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There are three major reasons why people join a church: community, spiritual growth, and a place for their children to learn about religion. Adults are looking for the opportunity to make friends at a deeper level and to explore their own reflections about life as we live it.
To meet those needs, and to enhance our life as a spiritual community, we offer a "Small Group Ministry" program. This is an approach to religious and church growth that is happening in thousands of churches around the world, orthodox or liberal. More than half the churches in the Unitarian Universalist Association have adopted this approach.
The concept is fairly simple. We offer our members and friends an opportunity to join a small group which has between 6 to 9 people in it. The groups meet twice monthly for two hours each meeting. They have a facilitator who helps guide the meeting with session plans with the following format:
Candle Lighting
Opening Words
(a few moments of quiet)
Check-in
Focus (Topic and Discussion)
Likes and Wishes (brief reflection on how a session went)
Closing words
At the heart of the meeting is the check-in and the focus. We have close
to
an hour to share what is happening in our lives, an extended "Joys and
Concerns." This is done without interruption. Then we have a brief
reading
which leads into general conversation and reflection on the topic. Past
topics have included: Rituals and Traditions, The Quality of Your Daily
Life, Gossip, Creating Paradise, Listening, and Sin. This is a
conversation, not an argument - the point is to create a safe place where
we
can speak our truth without having to defend it, where we listen and
respect
the experience and thought of others as well.
When you join a group, regular attendance is expected (sickness, work, vacations excepted). People might stay in the same group for years. And, what happens is a strong bond of caring, a deeper sharing, a group of friends who become your spiritual community in the church. They are there to share your joys and concerns.
We have several ongoing small groups One meets in the church, the rest in people's homes. There is the idea of the open chair. The groups are not closed, but new members are added when there is an opening, or new groups are created.
For more information about the groups contact:
Rev. Jodi Hayashida - 783-0461 or,
Rev. Glenn Turner - 926-5983