Small Faith Communities

Whew!  That describes the feeling I have when I consider the Christmas season that is about to end.  I contemplate the number of people who entered our church on Christmas Eve—two-thousand alone for the 4:00 Mass and I contemplate if this is the megachurch that Jesus envisioned.  He did, after all, choose an intimate number of friends to begin with.  So how in the world do we recreate the intimacy Jesus shared with the first disciples in a parish of our size?

Small Christian Communities or small faith groups, as we call them, are one way to do this.  These groups are made up of a small number of parishioners who get together frequently to ponder the Scripture, to share their faith and to live it out together, often in service to others.

As the members of my small faith group testify:

My small faith group has made a large church seem more personal. They have helped me to grow in my faith through the telling of their stories and by allowing me to tell mine.  

Since I don't have a family in Georgia, they are my family.

I know I can count on my small faith group for all kinds of support.

My small faith group helps me to prepare for the following Sunday’s liturgy and helps me to realize the importance of prayer.

I love my small faith group because it has allowed me to have a safe place where there is no condemnation or judgment of anything I share...only love and encouragement.   It is also a place where I have learned that God is ever present in all circumstances. 

Our small faith group provides an avenue for fraternity amongst a diverse gathering of people and provides an opportunity to share our good fortune through Christ's charity with our fellow human beings.

I love the way that our small faith group comes together to serve others.

We will hear more about these groups during today’s mass as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.  Small faith groups help us to recall the mission of our own baptism--to love and serve others—making Christmas last all year long!