Small Groups Living in Relationship with God

A very satisfying way of interacting with others within a parish is through small faith-sharing groups. These are gatherings of a few people who want to support one another in living a life in relationship with God.

A faith-sharing group can be open or closed. It can meet weekly, monthly, or even just once or twice during a year. A group might focus on a text, a book, a film series or some other kind of content, or it might be organized simply as a support to its members’ spiritual development. Groups sometimes form to experience new forms of worship. They can also explore certain healing or spiritual practices. They can even be open-ended, as our ECM coffee house group was, discussing a different topic each week as members brought their questions.

Regardless of the format, faith-sharing groups generally follow a certain broad structure. They offer time for prayer, time for a “check in” where each member shares highlights and difficulties of the period since the last meeting, time for reflection, time to share a goal for the week ahead, and time for closure. Under this arrangement each member can feel secure but also challenged.

The size of a faith-sharing group, how often and how many times it meets will determine the level of intimacy which is developed. Optimal group size for forming deep connections is between six and eight. Larger groups might be able to coalesce over time, but each person’s opportunity to share each week will be limited. Groups of more than twelve are usually too unwieldy for in-depth communication.

For this reason, someone wanting to start a faith-sharing group only has to gather a few like-minded people. Here are some basic considerations. Number of meetings: As a rule, groups which meet a certain specified number of times are more attractive than groups which are open ended. Time and place of meetings: Members need to know they can choose where, when, and how often to meet. Topic: If the group is forming around the discussion of a book or other content, a broad subject with a significant spiritual component tends to be more inviting.

Small faith-sharing groups benefit the parish as a whole in many ways. They nurture faith and spiritual growth. They encourage individuals to take their own perspectives and understandings seriously. And they empower their members to live into their ministries in the church and in the world.

A small group, led by Fran Milde, centered on the book St. Benedict’s Toolbox is forming to begin in October and run for six weeks. A monthly coffee house group will also begin this month. If you are interested in either of these groups, yearn for an intimate community or have a topic you’ve always wanted to explore with like minded people, let Bonnie or me know, and we’ll help make it happen.