SASS April Leaders Circle
Answering the Call to Lead: The A to Z's of Starting Your Own SASS
Leaders Circle member Rob Piling of Nashville asks us for advice on starting his own SASS. I met Rob years ago when I was running the Conscious Aging Book Club for Parnassus Books. It was the only gathering of its kind in the area, and drew together like-minded and like-hearted old souls who had previously felt disconnected in our isolated aging. There were about 100 of us who came and went to the monthly meetings, usually gathering to discuss that month’s reading in groups of as small as 15 and as large as 50. Nobody got paid but the book store was happy because, after all, the older demographic loves to buy books.
This group inspired me to come up with the SASS model—something anyone could bring to their own community…something replicable, turn-key and powerful. With this in mind I decided to write Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life and the accompanying study guide I’m publishing here on Substack weekly as the unifying piece that would animate what has now become a movement.
In addition to the online SASS I’m running here on Substack, there are now SASS groups running around the world. Some are Zoom global gatherings led by trained facilitators (ie Sage-ing International https://www.sage-ing.org/) some are sponsored by churches, community and senior centers. But most were started by individuals who just wanted to get together with a few friends on a regular basis in each others’ homes, the local cafe or bookstore.
Rob asks about the logistics of approaching a local organization such as a YMCA and getting paid. I’ll say a few words about this at the end and we’ll address his questions in the Leaders Circle comments below. But first, I’ll share some beginner’s tips on getting started on your own independently-run SASS. I begin by asking you “Who are your four?”
1.) Who is it amongst your peers that you can talk to about anything?
2.) Who would you like to get to know better?
3.) Who have you lost touch with and would like to reconnect?
4.) Who is it you can tell would like to be friends but you haven’t reciprocated?
Answer: These are Your Four (or more), who can organically form the basis of a Spiritual Aging Study and Support Group (SASS) and experience, as many did in the early days of women’s liberation, the power of joining together for study and support. Grassroots SASS groups are popping up around the world—both in-person and online—using the study guides I’m posting here to lead the meeting.
Getting Started:
1.) Identify Your Four (or more) and share this post with them. Work out a time and place that works for you all, for either in-person or online gatherings. A lot of the grassroots groups enjoy meeting over coffee at a café or in each others’ homes. Others are piggy-backing on existing book club, social and study groups already meeting in religious or community settings. An alternative model would be to meet on Zoom or its equivalent. Most individually-led SASS groups are completely free or people chip in for refreshments. Trying to get paid for leading is more challenging and a whole other animal. There are pro’s and con’s to both options and many prefer the unpaid support group model as the lower-key way to go. That said, both independent volunteer and professional leaders share tips with each other based on their experience about starting and facilitating SASS groups on an on-going basis by opting to join Spiritual Aging at the Leaders Circle level.
2.) Each week, members who opt into either the paid or Leaders Circle levels receive the Spiritual Aging Study and Support Group Guide corresponding to that week’s reflection in my book Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life. The Study Guides are written intuitively so that self-taught and trained conveners alike can set the tone and content for the discussion. While someone needs to recruit and organize a time and place for their SASS to meet, many groups are subsequently leaderless or take turns gently guiding the discussion using the study guide for structure and/or a jumping off point allowing their group to evolve orgaically. There are no rules, although many groups have borrowed our Community Guidelines to create a respectful environment for honest and deep conversation, where members feel safe
On another occasion, I shared Tips for Leading a Spiritual Aging Study and Support Group for facilitators who want to take a more active role leading a SASS either for themselves or an organizational sponsor or partner. If you are thinking of a more hands on leadership role and/or aspiring to be paid or charge for your group, email me at Corsborn@aol.com and I will send them to you.
In a moment, we turn this forum back over to members of the Leaders Circle in comments below, where Rob can hear from those of you who are leading groups, and in particular those who are doing so in a paid professional capacity. But before we move on, here is something I asked Rob if I could share with you. Following is the copy Rob pulled together from my source material to form the basis of an invitation he’s using in his outreach. He has generously offered to share it with you for use in your own circles. Leadership Circle members, thanks for sharing this space with our larger Spiritual Aging community and see you in the LC-only comments section below.
Rob’s Outreach
As many of us age, we realize that we are becoming experts in a world that no longer exists. It is difficult to keep up with the different changes that are happening in our society and in our world – and many times we feel marginalized and without purpose. By attending our Spiritual Aging Study and Support Group sessions, you will experience the power of joining together for study, support and some laughter. After settling in, we will start each session by reading the weekly study guide written by Carol Orsborn, taken from Spiritual Aging: Weekly Reflections for Embracing Life. This will help guide our discussions. The subject matter is deep and wide ranging, from cultivating freedom, to finding joy in unexpected circumstances, navigating the changing relationships, to viewing age-related loss as spiritual practice, to becoming older, wiser and fiercer – and much more. Here’s where a nd when we’ll meet and how to register…
EXCLUSIVE FOR LEADERS CIRCLE MEMBERS: LET’S CHAT
How are your groups doing? What counsel do you have for Rob, what questions do you have for your peers or share whatever’s in your heart or on your mind.