Small Groups Lend Support During Challenging Times

New UUA Interconnections article by Don Skinner looks at the role of small groups during challenging times. Posted on UUA.org on December 15, 2007. Includes interview with Diana Dorroh, president of the UU SGM Network and Program Director of the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge.

Read the article

CGNEWS #89 - Update on Small Group Ministry at General Assembly

Covenant Group News is a free electronic newsletter on Small Group Ministry and Covenant Groups read by 1300 forward-looking Unitarian Universalists. CGNews is edited by Peter Freedman Bowden and distributed by the UU Small Group Ministry Network.

Friends,

Here is an update on Small Group Ministry events at General Assembly. Please take note of our Annual Meeting announcement. There are lots of changes with Independent Affiliates and the UUA, something we'll certainly discuss. Also, I wanted to let you know that the slump in CGNews messages has been a result of my going to film school. Fortunately that is coming to an end. You can read about the UU Video I'm making over the next two weeks at http://uuplanet.com. Going to GA? You may even get to be in it.

Now on to General Assembly!
Peter

* For complete GA information, registration forms, and live updates visit www.uua.org.

* We invite you to join our network. Your support makes our ministry, website and resource development possible.
http://smallgroupministry.net/pdf/Membership%20Form.pdf

Small Group Ministry at General Assembly 2007

Once a year representatives and members of our Unitarian Universalist congregations and organizations gather for the annual meeting of our association. This meeting is called General Assembly (GA). This year, GA will be in Portland, OR and will feature opportunities for Small Group Ministry (SGM) or Covenant Groups.

UU Small Group Ministry Network Booth #852
“Small Groups, Deep Connections”

The UU Small Group Ministry Network is offering a booth in the Exhibit Hall this year at General Assembly. Come learn more about Small Group Ministry, receive free consulting about your SGM questions, talk with the experts, hear mini-workshops, join the Network, pick up free materials, purchase materials, meet SGM enthusiasts from around the country, and tell us about your SGM Program. See You there!

Hours: Wednesday: Noon to 7 PM
Thursday through Saturday: 11 AM to 7 PM
Sunday: 9 AM to 4 PM

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UU Small Group Ministry Network Annual Meeting
Saturday, June 23, 1-2

Meet at the UU Small Group Ministry Network Booth ("Small Groups, Deep Connections") # 852. From the
booth, we’ll go to the Lounge Refreshment Area in the Exhibit Hall and find a table where we can conduct
the Annual Meeting. We will conduct the business of the Network including: vote on a slate of officers for the coming year; hear a report from our out-going p President, Rev. Calvin Dame; hear a financial report from our treasurer Susan Hollister; and discuss the UUA affiliate Status changes. We’re open to hearing your ideas and suggestions on making a strong SGM Network. If You’ll be at GA, please join us.

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#2043 Emerging Models of Small Group Ministry
Thursday, June 21, 1-2:15 PM, Rooms D133-134
UU Small Group Ministry Network

Congregations across our denomination are developing successful and exciting variations on Small Group Ministry or Covenant Groups. This panel of members and friends of the Small Group Ministry Network will share our significant innovations including theme groups, short-term groups, groups in the community, use in Religious Education and by religious professionals. Panelists are Rev. Ken Beldon, Dr. M’ellen Kennedy, Rev. Helen Zidowecki, and others.

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# 3053 Facilitator Training for Small Group Ministry
Friday, June 22, 2:45-4 PM, Room E 145
UU Small Group Ministry Network

Small Group Ministry or Covenant Groups are transforming how we do congregational life. One of the challenges that lay and professional leaders face is how to adequately train facilitators. In this workshop, members of the Small Group Ministry Network will share our collective wisdom on what makes for quality leadership development.Presenters: Dr. M’ellen Kennedy, Rev. Marti Keller, Diana Dorroh and Peter Bowden.

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Covenant Groups at GA
On Hiatus In Portland 2007

Harlan Limpert, Director for District Services of the Unitarian Universalist Association, has announced that a decision has been made to take a one-year hiatus from having covenant groups at General Assembly. Plan on covenant groups returning to GA in 2008 -- bigger and stronger than ever. (Around 300 people participated last year!) If You have a story to share about your Covenant Group experience at GA in past years, please send it to mellen@smallgroupministry.net for inclusion in future issues of this Quarterly or in our Covenant Group News. We'd love to hear from you.

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UUSC's Announces the launch of
Covenant Group Ministry
web based Resources

"This is one of the most exciting developments in the Small Group Ministry movements. It combines for me two of the more important aspects of Small Group Ministry -- connections among the people and concerns of the world."
- Rev. Calvin O. Dame

"The power of deep sharing among seekers, the essence of the Small Group Ministry, is key to my own vision of Living Democracy. It is through such common seeking that we gain clarity and courage to express our truest selves."
- Frances Moore Lappe

With these resources, UUSC supports members of the UU community in: the search for connection with each other and the larger global community; the quest for meaningful engagement with life’s most challenging questions; and the pursuit to engage more effectively with local, national, and global social justice initiatives.

Through the Covenant Group model of intimacy and ultimacy, members will be inspired to take action on human rights issues that affect our global community. Small group worship and community building changes lives and enlivens commitments with purpose and passion. Individuals will find the strength and courage to take simple action steps or lead social justice projects that will ultimately help to change the world.

In modules of four to six session, Covenant Group Ministry resources address such topics as:

• Living on Democracy's Edge
• Drumbeat for Darfur
• Wage Justice
• The Human Right to Water

For more information and to download these free resources visit The UUSC Covenant Group resource page. New resources will be added throughout the summer of 2007.

For more information or to participating in a Small Group Ministry Circle at General Assembly in Portland, OR please contact Carie Johnsen, UUSC Ministerial Intern at cjohnsen@uusc.org.

Peter Freedman Bowden
UU PLANET Ministry & Media
Independent Unitarian Universalist Consulting & Media Services
Office (401) 855-0037
155 Evarts Street
Newport, RI 02840
www.uuplanet.com

Two more sessions from Jolinda Stephen's

Sessions 1-6 of Jolinda Stephen's Radical Hospitality series are now available through our session page. Jolinda Stephens is Director for Lifespan Religious Programming Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula. http://www.uure.org. Sessions in Rich Text Format (RTF).

Visit Session Page or download sessions directly...

Session #1 Posted 3/17/07
Session #2 Posted 3/17/07
Session #3 Posted 3/17/07
Session #4 Posted 3/17/07
Session #5 Posted 4/30/07
Session #6 Posted 4/30/07

If you have sessions to share please email them to me as Word Documents, Rich Text, or PDF files. Thanks! Peter.

Invitation from Skinner House Books

Skinner House Books is actively seeking proposals for resources to be used in small group ministry. Some particular topics of interest are:

• Spiritual parenting
• UU Principles
• UU Sources
• Theology in daily life
• Anti-racism/anti-oppression
• Multiculturalism
• Generosity
• Peacemaking

If you are doing small-group work on any of these topics and would like to submit a proposal, or if you have another idea you’d like to suggest, please consider yourself warmly invited to contact me at 617/948-4603 or mbenard@uua.org.

EVENT: Sustaining a Strong Small Group Ministry Program

Sustaining a Strong Small Group Ministry Program
Thursday, April 12, 7-9 PM
First Unitarian Congregation of Cleveland, Ohio


This First Unitarian Congregation of Cleveland is pleased to offer a training opportunity for SGM enthusiasts.

The workshop will cover the following topics:
- the power and purpose of Small Group Ministry (or Covenant Groups)
- the essential components of a Small Group Ministry program
- addressing common challenges in an SGM program
- developing shared leadership within a small group
- handling group difficulties.

This event will be of particular value to those serving as group leaders or facilitators in a small group ministry program. Others, including professional ministers, those serving on steering committees for SGM programs, or those with an interest in being part of small group ministry are also welcome and will benefit from this workshop.

The workshop leader is the Dr. M'ellen Kennedy, a UU community minister and community psychologist. She is co-founder and co-coordinator of the UU Small Group Ministry Network and serves as editor of this organization's "Small Group Ministry Quarterly." Dr. Kennedy has been working with lay led small groups for over 20 years and has offered facilitator training to hundreds of lay and professionals leaders. She also serves as a consulting minister for the Universalist Society in Strafford, Vermont.

The church is located at 21600 Shaker Boulevard, Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Please contact mellen@smallgroupministry.net if you'd like to attend.

Submitted by Mellen Kennedy

Small Group Ministry at GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2007

Representatives and members of our Unitarian Universalist congregations and organizations will be gathering for our General Assembly (GA). Programs about Small Group Ministry or Covenant Groups are among the many exciting offerings at GA in Portland, OR, this year. The UU Small Group Ministry Network Is Offering the Following Workshops:

Facilitator Training for Small Group Ministry
Small Group Ministry or Covenant Groups are transforming how we do congregational life. One of the challenges that lay and professional leaders face is how to adequately train facilitators. In this workshop, members of the Small Group Ministry Network will share our collective wisdom on what makes for quality leadership development.

Emerging Models of Small Group Ministry
Congregations across our denomination are developing successful and exciting variations on Small Group Ministry or Covenant Groups. This panel of members of the Small Group Ministry Network will share our significant innovations including theme groups, short-term groups, groups in the community, use in Religious Education and by religious professionals.

UUSGM Network Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the UU Small Group Ministry Network will be held at GA in Portland. Details on the Meeting will be announced closer to GA.

UUSGM Network Booth
An Opportunity to Help Out & Learn More about SGM ... The UU Small Group Ministry Network plans to have a booth in the Exhibit Hall again this year at General Assembly. If you would like to help staff our booth, please contact M'ellen Kennedy at mellen@smallgroupministry.net. Staffing the booth is a great opportunity to share your enthusiasm about and experience with Small Group Ministry. You also get to meet and learn from folks from all over the country who are engaged in this vital work. We'd love to have you join us!

Are You planning an SGM event at GA?
Let us know and we'll help You get the word out in the Summer/GA Issue of this Quarterly and future issues of CGNews.


Submitted by M'ellen Kennedy

New Peacemaking Small Group Sessions

Download the Peacemaking Small Group Sessions HERE:
http://www.uua.org/csw/issues_pm.htm

The Peacemaking Congregational Study Action Issue (CSAI) Core Team announced that the Spring 2007 Peacemaking CSAI program materials are now available from the Commission of Social Witness (CSW) website (www.uua.org/csw).

Three sets of materials have been developed for congregational use:

1. a script and materials for an introductory workshop on the topic of peacemaking that can be organized by volunteers in local congregations
   
   
2. a set of session plans that can be used for discussion in small groups
   
   
3. a Resource Guide which lists books, articles, films, websites and other resources that can be used by groups or individuals to explore peacemaking issues.

The small group session plans can be used either in existing small group ministry (covenant) groups or in new groups created to be part of the denomination’s exploration of peacemaking.

The sessions cover five aspects of peacemaking:

1. an introduction to concepts and definitions,
2. interpersonal and congregational peacemaking
3. building a culture of peace
4. structural violence
5. international peacemaking.

The Core Team encourages UU congregations to use their great creativity in adapting these materials to better fit their needs, or in developing entirely new programs on peacemaking! The Team requests feedback from all participating churches on what seemed to work well and what did not. This will provide extremely helpful information for preparing next year’s program materials which will be available in September 2007.

Individuals interested in helping with the Peacemaking CSAI process are encouraged to sign up for one of the national working groups (see the CSW website ), or to take leadership within their congregations in implementing peacemaking study programs.

Submitted by Judy Morgan

Download the Peacemaking Small Group Sessions HERE:
http://www.uua.org/csw/issues_pm.htm

New session - The Quality of Your Daily Life

The Quality of Your Daily Life
By Mary Wolski, Unitarian Universalist Church of Flint, Michigan. Posted 1/9/07

For more small group ministry sessions visit our session page
http://smallgroupministry.net/public/sessions/

Small Group Ministry event in Westport, CT on 2/24/07

Small Group Ministry: Covenant for the Future , a workshop sponsored by the District for congregational teams who want to initiate or energize their Small Group Ministry program, will be held February 24, 2007, at the Unitarian Church in Westport (CT). The workshop repeats the program held previously in October. The Rev. Calvin Dame and the Rev. Chris Reed will lead the workshop.

Event Details:
http://uumetrony.org/metronyminute/dec06/SGM_Workshop.pdf

Q & A in Interconnections Newsletter

Q We started a small group ministry program two years ago and the groups really took off, but now we're starting to see problems with several of them. Is that normal?

A Peter Bowden, a church consultant and a cofounder of the UU Small Group Ministry Network, smallgroupministry.net, says, "In my consulting work I have yet to find a congregation with a 'mysterious' reason for small group ministry failing. Across the board, problems are the result of some failure to implement a viable model or a failure to support this ministry prior to launching. Sustaining a healthy small group ministry requires a great deal of time, energy, and resources. Small group ministry isn't rocket science, but it is hard work. And well worth it."

"After the establishment of a new program," Bowden continues, "it is common for congregations to let small groups run on autopilot, especially when more urgent matters demand attention. However, it takes regular vision casting and support between group facilitators and skill training for small group ministries to not only stay on track, but to thrive."

Another reason for failure, he says, is that while groups are designed to build intimacy and connections they can sometimes become too inward-looking, at the expense of being open and welcoming. Also, over time the focus of groups naturally drifts toward the interests of group members, Bowden says. Such "small group drift" can move the focus of the group away from leadership development, shared ministry, and outreach.

The UU Small Group Ministry Network offers members a quarterly newsletter addressing the "perils and promises" of small group ministry. An email list, covenant_group_ministry, is available at uua.org/lists.

To join the UU SGM Network mail a check made out to "UU SGM Network"($35 individuals/$60 congregations) to UU SGM Network, 155 Evarts Street, Newport, RI, 02840. Include an email contact and a brief description of your program.