People come to church longing for, yearning for, hoping for … a sense of roots, place, belonging, sharing and caring. People come to a church with a search for community, not committee.— Glenn Turner

A different way of doing church

The Small Group Ministry program deepens and broadens personal spiritual growth. A group usually consists of 8-10 members who meet at church or at each others’ homes, usually once every two weeks. Each meeting is focused on a spiritual or religious topic. The goals are to:

• Listen and be listened to in a safe place
• Learn about the mysteries of our world and our spiritual paths
• Build new and deeper personal connections
• Serve our community and the needs of one another
• Maintain personal connections and a caring community

Each group has a facilitator who links the group to a steering committee and the minister. The steering committee and minister provide overall guidance, recruit new members and establish new groups, and develop session plans.

How can you join a group?

Contact Kim Spidell at smallgroup@uucbham.org.

Goals of Small Group Ministry

The Small Group Ministry program deepens and broadens personal spiritual growth. This is done through five components:

• Listening: Deep listening is gift for both the speaker and the listener. A connection forms when we share and give this gift to each other.
• Worship: Worship is central to the life of our congregation. Small Group Ministry augments and strengthens our shared experience.
• Community: Small groups meet the need for connection and intimacy that is both a hunger in our society and essential to the ongoing life of a religious community.
• Learning: People come to the church seeking spiritual growth, seeking to know themselves better, to grow into their understanding of the world and to ponder the age old questions of faith: how to live, what to believe, how to act, what meanings we can decipher from the mystery of life.
• Service: A life of faith is a life of service. As human beings, we seek to be of use, and a healthy congregation needs to provide avenues through which we may serve.

Contact Kim Spidell at smallgroup@uucbham.org.