Programming

Small Group Ministry (SGM)

The shared ministry of Small Group Ministry provides opportunities:

• To know and be known
• To engage, support, and nurture each other
• To wrestle with questions that matter with people who care
• To grow our souls
• To develop the capacity for deep listening and reflecting
• To encourage and support each other as we bring our UU faith into the world

Groups work best when

• Members commit to attend the meetings and be present in mind and spirit.
• Members create an open, supportive, and nurturing environment
• Members openly share their stories.
• There is a willingness to engage in deep listening.
• Sharing and discussions are based on the wisdom of the head and heart.

Other Small Group Ministry participants have said :

• Members commit to attend the meetings and be present in mind and spirit.
• Members create an open, supportive, and nurturing environment
• Members openly share their stories.
• There is a willingness to engage in deep listening.
• Sharing and discussions are based on the wisdom of the head and heart.

“Facilitating and participating in a small group was the most powerful spiritual experience I’ve had in my 8 years as a member of the congregation.”

“Fitting in one more thing was tough but I never missed a meeting and always left energized.”

“Hearing each others’ stories had such a profound impact on all of us.”

“I discovered new things about people I thought I knew.”

“Making a commitment has rewards one can’t anticipate.”

“Creating sacred space allows magic to happen between people.”

“I leave each time with an open heart.”

~ ~ ~ ~

When people talk about books or movies that touched them, about people they have loved or wanted to emulate, they speak of that elusive sense of meaning, power, and value that roots their mundane stories in something deeper. This depth dimension of stories is crucial, for without it lives would seem empty, meaningless.
-Carol Christ-

SGM Steering Committee:
Christie Anderson, Paul Baker, Mike Hovancsek, Rev. Melissa Ziemer, Ellen Carvill and Renee Zimelis Ruchotzke

Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Small Group Ministries is an opportunity for us to share our stories, find meaning in life, and be with one another, allowing our souls to unfold.

Most of our lives are rushed and fragmented. These small, committed groups share a kind of sacred time together that participants find renewing, transformative, and deeply moving.

How it Works:
Each group has 10 members including two facilitators. Groups meet 12-13 times between October and June.

Each meeting includes time for personal sharing, readings on a topic, and time to discuss that week’s topic. No preparation is needed!

Shared Ministry:
Each of us has wisdom to share and important questions to ask. Each of us can touch the lives of others and each of us has times when we are in need. SGM provides a place for us to share ministry with each other, a complement and supplement to ordained ministry. It is uniquely a part of Unitarian Universalist tradition to share the ministry—ministry is something we do together.

Sample Topics:

• What does prayer mean to a UU?
• Where do we find hope?
• Forgiveness and reconciliation

SGM as a Spiritual Practice

William Ellery Channing saw religion as an unfolding and a developing of the powers of the soul—including creativity, reverence for life and the universe, reflection, reason, conscience, love, and the ability to feel. This doesn’t happen without tending and care.

Unfolding one’s soul is more than personal growth. It’s done together, between people. It’s about engaging more and more deeply in life.

Small group ministry is a spiritual practice of unfolding your soul, of listening and of learning, and of reflection and discussion. It is a spiritual practice for any Unitarian Universalist, for we come together to share our unique selves with each other.

Sign Up Now!
Fill out the sign up form and return to the SGM table at coffee hour or mail to the church office. The due date is September 17th, but we will add people to groups as the year continues.

Or Try SGM Out!
If you can’t commit to the full year, or want to try it out first, there will be monthly drop-in SGM groups. Watch the Thread from the Web and the Chalice Flame for these opportunities