Welcome!
Welcome to the UU Small Group Ministry Network. Our network is dedicated to creating healthy congregations and a vital Unitarian Universalist movement by supporting and promoting Small Group Ministry. We invite you to enjoy the resources on this site, subscribe to our Covenant Group News e-newsletter, and join us as a member. Members receive print copies of our journal, the SGM Quarterly. Online archives of the Quarterly and CGNews are available to all. Your membership makes our support of small group ministry and covenant groups possible.
News and Web Updates July 28, 2010
Events: (See Event Announcements for description and details.)
Summer Institute Goes to WEST
To De Benneville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA
Tuesday, August 31 to Friday, September 3, 2010
Join us in the Institute! There is still room.
The Small Group Ministry Institute moves to encourage more local exposure, while drawing from congregations around the continent. It is in the West this year.
See the Flier and Registration materials
As of July 24, 12 congregations in 5 states have registered!
Congregations have found that sending several people to the Institute allows for congregational assessment and planning, as well as having people able to attend consecutive sessions. There will be opportunity to experience Small Group Ministry sessions.
We are including evolving information from congregation in the new publication,
Celebrating Congregations, from discussions at the Small Group Ministry booth at General
Assembly, and at the General Assembly workshop, as well as resources available to address
topics such as:
* Why and Wherefore of SGM: History and background, Small Group Ministry in the Unitarian Universalism -congregational and beyond, and successful Small Group Ministry
* Roles and Resources of: Program Director, Minister and other Religious Professionals, and lay leadership
* Developing and Deepening Group Experience: Things to consider, options and guidelines, cycles of groups
* Is Small Group Ministry for Everyone?
* Facilitation: From selection, to orientation and development, to specific concerns
* The Session Themselves: Resources for session plan selection and development, including the new publication, Spiritual Journeys
* Service to Congregation and Community: The impact of service on a group and the congregation
* Assessment and ongoing development of Small Group Ministry in your congregation: Where you are now, your vision, and developing your own plan.
This Institute will include Small Group Ministry for parents and families, multigenerational Small Group Ministry, and the increasing involvement of religious educators with Small Group Ministry. Youth and Young Adults are welcome at the conference.
The Institutes are based on the premise that we all have things to share and are willing to gain knowledge and understanding. The Faculty includes Helen Zidowecki (Augusta, ME), Diana Dorroh (Baton Rouge, LA) and Christine Trigeiro (Escondido, CA)
See the Flier and Registration materials
OTHER EVENTS -For Details see the Event Announcements
UU Cluster of Central North Carolina
Small Group Ministry Facilitator Training
Saturday, August 28, 2010, 9 AM - 4 PM at The Community Church of Chapel Hill, UU, Chapel
Hill, NC. Jointly sponsored by Community Church and The UU Small Group Ministry Network.
Presenter: Susan Hollister, SGM Network Board Member. Designed for new and experienced
facilitators and program coordinators, as well as ministers and congregation leaders
starting a covenant group program. For more information and a registration form, contact
Liz Bryan, Registrar, at 410-348-5221 or liz_bryan@hotmail.com. Registrants outside the
cluster are welcome as space allows.
Small Group Ministry Facilitator Trainings
The same workshop is being offered at THREE locations in New England on three different dates.
Saturday, September 18th, 2010
Hosted by the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, VT
Saturday, September 25th, 2010
Hosted by the Keene UU Church, Keene, NH
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
Hosted by the North Parish of North Andover, MA
NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT
SMALL GROUP MINISTRY WORKSHOPS
Sponsored by the NNED Small Group Ministry Committee
*Saturday, October 2, 2010 (10am-3pm) Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco/Biddeford, Saco, ME
*Saturday, October 16, 2010 (10am-3pm) Western part of the District, probably Vermont
These workshops are Sponsored by the NNED Small Group Ministry Committee, based on discussion at the District Spring Conference Workshop (May 1, North Conway, NH)
Learn more about events...
SHARING FROM CONGREGATIONS: SESSION PLANS
Check Small Group Sessions for 19 new sessions from
Baton Rougue, LA
Cambridge, MA
Eugene, OR
Fairhaven, MA
The Small Group Session Plan Directory lists 259 session plans - and there is room for new
topics and different approaches to familiar topics. Have you or your congregation sent
session plans over the years? Recently? Contributors were recognized in the new Network
publication, Celebrating Congregations.
See Small Group Sessions
WHO WE ARE
See the update of the
Network Board, with members added at the June Annual Meeting.
PUBLICATIONS
COMING THIS SUMMER!
NEW! Small Group Ministry 2010: Celebrating Congregations
The 2010 compilation acknowledges and celebrates the work of over 80 congregations that have contributed to the UU Small Group Ministry movement since 2004. Now all in one place, this collection features articles published in Covenant Group News, the SGM Quarterly Journal, and the UUA e-list in the last year. Each article is introduced by a profile of the contributing congregation, including when and how their program started, how many groups and participants, and their unique challenges and success stories. The vitality of covenant group ministry programs across the denomination is clearly demonstrated in this compilation, the only one of its kind. Available at General Assembly and for mail order in June 2010. Advance orders welcome.
Click here for order form
NEW! Spiritual Journeys: 101 Session Plans for Small Group Ministry Programs
Looking for fresh, inspiring topics for your small group ministry program? This exciting new book offers a wide range of original, ready-to-use sessions covering Getting Started in a Group, the UU Seven Principles, Spiritual Journeying, Attitude Adjustment, Personal Beliefs and Values, Spiritual Challenges, Holidays, Just for Fun, Being Human, and Special Use subjects for events and national tragedies that affect our lives. Themes are drawn from art, literature, UU liturgy and hymnals, current events, and religious scriptures. Available at General Assembly and for mail order in June 2010.
Click here for order form
Implementing Small Group Ministry:
For Starting, Restarting and Enhancing a Program October 2009
How do congregations decide on group duration and meeting frequency? Does it take a team to manage a program? Drawing on current information from congregations, the SGM Institutes, and Covenant Group News, this evolving document presents a series of considerations for Small Group Ministry program development, ongoing administration, groups, facilitators, session plans, and visibility, with a new section on uses of small group ministry in multiple settings. Mix and match features to build a SGM program that meets your ministry objectives.
Click here for order form
