UUSM - Getting Involved - Covenant Groups/Small Group Ministry
Covenant Groups/Small Group Ministry
- Do you want to grow together and develop personal relationships with other
church members and friends?
- Are you interested in process as much as results, sharing feelings, engaged
listening, personal interactions and honest communications?
- Do you want to experience the bonding that occurs from the definition, by
a newly formed group, of a behavioral covenant that will guide the group's
process?
- Do you want to establish jointly, with the consensus of the group, a spiritual
theme and a church/community service project?
- And then explore that theme deeply with the group while working as a team
to accomplish the service project?
- Do you want to develop and refine concepts of inclusivity, hospitality,
and respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and put those
concepts into action in your everyday life?
Then become a member of a Covenant Group (a small group of up to ten people,
formed by random selection for an agreed duration)!
Covenant Groups have become an important part of the life of the Unitarian
Universalist religious community. Participants have established new and deeper
connections with one another and found a place for religious exploration and
spiritual growth. While members of Covenant Groups connect with one another
and with the life of the whole congregation, they develop a larger vision of
themselves as religious liberals and as Unitarian Universalists.
To learn more, scroll down or see:
Covenant Groups/Small Ministry FAQ
 What is Small Group Ministry
About?
We will introduce Small Group Ministry into our Community Church in order to
better realize our mission as a congregation and a religious community. We have
come to understand that Small Group Ministry helps create a more vibrant and
vital religious community by providing resources in these four areas:
1. Worship: Worship is central to the life of any congregation.
Small Group Ministry is intended not to replace, but to augment and strengthen
that shared experience.
2. Community: Covenant Groups meet the need for connection
and intimacy that is both a deep hunger in our society and essential to the
ongoing life of a religious community.
3. Learning: People come to the church seeking spiritual growth,
seeking to know themselves better, to grow in 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.
4. 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.
Who is in charge of small group ministry at UUCCSM?
The minister, Rev. Judith Meyer, is the one ultimately responsible. However,
Small Group Ministry is a grass roots movement, and tasks and responsibilities
are spread broadly to church members. Facilitators, selected and trained by
the minister and her staff, play major roles in the functioning of Covenant
Group meetings. As Small Group Ministry grows at our church, a small support
organization will be required to handle logistics. This is being done now by
members of the Covenant Group Implementation Team, who are making the launch
of the program at UUCCSM a reality. Training of Facilitators is expected to
be an ongoing process.
What happens at a meeting?
The session plans are simple:
Opening Words: Gathering people in and helping settle folks
down serves to remind participants of the special opportunity of the meeting,
and often reflects the topic of the evening. Typically, someone will light a
chalice during the opening and a short reading or music will occur.
Check-in: Participants share news of what has been happening
in their lives. Each covenant group develops its own customs as to the length
of sharing or how to respond. This portion of the meeting may expand from time
to time when circumstances call for it.
Topic/Discussion: A paragraph or two lays out a topic and
presents questions that will elicit thoughtful discussion and significant reflection.
A group may stay with a topic for several weeks or complete it in one meeting.
Likes and Wishes: This is a positive format for feedback.
Not every group will include this every time.
Closing Words: This brings the formal session to an end. Groups
are encouraged to start and end on time.
Where will the groups meet?
Initially, Covenant Groups will meet at the church. The participants in the
Covenant Group may change this later to a mutually agreed setting, such as the
home. This is up to the participants.
How long do meetings last?
Sessions are intended to be two hours long and by common consent most groups
are respectful of the time.
What is the role of the minister?
The minister coordinates this ministry of the congregation. She helps to recruit
and train facilitators and meets with them as a Covenant Group each month to
counsel and guide. She is instrumental in recruiting and training new facilitators
and in developing new groups.
What does the facilitator do?
The Small Group Ministry facilitators organize the life of the Covenant Group.
They make sure the group begins and ends on time or they delegate someone to
do so. They remind people of the next meeting and contact group members who
miss a meeting, or delegate someone to do so. During the meeting they read from
the session plans and guide the discussion or delegate someone to do so. They
meet each month with the minister and other facilitators and help to maintain
the connection between individual groups and the larger church.
Who will know what I say?
There is an expectation of confidentiality within Covenant Groups. The level
of comfort around confidentiality will vary within groups, so participants are
encouraged to review this expectation from time to time and to renew their covenant
in regards to this. When there are significant pastoral concerns, a facilitator
may ask if they can share that concern with the minister.
 How
does small group ministry grow?
We will always be in the process of forming new groups as people become interested
in joining a group or as new people arrive. As new groups are formed, apprentices
or experienced group members may become facilitators for new groups. As the
circumstances of peoples’ lives change, the membership of a group may change
from time to time. While it is sad to say goodbye, new members are warmly welcomed,
and they expand the circle of connection.
Is small group minstry therapy?
No. While participants in our groups often report feeling better connected
and happier in their lives, SGM is not therapy. Professional therapy is readily
available in our communities; the Covenant Groups offer connection, reflection,
community, and spiritual growth.
How does the idea of service fit in?
From the beginning of our planning, the idea of service has been woven into
the fabric of Small Group Ministry. We ask that every group, over time, take
on some kind of service in the church or in the community. This might be covering
all the sign-up jobs on a Sunday Morning, adopting a family in need at Christmas,
or guiding a fundraiser during the church year. Service beyond the group is
important for two reasons. First, it helps to offset the natural tendency of
small, intimate groups to become self absorbed and disconnected, and second,
it is a necessary aspect of a growing spiritual life — a life of faith is service.
How often do groups meet?
Each group develops its own schedule in consensus; the most common pattern
at other churches is to meet twice a month on a first and third or second and
fourth week schedule. That makes scheduling easier and allows a three-week interval
from time to time. Some groups choose every other week, every third week, or
once a month. Groups tend to meet less often through the summer and over holidays.
How long will I be in a group?
The commitment to a group is part of the covenant that is made between the
participants. Initially, a period of no more than six months seems a reasonable
length of time, depending upon the theme selected.
Questions?
The Covenant Group Implementation Team at UUCCSM is your resource. Feel free
to contact any of them. Team members will also staff an info desk in Forbes
Hall at coffee hours on Sundays. They will maintain contact with the Small Group
Ministry at other UU Churches and with the UUA Small Group Ministry network:
Sanna Egan
Gerrie Lambson
Marv Pulliam
Carol Ring
Carol-Jean Teuffel
Elements of Small Group
Ministry
 Size
The ideal covenant group size is eight to ten people. The group should have
at least three or four people plus the facilitator and never more than twelve,
including the facilitator.
Frequency of meetings
The group should meet at least once a month and may meet twice a month or even
weekly in someone's home (if a quiet, private, living room-like setting is regularly
available), or at church.
Format
The format must combine readings or rituals and personal check-in periods at
the start and at the end. (See the recommended format below.)
Facilitators
A facilitator is a woman or man who has been chosen and trained by the minister(s)
(or in societies with no minister, by someone chosen by a small steering committee).
The minister (or designated leader) then facilitates a covenant group for facilitators
so that the training is ongoing and shared.
Empty Chair
Always keep at least one chair empty, to symbolize those not yet reached who
need us and to suggest the expectation that a new group will be “born from”
this group when membership gets to ten or so.
Covenants
During the second meeting, agree on a behavioral covenant-on how members wish
to be with each other. Later, agree on at least one service to perform for both
the church and the larger community each year.
Standard Format
 An Opening Reading...
...from a Unitarian Universalist source (our hymn book contains enough material
to sustain a covenant group for many, many months).
A Check-In...
...period during which each person is asked to briefly state his or her answer
to a question such as, What's on your mind today? What do you need to leave
behind for a couple of hours in order to be fully present here?
A Time for the Focus or Purpose...
...of the meeting. The topic or activity can be whatever the group prefers,
so long as it is consistent with our Purposes and Principles and the mission
of the sponsoring congregation. The focus should be more on sharing than on
debating.
The Closing Check-Out
The facilitator asks each person for a word or phrase that says something
about how she or he is feeling as the meeting draws to an end.
A Closing Reading
Again, it should be from a standard Unitarian Universalist source.
More Resources
For more information on Covenant Groups and Small Group Ministry, please visit:
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