Conversations about Faith
“Now the whole group of those who believed
were of one heart and soul…”
Acts 4:32
Growing faith is the work of the Church. It was the heart of Jesus’ own mission to help us human beings connect with our divine source, to help us age with goodness, wisdom and peace, and to help us build and live in the reign of God.
The Church seeks to help us live with purpose and meaning by connecting what we believe with how we live, and how we live in community. Thus, we may connect our own inborn hunger for God with our tendency to attempt to satisfy that hunger in ways that do not lead to meaning. These alternate paths may include greed, seeking power, or overuse of earth’s resources. The way of faith, on the other hand, leads us to find the courage to allow God to satisfy our hunger and to guide our hearts and lives. We may connect ourselves to others within our households but also in our neighborhoods and world. We may connect questions we have about the tough moral decisions we face with the guidance of Scripture and the Church and the wisdom of our own elders.
This Manual provides an organizing plan which helps you as parish leaders to create, support, and sustain small groups of Catholics and their spouses or friends, who meet to hold an intentional conversation about faith.
This Manual outlines a process to equip pastoral leaders to lead people to depth resources, inviting participants to:
Ø Experience a deep and lasting relationship with Christ and others
Ø Connect the teaching and tradition of the Church to daily life
Ø Become connected to one another
Ø Connect their experience with the liturgical year, and with the circumstances of the world at the present moment
Ø Make a connection between faith in Christ and the call to service, toward a more just world
Ø Become more deeply connected to the parish community.
Small groups holding intentional conversations about faith have the ability to lead people to thoroughly Catholic reflection. We recommend in our appendix certain resources to help you do this, but you may also choose from any of the other high quality resources available today. This process has a beginning, but not an end. Therefore, groups move from one resource to the next without pausing. Small groups gathering to talk will become part of the very structure of parish life, an avenue for growth and shared life journeys.
Background:
Why small groups?
“Small groups” come in many shapes and descriptions. Your parish is likely already filled with them. Perhaps a small group is an intentionally formed small church community, people who may have met together for many years and formed deep bonds. Or it may be a relatively new intentional group. Or it could be a group which gathers to reflect on the Sunday readings and explore them with each other in light of their lives. A small group might be a collection of folks who partner together in ministry; the ministers of music, bereavement team, or social action organization, for example. A parish may have a retreat process in which participants share a period of formation together, and then hope to continue to grow in love of God in the community of which they have become a part. Your pastoral staff and other leadership groups may include intentional faith sharing as part of your regular meetings. Small groups do come in many shapes and descriptions!
There are many benefits of participation in a small community group, for the individual members and for the parish. Members of small groups say they join because they seek deeper faith and a stronger connection to the larger parish community. (“Small communities bear big gifts, study shows,” NCR, May 28, 1999.) Small group participants find church becoming an essential part of their lives, rather than something that remains on the fringes of life. Members attend Sunday Eucharist more regularly, consider Church teaching when making moral decisions in higher percentages than Catholics who are not part of a small group, and grow in comfort in praying aloud and leading others in prayer (ibid.).
The importance of small groups in the lives of many Christians cannot be understated. There is a significant relationship between small group membership and parishioner engagement, that deep sense of belonging that contributes to spiritual commitment among members: members of small groups are more than twice as likely to be engaged in their faith community as those who are not in a small group. While it is difficult to know whether their involvement in a small group is a result of their already-developing engagement or their engagement is a result of their small group experience, the importance of creating, fostering, and supporting small groups is certainly of value. (Growing an Engaged Church, Winseman, p.136-140.) Small group members often comment that it is their group that reminds them that discipleship is a lifelong journey requiring commitment.
A Few Additional Words about Engagement
Let’s return for just a moment to that earlier reference about ‘engagement.’ Gallup research illustrates the importance of people feeling a deep sense of belonging to their faith community. That belonging, or engagement, is essential in helping to establish and sustain spiritual commitment in individuals and within a community. Engaged parishioners are more likely to invite others to events at their parish; they offer more time in service within their communities; they give more of their financial resources to their parishes; and they experience a deeper sense of satisfaction in their lives, even while striving to live as faithful disciples. There are many factors that contribute to engagement within a community, but a few bear highlighting in preparation for small groups. Gallup’s research says people:
§ are seeking a community in which their spiritual needs will be met;
§ want someone in their parish to encourage their spiritual development;
§ want to look around themselves and see others who are committed to spiritual growth, as they are or hope to become;
§ want to have someone in their faith community upon whom they may call in a time of joy or in a time of distress;
§ hope for a parish in which they have opportunities to learn and grow. (Winseman, Growing an Engaged Church, 81-83.)
In essence, the research says that people long to belong. They want to know that they are of value to their parish community, and in turn, their community will be of value in their lives. Together with others in their community, they will live deeply as Christ’s people. Think of the small groups of which you are or have been a part. Think of the shared experiences of life and faith, and of the growth that takes place in members. Can you imagine a better setting in which to create such living, engaging life? It’s time to support and expand your small groups.
How Small groups Work:
This Manual is a resource to equip pastoral leaders to support already-existing small groups, and a process for gathering Catholic adults and their friends into new small groups who will hold a conversation about faith.
For those who already have many small communities within the parish, this is a process to help you create a lasting structure of support, providing quality resources to encourage lifelong conversion in Christ.
For those who wish to form new groups, this manual includes resources to begin and sustain small groups that meet in six to ten-week seasons. The seasons begin whenever you are ready, and they do not have an end. A possible parish schedule might look like this:
Ø After Christmas – Organize, plan, and train small community group leaders; begin a season of six to ten-weeks, depending on the Liturgical period available
Ø Lent – a six week session of small community group gatherings
Ø Holy Week and Easter – take a break
Ø After Easter but before summer – a six to ten-week session
Ø Summer – a summer option for those groups who want to continue meeting
Ø Fall – a six to ten-week session
Ø Advent and Christmas – take a break, celebrate this Season together, but without any formal process
Ø After Christmas, organize and train to re-launch each year and increase the number of participants; begin a season of six to ten-weeks, depending on the Liturgical period available
Ø Lent of each year – a six week session
Ø This keeps going on…
The topics and content for the first round of small group gatherings may come from Come to the Table │ Ven a la Mesa or another one of the recommended resources.
Each season may begin with a gathering at the parish in which the season’s theme is introduced and participants are invited to prepare spiritually for their coming study.
Once each year, participants plan to make a retreat together as a small group. For this purpose, we provide a complete and reproducible resource, The Living Christ retreat. This retreat occurs in three sessions, timed very closely together (3 consecutive evenings, or one on Friday evening and two on Saturday, for example). It is rooted in our journey of faith, the Paschal Mystery, and entering into deep covenant with the wider parish community.
The seasons may end with a parish service experience in which participants are invited to act on their group discussions.
Once the groups have run the course of one topic, they simply begin again with another topic, eventually considering in depth all of Scripture and Catholic teaching. We know, too, that study and reflection must lead to change of heart and mind: on-going conversion, and to action. Small groups lead participants to ask the big questions: “In whom do I believe?” “What does my faith mean in my life?” “How am I called to live?” “What does the life of discipleship ‘look like’ for me?” “How will I live in response to my relationship with Christ?” “With whom will I share my life and faith?”
For Pastoral Leaders throughout our Catholic Church
As important as supporting small groups is, it is not the only demand you face. If small groups are to flourish in our parishes, the process used for group meetings must be easily organized, with adaptable materials readily available. This manual provides almost everything you will need to organize, expand and sustain small groups. The materials contained in this manual are reproducible. More details about the various resources, group discussion guides, additional resources and seasonal support may be found at PastoralPlanning.com in the Center for Small Communities.
Parish leaders: Everything in this process is designed with ease and depth in mind. We have heard the concerns: you have told us that expanding and supporting small groups must be facilitated within the demands of parish leaders, staff or volunteers. You discern the best methods for promoting and implementing these processes; we provide all you will need. Small groups will result in well-formed adults who are living and growing in their faith. A strong leadership team of parishioners with a catechetical leader will insure that the process is well-publicized and supported, using materials found in this manual as a start. Team formational meeting content, group leader training, materials for organizing your first season, and promotional materials for new or already-existing groups may all be found within this manual.
Campus Ministers and those who lead returning Catholics processes: Small groups are perfect for you! Because the suggested resources are written in such a wonderfully accessible way (field-tested with people of all ages and stages of faith for ease of use and understanding), you will be able to bring the wisdom and beauty of our Catholic faith alive for the people you serve.
Diocesan leaders: Promoting small groups with pastors and parish catechetical leaders will be simple and enjoyable. Imagine having a resource such as this to share with leaders who are ready to foster living and growing discipleship! Unlike many processes that require major investments of time and money just to begin, This process is affordable and manageable; leaders can discern how much coordination and planning is necessary in their settings, knowing that they have the resources they need at their fingertips!
Meeting the needs of today’s parish dynamics
Just as small groups come in many shapes and sizes, so do parishes. Our resources and suggestions will be effective for small groups that arise out of every parish. However, the organization and sustenance of these small groups may be accomplished differently in parishes that vary in size, diversity and structure. This manual takes this dynamic reality of parish life into consideration. While the processes outlined in this manual could conceivably be of use to every parish, a special section at the end of this manual is included to highlight potential adaptations for small or extra large parishes and/or for parish clusters, missions, or for use as the basis for adult faith formation as part of an on-going children’s religious education process.
Prepare for small groups
A bit of preparation will insure the success of small groups and at the same time help you to get the word out that something special is in the works for small groups. Many parishes already have small faith communities; nearly every parish also has small groups that meet regularly and for whom study, faith sharing and reflection would be of benefit. Organizing small groups with these groups in mind will help to strengthen the groups, and will positively impact your community. This is also an ideal way to invite the participation of those who are not already involved and who are likely not engaged in the life of your community.