Covenant Circles

What is a Covenant Circle?

Covenant Circles provide a path to deepen and broaden personal, spiritual growth. A group is comprised of 8-10 members, with one of those people serving as a facilitator. Each session is focused on a spiritually meaningful topic. The goals are to:

Listen and be listened to in a safe place
Learn about the mysteries of our world and our spiritual paths
Build new and deeper personal connections
Serve our community and the needs of one another
Maintain personal connections within a caring community

What is a Covenant?

The covenant of a Circle is created by its members who agree about being together in a defined way for a common purpose. It is intended to provide an understanding of how the group members wish to be when they come together.

How often do Circles meet?

Most groups meet once or twice a month for 1.5-2 hours, on a regularly scheduled day and time. It is important for the group process that members attend the sessions regularly in order to explore their spiritual journey as well as respectfully listen to and share in support of one another.

What happens in a Covenant Circle?

Each session is focused on a spiritually related topic, which is usually chosen by the facilitator of the group. Sessions include a personal check-in, opening readings, discussion of the topic, and a closing reading.

What about confidentiality?

Confidentiality is very important in a Covenant Circle. This is a safe space in which to share concerns, hopes, fears, joys, and areas of growth. What happens in Covenant Circle, stays in Covenant Circle. As part of our community of caring, the facilitator may feel it appropriate, with a member’s permission, to share a pastoral issue (e.g., a life event or change) with the minister.

Who can join?

Anyone! There are no membership requirements. However, joining a Covenant Circle is a commitment to attend as regularly as possible.

Want to join? Want to facilitate a circle?

It’s easy!

Contact our Covenant Circle coordinator, Sue Gaskin at

scsg103@comcast.net or 425-337-2067

NEW Covenant Circle

We have a new Covenant Circle beginning Sunday, December 8th after church at the Gipson Center, and continuing on the 1st Sunday of the month.

We will gather at Noon for about 2 hours. Each circle has a max of ten attendees so we will look to begin more groups when the need arises.

Please talk to Nancy Miller or Sarah Taylor during coffee hour to learn more. This is a great way for new friends or long-time members to get to know each other.

The purpose of Evergreen Covenant Circles are threefold:

Intimacy: Covenant Circles help build community and provide opportunities for friendship.
Ultimacy: Covenant Circles provide an opportunity for deeper spiritual exploration and the search for meaning.
Efficacy: Covenant Circles provide opportunities for ministry to the Fellowship and to the wider community.

Covenant Circles are on-going and always growing. You will find this intimate gathering a wonderful way to get to know fellow Evergreeners.

Join the many people at Evergreen who have found these circles to be an important part of their spiritual lives, including the opportunity to minister to the Fellowship and to the wider community.

More information about Covenant Circles from the UUA and the UU Small Group Ministry Network.