SMALL CHURCH COMMUNITIES

All  parish members are invited to participate in one of our small church communities.
These communities have several key characteristics: A shared life of some kind, faith sharing, socializing, prayer and a commitment to individual and/or group service.

We have two main ways that parishioners can participate in these communities:

Ministry Groups:
These communities are made up of individuals who are involved in one of our ministries at our parish center:  e.g. Faith Formation, Liturgy, Social Justice, Pastoral Ministry and Administration.

Neighborhood Small Church Communities:
These groups are an opportunity for single and married adults of all ages to experience the power of personal and spiritual growth within a community of 8-12 other parish members.  These groups meet in members' homes and are led by facilitators.

An opportunity for single and married adults of all ages to experience the power of personal and spiritual growth within a community of 8 to 12 other parish members.  These groups meet in members' homes and are led by facilitators. Gatherings include socializing, faith sharing, and prayer.  There are two options for participation.

Seasonal Communities:
You can sign up for the Fall season four week session and/or the Lenten six week session.  This is a limited commitment.

Ongoing Communities:
These communities make a commitment to gather together for a minimum of one year.  Each community sets its own schedule, leadership and focus for reflection.  We currently have 22 of these ongoing groups.

D.A.D.S. 

A Small Church Community for dads of all ages.  This SCC meets once a month from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings.  Join us for coffee, rolls and sharing of our parenting joys and struggles.  We will also explore practical strategies for being even better dads!


For more information call the Administration Office at 763-425-6505, ext. 507 and leaders will contact you.

Groups form based on a variety of needs: Adults with young families, single, newly married, married and mid life, empty nesters, separated and divorced, young adults, etc.
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Web LinksTo Men's Issues

www.sojo.net - Sojourner's magazine.  An excellent resource for a variety of issues confronting today's Christians.  Fr. Richard Rohr has several articles on men's spirituality in past issues.  Just go to "search" and type in "Rohr" and you will get several hits for his articles.

http://members.aol.com/SHEMcenter - A great resource covering a wide range of men's issues.  Fr. Kilikevice has been working with men's spirit hungers for many years. He and his staff offer retreats, workshops, and other events on men's spirituality out of the Chicago area.

www.cacradicalgrace.org - The Center For Action and Contemplation, begun by Fr. Richard Rohr -

www.nrccm.org - The National Resource Center for Catholic Men
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Books
    1. Care of the Soul - by Thomas Moore
    2. The Wild Man's Journey - by Fr. Richard Rohr
    3.  Quest For the Grail - by Richard Rohr
    4. Everything Belongs - by Fr. Richard Rohr
    5. A Boy's Passage - by BrianMolitor
    6. The Masculine Spirit - by Max Oliva
    7. The Quest for the Male Soul - by Martin Pable
    8. From Ageing to Sageing - by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
    9. Fire In the Belly - by Sam Keen
    10. Wildmen, Warriors, and Kings - by Patrick Arnold
    11. The Sibling Society - by Robert Bly
    12. Iron John - by Robert Bly
    13. Soul of a Man - by William J. O'Malley
    14. Crossing The Soul's River: A Rite of Passage for Men - by William O. Roberts Jr.
    15. A Feminist Spirituality For Women and Men  - by Sr. Joan Chittister
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You can choose from a variety of resources to reflect on. Group life can revolve around one or more of the following: weekly scripture readings,  teachings of the catholic church, parenting issues, moral decision making, role of the church in the world today, spiritual traditions within the catholic church, etc.

All Small Church communities have several key characteristics: A shared life of some kind, faith sharing, socializing, prayer and a commitment to individual and/or group service. Registration for these groups will begin in mid September for the Fall season and in mid January for the Lenten season. For more information call 763-425-6505, Ext. 507.
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Signs of a healthy Faith Community:

1. A spirit of hospitality and openness to new members.
2. Respect for all members of the group and no one person tries to dominate.
3. A commitment to learning to pray together, both formal and informal prayer.
4. A willingness to listen to one another even when there are differences of opinion and belief.
5. An outward looking attitude in the group that stays focused on how we live, individually and as a group, the Gospel values in our daily lives.
6. An attitude of service, individually and as a group, to the parish community and the larger community.
   
   

1. The group leader or host home for the first night:
Call all those in their group to let them know about when and where you will be meeting.

2. First night announcements and decisions to be made:
- Have each person take a minute to introduce themselves
- Go over schedule
- Invite others to host a meeting.
- Decide if you will be doing refreshments each week.  And who will be bringing them.
- Be sure to start on time and finish on time ( e.g.7-9pm).

3. Warm ups:
Occasionally try breaking your group into smaller sharing circles of 2 or 3
- Invite members to check in by sharing high and low points from the past week.
- Invite members to take a few minutes to meditate on the past week and look for "God moments" where they are able to see the presence of God being active in their lives.

Then take time to share stories.
- Select a warm up/ice breaker idea,e.g. from the Serendipity bible.

4.  Optional ideas for faith sharing time:
- Use the faith sharing questions for the upcoming Sunday's scripture readings.

5. Closing time:
- Light a candle, lower the lights and:
- Pass the candle and invite members to share prayers of need, thanks, praise, etc.

When the candle comes to them. Remind them that they do not have to pray out loud.
- Invite members to set a goal for themselves for thecoming week and put it into a prayer.
- Find ways to talk about the importance of prayer time as a way to deepen your group's shared life.

Experiment with various prayer forms: e.g. Litanies, prayers of petition, guided meditations, using music in the background, sing a song, vespers (churchnight prayers), reading from scripture or a Psalm, Lectio Divina, etc.,

6. Other ideas for developing group life:
- The facilitator should regularly find ways to remind the group of the purpose of the gatherings:

Seasonal groups emphasize building community, doing faith sharing, learning to pray together.

Ongoing groups emphasize developing a shared life together. Besides faith sharing, prayer, etc. there are other ways for  developing this shared life: e.g. taking on a service project; attending Mass once a month together; holding a seasonal event for the families of the group members; helping to prepare children in the group for receiving sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, and Confirmation; go camping together etc.

- If your group has been together for a while, you may want to discern who in the group might be a good group facilitator in order to share the responsibilities of keeping the group together.

- If your group has been together for a while, take time occasionally to ask for feedback as to what needs and directions your group wants to go in.

- If your group is getting too large, you may want to consider dividing the group into two smaller groups.

- To deepen your sense of identity, pick a name for your group. e.g. The St. Francis Community; or the Pax Christi community; or the Dorothy Day Community; The Mother Theresa Community, etc.

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Small Church Community Resource Materials:


Booklets:

A.  Renew Impact Series

    1. Nurturing Our Commitments  - The Early married years.  -  6 Weeks

    2. Lenten Longings (Cycle C)  -  Seeing With God's Eyes   -  6 Weeks

    3. Awakening The Mystic Within  - Graced Vision  -   6 Weeks

    4. Creative Aging -  Making a Difference In Later Life -   6 Weeks

B. Sunday By Sunday - Weekly Sunday readings and faith sharing questions.


C. Living Lent - The Isaiah project - a 6 week Lenten series focused on Social Justice.

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Books:

A. Letters From A Skeptic -  A son wrestles with his father's questions about Christianity.
    Dr. Gregory A Boyd and Edward K. Boyd

B. Serendipity Bible -  For Personal and Small Group Ministry

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Tapes

A. Fr. Richard Rohr

1. Rebuild The Church: True religion, Rohr explains, gives us the way through
      the darkness of life, not around it. "There has been too much talk of loving
      JESUS, without suffering."  He offers remedies to grow beyond our false
      world view and narrow individualism that have destroyed our values and
      traditions. Rohr proposes a "Reconstruction Creed" that focuses on Godâs
      movement in history.
      a. Ways Of Knowing -  21 min.
      b. The Hunger for Meaning - 100 min.
      c. In Praise of Boundaries -45 min.
      d. Learning to Carry the Darkness - 30 min.
      e. Transformation -  60 min.

2. Great Themes of Scripture: (Broken into groups of tapes as follows)
      a. In The Beginning Is the End - Overview and Message - 60 min.
      b. God Needs Images - Beyond Separateness and Shame - 80 min
      c. Mutual Mirroring - Biblical Truth as the Other - 80 min.
      d. The Stumbling Stone -  From Requirements to Relationships -  75 min
      e. The Paradox of Power  - All Things Hidden Are made Known by Their
         Opposites   80 min.
      f. Bearing the Mystery  - Knowing and Not Knowing - 70 min.
      g. The Perennial Mistake -  Beyond Vengeance and Victims -  85 min.
      h. The Resented Banquet  -  Beyond Reward and Punishment -  90 min.
      i. Connecting The Dots -  The Cross as Pattern and Promise  - 86 min.
      j. In the End the Beginning  - Mutual Indwelling -  87 min.

3.  Faith - Recovering the Language of Belief (1 tape -  70 min)

4. Gravity and Grace -  Insights Into Christian Ministry  ( 1 tape -  63 min.)

5.  The Spirituality of Imperfection  ( 1 tape -  68 min)

6.  Hearing The Wisdom of Jesus ( 1 tape -  71 min.)

7. Jesus - Forgiving Victim -  Transforming Savior ( 1 tape -  54 min.)

8. Men and Women  - The Journey of Spiritual Transformation ( 2 tapes - 164)


B. Murray Bodo, OFM -

The Way of St. Francis  - Teachings and Practices For Daily Life -  (2 tapes -  3 hours).

C. Men Are From Mars -  Women Are From Venus - 

The Secrets of Successful Relationships. Each topic is two tapes and approx. 3 hours total.

 1. Secrets of Passion -  Uncover the secrets for creating and sustaining passionate
      relationships.
 2. Understanding Martian and Venusian -  Understand  and appreciate how men
      and women are different.
 3. Giving and Receiving Love -  Learn how to satisfy your primary emotional
        needs in a relationship.
 4. Lasting Intimacy and Fulfillment -  Dr. Gray reveals insights into intimacy
      and lasting fulfillment.
 5. Improving Communication -  Communicate difficult feelings in a way that
      avoids arguments.
 6. Secrets of great Sex - Discover secrets that will lead to great sex.

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Videos:

A.   Fr. Richard Rohr -

 1. The Reign of God  - 20 min.
 2. Living From the Center  -  (study guide)

B.  Good Goats  -

Healing Our Image of God. - Dennis, Sheila and Matthew Linn  - 40 min.

C. Breaking The Pace -

Thomas Keating -  This tape invites and challenges viewers to find God within.

D. Broken But Loved - 

Fr. George Malony -  We suffer from brokenness of nature and life, yet we are immensely and uniquely loved by God. -  4 parts of 30 min. each.

E. Images of Love - 

Words of Hope -  Jean Vanier - The wisdom of human  experience and biblical faith in a touching and comfortable manner. 13 segments of 24 min. ( study guide).

F. Wake Up! Spirituality For Today  -

Anthony de Mello - 3 segments of 25 min.

G. Wrestling with Angels - 

An Intimate Look At the Tough Questions of Life. 6 segments on separate tapes. (study guide).

H. Overcoming Barriers to Spiritual Growth - 

Dolores Curran.  Topics include:

Overcoming depression; overcoming negativity; recovering from perfectionism, and making anger work for us. (study  guide).

I.  Faith: The Search For God  - 

Fr. John Powell -  2 tapes with 5 segments. (Study guide)

J. The Jesus I Never Knew -

Philip Yancey -  video and study guide series - 14 weeks

K.  Great Stories of Faith - 13 to 18 minutes each. ( study guides)

1. Transformation -  Even when we forget we are sons and daughters of God,
     transformation is at the heart of the gospel.
2.. Breaking Down the Barriers -  We are all one in Christ; the key is to live as
      though the barriers are down, even when they appear to be up.
3.. Ritual and Symbol -  We need memories and acts that connect us to the
      larger meanings of life.
4. The Light Way -  Sometimes our religion is so heavy, it is difficult to share
      with others.
5. Facing Death -  Even Jesus died, though death did not win.  How does the
      fact of death affect our living ?
6. God With Us.  In a secular world, it is important to be alert for signs of
      Godâs presence.

L. Spiritual Growth In Tough Times ? with Sister Joyce

A   Find a Reason to Hope
B.  Inspired Awakening
C.  Human Dignity
D.  A World Transformed
E.  The Dynamics of Hope
 

M. The Faithful Revolution ? Vatican II (Study guides)
A. Genius of the Heart
B. Inspired Awakening
C. Human Dignity
D. A World Transformed
E. The Dynamics of Hope

N. Video study program:

Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours.  By Dr. Kevin Leman

A 6 session series on how to bring out the best in your kids by doing what is best for them.

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CD-ROMs

A. Welcome To The Catholic Church - The complete interactive guide to Catholicism.

Includes:
The catechism of the Catholic Church, RSVP Bible Catholic Edition, The New American Bible, Hundreds of Modern Church documents, all 16 Vatican II Documents, Sources of Catholic Dogma by Denzinger, Cycle of Readings: 2001-2006, Saint Stories,

Moral theology, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Biblical Terms, Church History (2 vol.), homilies of Pope John Paul II, Ceremonies of the Modern roman Rite, Sacraments and their Celebration, Introduction to Spirituality, Ecclesiology.

B. Serendipity Small Group Resources: 

We have a CD-Rom with the small group materials shown in the indexes below.


Serendipity® CD-ROM Curriculum Index

This index was created to help you glance at the many curriculum options available using the Serendipity Small Group CD-Rom. This index will help you discuss with your group what curriculum you may be interested in having printed for viewing at your next small group meeting.

The CD-Rom divides the curriculum into four major search categories: Felt Needs, Group Type, Church Calendar and Finding It In The Bible.

Felt Needs groups curriculum based on particular needs a group may have. Group Types divides curriculum based on a commonality a group may share. Church Calendar divides curriculum based on the common lectionary. Finding It In the Bible contains detailed study materials for many books in the Bible. Each study subject lists the number of modules available. Each study has the opportunity for you to completely customize the study for your group’s particular needs. See the CD-Rom for more details.

The indexes below are not completely comprehensive, as they do not contain an index of the Church Calendar or Finding It In The Bible sections of the CD-Rom. If you have an interest in these areas, please search the CD-ROM for study options. These indexes do however cover many options and a huge variety of topics and needs.


Felt Needs

Group Types

Awareness

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Relationships

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Choices

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Stress

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Issues

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Crisis

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Beliefs

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Discipleship

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Family Relationships

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Parenting

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Singles

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Women

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Spiritual Formation

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Work

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Recovery