goal.