New Small Group Session

This I Believe

Thank you to our Titusville, NJ congregation for submitting this session plan.

From the session:

"This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. In creating This I Believe, Murrow said the program sought "to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization." Each day, millions of Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller, and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists, and secretaries— anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. Their words brought comfort and inspiration to a country worried about the Cold War, McCarthyism, and racial division."

Is It Time For An SGM Conference In Your District?

By Susan Hollister, Devon, PA,
From the Winter 2008 SGM Quarterly

A regional Small Group Ministry conference provides the perfect opportunity for congregations in a given geographic area to get together, receive training and guidance from experienced lay leaders and experts, and hear each other’s program successes, challenges, and ideas.

The recent one-day event in the Joseph Priestley District shows how a congregation can host such a conference. SGM coordinators at the host church, Main Line Unitarian, consulted the UU SGM Network and arranged for two guest speakers to present a conference directed at three program stages: new, established, and emerging. The district office and MLUC emailed workshop announcements and registration forms to all 64 congregations in the district. The fee of $35 person (3/$100) included continental breakfast, lunch, snacks, and conference handouts.

Home hospitality was provided for the guest speakers and participants arriving the day before. Church members donated home- made soups for lunch. One of the church’s Small Groups adopted the conference as their service project, acting as greeters, registrars, and kitchen helpers. Proceeds from the conference covered the speakers’ air fare, food purchases for the two meals served, and a generous donation to the SGM Network.

As the JPD example demonstrates, a modest fee coupled with home hospitality and simple meals enables a congregation to easily host a workshop. Co-sponsoring with nearby or cluster congregations would make the production even more feasible. Consider the many benefits of hosting: connection of area clergy, leadership, and SGM participants; service to your congregation; affirmation of your own facilitators; and promotion and support of the small group ministry movement on the district level.

The UU Small Group Ministry Network helps local leaders plan regional workshops. To explore the possibility of a conference in your area, contact us as office@smallgroupministry.net

General Assembly update

Below is an update on the UU SGM Network's GA programming.

The Small Group Ministry Network is planning the following activities at General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, June 25-29, 2008. Check at the Booth for updates and additional information.

ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting of the UU Small Group Ministry Network is scheduled for Saturday, June 28, 1:30 PM. The draft agenda for the Annual Meeting Agenda includes the following items. The location of the meeting and the final agenda will be available at the Booth:

1. Welcome/Introductions/Opening Words

2. Minutes from last Annual Meeting

3. Report of the President on activities for the last year and status of the Network

4. Financial Report

5. Approval of Bylaws changes – please see the Summer Quarterly and the web site for proposed changes.

6. Report of the Nominating Committee

7. Election of Board Members

8. Plans for the coming year, including the conference at The Mountain

9. Open discussion on the work of the Small Group Ministry Network

10. Closing Words

EXHIBIT HALL: Please visit us in the exhibit hall at BOOTH #432

Resources, opportunities to talk with people about Small Group Ministry and Covenant Groups, share what is working and what the challenges are for you.

In addition to the many ongoing resources, there will be new items:

*Behind the Scenes: Implementing Small Group Ministry, a compilation of materials from the SGMN web site and Covenant Group News, with some new material (for sale);

*Directories of resources on and linked with the SGMN website and of Small Group Ministry/Covenant Group Sessions;

*A Prototype of a Facilitator’s Manual and a request for your input on what needs to be included.

Booth Chats are being planned. We appreciate the interest in sharing ideas around specific parts of Small Group Ministry. If you have a topic to suggest for a chat of up to a half hour with possibility of ongoing discussion, please contact us at Office@smallgroupministry.net with your suggestion, something that you have to share, and a suggested time.

WORKSHOP
#3058 Strategies and Solutions for Small Group Ministry Challenges
Friday, 3:15-4:30 pm Convention Center Grand Floridian F
GA Planning Committee, Small Group Ministry Network

Many congregations are using Small Group Ministry to meet the needs for intimacy and spiritual growth. We will provide strategies to successfully run programs to prevent and avoid common pitfalls. We’ll focus particularly on handling “extra grace needed members,” and hidden cultural biases that can limit program effectiveness.

Presenters are: Diana Dorroh, Baton Rogue, LA; Rev. Russ Savage, Bethesda, MD, Steve Becker, Seattle, WA

Spring SGM Quarterly

The Spring 2008 issue of the SGM Quarterly has been sent to Small Group Ministry Network members. The articles from previous issues are posted to Small Group Session of this web site. However, the current Quarterly is only sent to members. Don’t miss getting it -- Join or renew your membership now. Articles in the Spring Quarterly are:

“A Good Blend: A Theme of the Month for Sunday Worship and SGM”, by Rev. Roddy O’Neill Cleary, Burlington, VT

“Reaching Out Into Our Congregational History” by Peggy Hebert, Concord, NH

“Facilitators’ Corner: Those “Aha! Moments” in SGM” by Rev. M’ellen Kennedy, Bristol, VT

“What’s Not to Like About SGM?” Rev. Bill Breeden, Bloomington, IN

“Community Ministers Use Small Group Ministry Format For Regional Gathering”

“Is It Time For a SGM Conference in Your District?"

The Winter 2008 issue of the SGM Quarterly is now online.

CGNews #90

Below is CG NEWS #90, sent out earlier this month by UU SGM Network president Diana Dorroh.

In this issue ---- A link to a UUA funding survey, Contributions from three CG News subscribers on extra-care-required or "difficult" members, an invitation to participate in and attend the SGM Network workshop at GA and, finally, an invitation to join your peers at the Mountain for a full-week conference, August 17 - 22.


Friends,

I welcome your contributions to this newsletter at any time. Please send your submissions to office@smallgroupministry.net

The SGM Network Board has been working during March on a strategic plan and shoring up our financial base. We meet by conference call every month. The nominating committee is currently looking for new Board and committee members. If you’d like to serve or to recommend someone, let us know at office@smallgroupministry.net . There are many wonderful projects we could do with more working members.

The Network is all about sharing. Send us your sessions and your ideas. If you'll be attending the UUA General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale in June, let us know if you have some time to work in the booth.

And finally, join the Network and make sure your congregation is a member. If you are a member, you have received copies of the Winter and Spring Quarterlies. The Winter Quarterly will be available soon on our website www.smallgroupministry.net, but you can receive the Spring Quarterly now if you send in your membership.
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/pdf/Membership%20Form.pdf


UU Small Group Ministry continues to allow ministry to more members by distributing that ministry to small group leaders. The leaders in turn ask their group members to minister to each other and the result is a magnification of healing ministry. The UU Small Group Ministry Network allows us to help each other achieve our ministry goals.


In faith, Diana

Diana Dorroh
225-766-2764
President, UU Small Group Ministry Network
Editor, CG News

CONTENTS

* ASSOCIATION 2008 FUNDING OPTIONS SURVEY

* SMALL GROUP MINISTRY AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 25-29, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

* SMALL GROUP MINISTRY INSTITUTE AT THE MOUNTAIN, August 17 - 22


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ASSOCIATION 2008 FUNDING OPTIONS SURVEY

Please consider following the link below to fill out the UUA's Association 2008 Funding Options Survey and indicating a high priority for the funding of small group ministry support. Funding for small group ministry is an option in the first question. A "1" means you give it the highest priority. Currently, there is no UUA funding for small group ministry. The Network is supported by its membership. We are currently working with interested UUA staff to create an effective working relationship between UUA staff and the Network. Funding UUA staff to work on small group ministry or funding the Network to hire staff to support small group ministry would be very helpful.

http://www.uua.org/giving/associationsunday/index.shtml

====================

SMALL GROUP MINISTRY AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 25-29, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
The Network workshop is “Strategies and Solutions for Small Group Ministry Challenges” with a focus “extra grace needed” participants and hidden cultural biases that impact small group ministry sessions.

Please send us your experiences with the possibility of having them shared in the workshop or used in articles for the next General Assembly Quarterly.

Also, consider spending an hour or two fielding questions about small group ministry in the UU Small Group Ministry Network booth. Slots are available between 11am, Wednesday June 25 and 1pm, Sunday June 29. The Board will provide you with a list of frequently asked questions.
Please e-mail us at office@smallgroupministry.net. We look forward to receiving your input.

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SMALL GROUP MINISTRY INSTITUTE
August 17 - August 22, 2008
The Mountain Retreat & Learning Centers, Inc.
The Highlands, North Carolina

An opportunity for teams and individuals from congregations of all sizes to learn and practice Small Group Ministry (SGM) with experienced practitioners and leaders. Sessions are designed for new and experienced program organizers, facilitators, ministers and congregational leaders. The week will include presentations, hands-on workshops, small group ministry experiences, sharing, networking, informal 'porch chats, worship - and time to enjoy what The Mountain has to offer!

Details and Registration
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/events/mountain.html

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Contatct the UU Small Group Ministry Network

UU SGM Network Office
General inquiries and submissions

Diana Dorroh, President

Rev. Helen Zidowecki, Secretary

Susan Hollister, Treasurer

CGNews #89

In this issue ---- A message from Rev. Bob Hill, a request for your experiences with extra-care-required or "difficult" members, an invitation to participate in and attend the SGM Network workshop at GA and, finally, an invitation to join your peers at the Mountain for a full-week conference, August 17 - 22.


Covenant Group News is a free electronic newsletter on Small Group Ministry and Covenant Groups read by 1300 forward-looking Unitarian Universalists. CGNews is distributed by the UU Small Group Ministry Network. Visit us online at http://www.smallgroupministry.net.


Friends,

I'm honored to be able to communicate with you on a regular basis, following in the footsteps of Peter Bowden and Rev. Bob Hill. After Peter sent out the last issue anouncing that he was passing the editing of CG News to me, I received an enthusiastic thanks for Peter's work, which I echo. His enthusiasm for small group ministry and the support he's brought to many of us has been inspiring. I included that message from Bob Hill below for those of you who began their small group ministry experiences, with frequent communications from and to Bob Hill. I, too, will need your help to get this conversation going. Please send your submissions to office@smallgroupministry.net

The SGM Network Board has been hard at work since September, getting a new membership database, exploring a new relationship with the UUA, shoring up our financial base, and planning educational opportunities. We just completed a workshop at Mainline Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. I hope there will be more regional workshops in our future and that we will get to meet and share with you. The Network is all about sharing.

Send us your sessions and your ideas.

Let us know if you have some time to work in the booth at GA office@smallgroupministry.net.

And finally, join the Network and make sure your congregation is a member.
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/pdf/Membership%20Form.pdf

UU Small Group Ministry is bringing healing mutual ministry to thousands of UU's at hundreds of churches. It is making healthy connections between participants and between participants and their congregations. And when your congregation becomes a congregation "of small groups," it can transform the way you "do church," make your congregation stronger and healthier and then, finally, bigger, if that's what you want. The UUSGM Network allows us to help each other achieve these goals.

In faith, Diana

Diana Dorroh
diana_dorroh@hotmail.com
225-766-2764
President, UU Small Group Ministry Network
Editor, CG News

CONTENTS

* MESSAGE FROM BOB HILL

* CALL FOR EMAIL SHARING ON DIFFICULT GROUP MEMBERS

* SMALL GROUP MINISTRY AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 25-29, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

* SMALL GROUP MINISTRY INSTITUTE AT THE MOUNTAIN, August 17 - 22

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MESSAGE FROM BOB HILL

Dear Small Group Ministry Friends,

I was delighted a few years ago to transfer to Peter Bowden editorship of the CGNews I'd begun toward the end of the last century because I knew him to be a person of great energy, skill, and commitment. I think he's done a tremendous job and I know that the Covenant Group movement owes him a ton of thanks. It'll be fun, watching his multi-media career soar.

I am equally delighted to see that Diana Dorroh is stepping in to take his place as editor. One of the most organized and committed Unitarian Universalists I know, Diana was instrumental in the success of Small Group Ministry work in the Southwest Conference and in her church for many years while I was DE there. With her as editor of CGNews, our cause has a bright future. Good for us! Full steam ahead!

-- Bob Hill
www.2texansdownunder.com

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CALL FOR EMAIL SHARING ON DIFFICULT GROUP MEMBERS

On March 1, 2008, The UU Small Group Ministry Network presented a workshop to about 60 individuals from 16 congregations in the Joseph Priestly District. It was hosted by Mainline Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. A hot topic at that workshop was how to handle special-needs or extra-care-required or just plain difficult group members. For our purposes, let's broaden that topic to anyone who needs significantly more attention or handling than the rest. It could be a group member who repeatedly uses more than a fair share of the discussion and check-in time, a member who shares inappropriately or criticizes people inside and outside the group, or simply someone who has special physical needs. I'd like to hear your problems, stories, and solutions to these challenges. Please send your submissions to office@smallgroupministry.net.

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SMALL GROUP MINISTRY AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 25-29, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

The Network workshop is “Strategies and Solutions for Small Group Ministry Challenges” with a focus “extra grace needed” participants and hidden cultural biases that impact small group ministry sessions. A second CALL for Your experiences with the possibility of sharing in the workshop and articles for the General Assembly Quarterly.
Please e-mail us at office@smallgroupministry.net. We look forward to receiving you input.

====================


SMALL GROUP MINISTRY INSTITUTE
August 17 - August 22, 2008
The Mountain Retreat & Learning Centers, Inc.
The Highlands, North Carolina

An opportunity for teams and individuals from congregations of all sizes to learn and practice Small Group Ministry (SGM) with experienced practitioners and leaders. Sessions are designed for new and experienced program organizers, facilitators, ministers and congregational leaders. The week will include presentations, hands-on workshops, small group ministry experiences, sharing, networking, informal 'porch chats, worship - and time to enjoy what The Mountain has to offer! Details and Registration http://www.smallgroupministry.net/events/mountain.html

Who We Are - The UU Small Group Ministry Network

We've just made some updates to our website to include more information about who we are. You may visit this page here or read the updates below.

About UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM

For more information about Unitarian Universalism, we suggest that you go to the web site of the Unitarian Universalist Association at www.uua.org, especially the Visitors Section. The Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network interacts with congregations and with the Association.

About the NETWORK

The UU Small Group Ministry Network is a grassroots organization of Unitarian Universalist congregations, small group ministry / covenant group, group leaders, and participants.

Our mission is to help create healthy Unitarian Universalist congregations and a vital Unitarian Universalist movement by promoting and supporting Small Group Ministry.

Small Group Ministry is transforming lives, congregations and our liberal religious movement. We are helping by facilitating the exchange of resources and information through this site and Covenant Group News, developing new resources, organizing regional small group ministry conferences. The Network has a booth, workshops, and discussion at General Assembly (the annual meeting of the congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association).

Our By-Laws
Contact Us

Meet the NETWORK BOARD

Steve Becker, Board, Seattle, WA
Steve is looking forward to serving the Board from Seattle, Washington, as a member of the University Unitarian Church. A lifelong Unitarian, Steve brings over 10 years of experience as an Adult RE teacher, Social Justice activist, and membership trainer, and most recently he has served at the East Shore Unitarian Church as the Chair of their Membership Committee. He has belonged to a Covenant Circle for four years while at East Shore, where he has developed new lesson topics and helped facilitate one of the
groups.

Diana Dorroh, Board President, Baton Rouge, LA
Diana was involved in the startup of the covenant group program at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge in 1999 and have served as program coordinator since then. The program now has about 190 members and 18 groups. She has participated in panels organized by Rev. Bob Hill, at the district level and at GA. She also serve as a volunteer staff Program Director at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge and was a participant at the UUSGM Network 2005 Ferry Beach Conference.

Anne Haynes, Board, Bloomington, IN
Anne has been a UU and a member of the UU Church of Bloomington, Indiana since 1981, and has held various lay leadership positions there, including congregational President. She and her husband Chris participated in the Small Group Ministry week at Ferry Beach in 2005, and for the last two years were involved in starting the Chalice Circles program in their congregation. Anne first experienced small group ministry as a member of an Evensong group, and passionately believes small group ministry meets many needs for our congregants and congregational life. She has been co-chair of the small group ministry implementation committee and now its executive team at UUCB and is looking forward to the church’s second year of Chalice Circles. She also facilitates one of the groups.

Susan Hollister, Board Treasurer, Newton Square, PA
Susan is a member of Main Line Unitarian Church in Devon, PA, near Philadelphia. She is a registered dietitian and mother of two grown children, Rebecca and Nathan, third-generation UUs. Susan first experienced a small group while attending the Unitarian Society of New Haven in CT. The concept was just in the talking stage when she and husband, Alan, moved to Pennsylvania and joined MLUC in 2002. Knowing SGM was an ideal way for newcomers to meet people and make connections, Susan joined the implementation committee and helped launch the program. She facilitates a Monday morning group, sits on the steering committee, and currently serves as co-chair of the SGM Program. Susan helped start a needlework group at MLUC and belongs to one of its book groups. An avid gardener, she heads to the woodland on most fine days to nurture native plants and create a wildlife haven.

Walter LeFlore, Board, Stow, MA
Walter has been involved in a small group ministry program for over three years at this point. Hewas a member of the planning and design team that initially introduced small group ministry to First Parish of Stow and Acton, MA. He is in his third year as one of many facilitators in a church with over 100 small group members. From his prior professional life as an organization consultant, he has long been a great fan of small group process. He joined the Network Board because he very much wants to support congregations using the Small Group Ministry process. If done well, he believes SGM has the ability to not only help but to enthuse and transform the life and spirit of individual congregations.

Mary Ann Terry, Isle of Palms, SC
MaryAnn is enthusiastic about Small Group Ministry. She is an active lay leader at the Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina where she serves as coordinator of Connecting Circles (their name for SGM) where, among other things, she helps train group facilitators. She participated in the Small Group Ministry Week at Ferry Beach in Saco, Maine in 2005. She spends her summers in New Hampshire where she attends the Star King UU Fellowship in Plymouth. She is pleased to be serving on the Board, helping promote Small Group Ministry in our movement.

Helen Zidowecki, Litchfield, ME
Helen has been involved with Small Group Ministry for over 10 years. She is a member of the Augusta, ME, congregation, where she is a facilitator and on the Topics Committee. Her special interest is Small Group Ministry in Lifespan Faith Development, and smaller congregations. She leads workshops and writes materials, including curricula using Small Group Ministry (see www.hzmre.com/sgm ). Helen is a Minister of Religious Education, and actively involved in Small Group Ministry on the district level. She resides in Litchfield, ME.