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Small Group Ministry
Updated September 2, 2007
The Small Group Ministry consists of groups of
7-10 people within the church community that meet a minimum of
once a month. Each group participates in a facilitated discussion
about a variety of topics related to spirituality, values, and
living one’s life within the context of Unitarian
Universalism. The sessions are designed by the minister and
include a chalice lighting, check-in, readings on the topic and
the facilitated discussion. Each group is led by a trained
facilitator.
Topics have included: Trust, Risk, Gratitude,
Compassion, Justice, Evil, Forgiveness, Hospitality, Empowerment,
and Sources of Spirituality.
Small Group Ministry provides the opportunity
to:
- communicate thoughtfully, deeply, and
compassionately with each other about issues we feel are
important to ourselves, our spiritual growth, and our
life together in this congregation.
- understand each other’s strengths,
needs, fears, beliefs, and values; and to understand our
own better.
- explore our common purpose, to learn from
and nurture our different paths to spiritual growth and
to understand and consider each other’s perspectives
as well as to learn from each other’s experiences.
- form closer connections among individuals
of our congregation and strengthen our commitment to each
other.
Small Group Ministry is grounded in a Covenant:
We, the member of the First Parish Small
Group Ministry, covenant to create a place and time for
nurturing spiritual growth, where all share, are heard, and
listen with open minds. We will respect each other’s
thoughts, opinions, and feelings, in an atmosphere of mutual
trust and confidentiality.
Small Group Ministry requires:
- regular attendance at the meetings (twice
a month for the first three months and once a month or as
the group agrees after that)
- a commitment to attend the meetings for
one church year
- a commitment to uphold the groups’
covenant and expectations for creating an open,
non-judgmental, atmosphere for sharing ideas,
experiences, and beliefs.
Small Group Ministry is not:
- a support group. While individuals may
share events in their personal lives and confidentiality
is honored, the focus is on discussion of the topics and
not on helping people resolve personal issues and
problems.
- intended to create permanent groups or
cliques. The groups last long enough for trust and deeper
connections to grow over one church year but are
evaluated and reformed each year, providing new
opportunities to learn and grow.
Consider joining. New Small Group Ministry
groups will be forming this fall. If you would be interested in
joining a group or learning more about Small Group Ministry,
contact Rev. Ellen Spero at minister@uuchelmsford.org or 978-256-5555.