Small group ministry is a forum for deepening people's spirituality and faith... Small groups allow people to 'grow their soul'... -- Rev. Brent Smith, Grand Rapids, MI

Small group ministry is designed to foster connections and caring, to provide avenues for personal growth and spiritual development, to strengthen the fabric of our community, and to provide ways in which we may serve.

The committee work that I do feeds the church...my participation in a small group will be the thing that I do to feed my soul -- UU Church of the Palouse, Moscow, ID

The Small Group Ministry Program is open to anyone who might wish to participate. The groups are guided by facilitators who meet regularly with our minister, Patti Pomerantz. Groups, which gather about twice a month, meet in people's homes.

Small Group Ministry is the spiritual development group I've been hoping for for a long time...SGM helps me build personal relationships...[it] has reconnected me to the church community...SGM goes beyond the coffee hour...It's FUN! -- UU Community Church, Augusta, ME

The format includes an opening reading, time for a check-in and sharing, discussion on a topic such as yearnings, loss, wonder, commitment, forgiveness, worship, living simply, our own religious journeys, etc., then a time for feedback and a closing reading. Sessions are about two hours.

My participation has helped me to see the world from many different perspectives, to grow and to change, and to nurture those directions that are most likely to take me closer to...the good life. I find myself listening better, caring more about others, thinking more clearly, and spending more time on the process rather than the goal. The most democratic and educational of all our institutions is not the voting booth or the school, but the small group -- UU Church, Tacoma, WA

Small groups began meeting in October 2004, and new groups will continue to form regularly. If you are interested in being part of the Small Group Ministry program, please contact our minister or the small group coordinator through the church or using the on-line comment form.

Small Group Ministry's goals

• Love each other and ourselves;
• Learn about the mysteries of our world and our spiritual paths;
• Serve our community and the needs of one another;
• Maintain personal connections and a caring community with and for members of our groups