Resonant Reading

(formerly Sacred Text Reading Group)

An exploration of ideas, feelings, and our life experiences, using a different short reading as our springboard each time. The sessions are on Saturdays, 4-5, and on Wednesdays, 12-1. All are wide open and you are welcome to come twice a week or once in a while. All you need is an enthusiasm for talking with others about ideas, experiences, and the wisdom we can find in words.

The participants over the years have found that the approach we take, and the respectful, affectionate community of inquirers in which we read and converse, are as important as the reading itself. While many small groups begin with a check-in, with a session only an hour long, we jump right in to the conversation. We have found that those who are frequently in the group get to know each other very well this way.

Facilitators use a light hand, posting the reading in the chat and calling on whoever’s Zoom hand is up. Suggestions for readings come from group members, who also take turns facilitating, if they want to try that role.

Anyone can suggest a reading, and we’ll put it on the website for an upcoming date and happily jump in. The only criteria are that the reading be brief enough that everyone can just show up and read it together right there and then–no prep required–and that it has the potential to provoke thought and deep feeling.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been going on since 2020, under a different name: “Sacred Text Reading Group.” Unitarian Universalism has a very expansive definition of “sacred,” but inquirers kept being misled by the name and mistakenly thinking it focused on studying ancient scriptures such as the Bible and Quran, so in fall 2024 we changed the name to Resonant Reading.

Questions? Drop an e-mail to resonant-reading+owner@uucpa.org.

Dates: Weekly on Wednesday, 12-1 pm and Saturday, 4-5 pm

• Location: via Zoom – view specific event for link
• Facilitators: Various members and Amy
• Contact: Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern (parishmin@uucpa.org)
• Registration: Not required