This spring and summer we welcomed the following congregations as supporting members of the UU SGM Network:

Rogue Valley UU Fellowship, Ashland, OR
UU Society of Black Hawk County, Cedar Falls, IA
UU Fellowship of Vero Beach, FL
UU Church of Muncie, IN
South Church UU, Portsmouth, NH
First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, UT
Countryside UU Church, Palatine, IL
First Unitarian Church of Victoria, BC, Canada
Second Unitarian Church of Chicago, IL
First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, MO
Olympic UU Fellowship, Port Angeles, WA
UU Village Church, Hot Springs AR
All Souls UU Church, Colorado Springs, CO
UU Fellowship of the Peninsula, Newport News, VA
UUs of Southern Delaware, Lewes, DE
UU Church of Reading, MA
UU Church of Worcester, MA

The Network is currently supported by 145 member congregations and individuals in the U.S. and Canada. www.smallgroupministry.net/membership.html. Our members make it possible for us to provide workshops for professional and lay leaders, help launch and sustain small group ministry programs, produce new resources and guidebooks, publish Covenant Group News and the SGM Quarterly, sponsor workshops and a consultation booth at General Assembly, maintain an informative and up-to-date website, and sponsor SGM Summer Institutes.

Our members receive the SGM Quarterly as it is published, three to four months before it is posted on our website. This publication includes a wide range of articles by ministers, program coordinators, and group facilitators, as well as information about upcoming events and publications. Receiving the Quarterly and Covenant Group News allows directors and group facilitators to feel a part of this large and exciting small group ministry movement, and stay connected to other participants across the U. S. and Canada.

Experienced Network leaders consult with member congregations about starting or invigorating small group ministry programs. A substantial discount on all books and CDs published by the Network is extended to members as well. At General Assembly, SGM participants from member congregations talk with and offer support to clergy and lay leaders of hundreds of SGM programs. Join the Network to benefit your own congregation and small group ministry across the denomination!

In previous articles, I have described the evolution of Small Group Ministry from evangelical Christian to Unitarian Universalist approach, from small groups to the impact on the congregations, and from adult-focused to all ages and focuses. The fourth evolution is going on now and involves everyone who is interested and involved in Small Group/Covenant Group ministry. This is an evolution from having founders and early leaders developing most of the resources to active involvement of many individuals and congregations.

This evolution appeared within the UU Small Group Ministry Network, as we increasingly included the input beyond the original organizers. It has been made possible by development of the Basic Elements of Small Group Ministry and understanding that there are many ways to implement the program within those elements. The series of "Myths About Small Group Ministry" in recent CGN issues show the flexibility in designing Small Group/Covenant Group Ministry for the specific situation.

The Network is moving the evolution from a clearing house to a more encompassing networking focus by making networking among congregations more accessible. In the next six months, we are planning on:

1.	Putting the 100 pages of Implementing Small Group Ministry in its own section of the Network website, with opportunity for feedback and additional suggestions on the respective sections, and linking this to workshops for congregations and regional conferences.
2.	Creating a section where members can share information about their programs and communicate with each other. There will also be designated sections for ministers, religious educators, lay Small Group/Covenant Group leaders and staff with resources and interactive capabilities.
3.	Increasing the use of Facebook and development of a blog to increase awareness of Small Group Ministry work being done by all of us.

We look forward to increased interaction with all of you, and to having you as active members of the Network. The membership is so critical to the sustainability of the networking evolution that is under way. Join our networking now, join the Network now! http://www.smallgroupministry.net/membership/index.html

Note: The June/July issue of CGN had a brief description of the GA workshop. This article is focused on the Reproductive Justice part of that workshop.

Commitment to Social Justice calls us to three equally-important phases of social justice work: 1) we prepare ourselves emotionally and spiritually; 2) we act with others and those we would help to understand the spiritual implications and the outcomes of our actions. and 3) we reflect on the action that we take, or do not take. The intimacy (or relationships) and ultimacy (or the focus on meaning and significance) of Small Group Ministry is precisely what is needed for undertaking Social Justice work at a deeper level.

To do just that, the UU Small Group Ministry Network partnered with the UU Women's Federation and the UUA Witness Ministries team to present the "Circles of Reflection: Engaging Women in Justice Work" workshop at GA 2012. Understanding the power of Small Group Ministry, we had the total group of about 60 participants divide into smaller groups to experience session plans, including those on Reproductive Justice that were created by Jessica Halperin. The reaction to the experience was overwhelmingly positive.

The packet for the workshop is available from Network website and from the UUA site given below. Small group ministry can

With a concern such as Reproductive Justice, it is important to include youth as well as adults. This can be done as age-specific sessions or mixed-aged sessions. Both are important, but mixed ages can give a broader perspective of the issues.

The three Reproductive Justice sessions featured in the GA workshop covered various sub-topics, including reproductive choice and loss, anti-oppression/multiculturalism, and raising children. Purposefully created for people of varying ages and experiences, they seek to introduce some of the issues related to reproductive justice in order to ground and deepen the social justice actions of the congregation in spiritual relationships. Working for reproductive justice can be challenging because of the politically- and emotionally-charged nature of the issues, as well as the call to multiculturalism and anti-oppression within the framework.

Reproductive justice, differentiated from the frameworks of reproductive "health" or "rights/choice," is a movement towards the full autonomy and wholeness of each person's reproductive and sexual life. Broader than 'reproductive rights,', which is characterized by a legislative battle for privacy, and deeper than 'reproductive health', which is often thought of as provision of services to individuals, reproductive justice is a framework created in the 1990s by coalitions of women of color left out of previous frameworks. Because of our historic commitment to reproductive choice and our calling to become an anti-racist and multicultural religious tradition, Unitarian Universalists are uniquely capable of deep public witness and impact for reproductive justice.

Indeed, at the 2012 General Assembly in Phoenix, delegates chose Reproductive Justice to be the next Congregational Study/Action Issue, which means that for the next four years, this topic will be the subject of denomination-wide education and witness. The Small Group Ministry Sessions discussed here are a great way for your congregation to start learning about these issues. They can be found within the Congregational Resource Packet for Reproductive Justice, which is available free-of-charge on UUA.org.

For more information about Small Group Ministry, contact Helen Zidowecki at office@smallgroupminsitry.net. Discussion of the phases of Social Justice work and accompanying session plans are in the new publication, Social Justice Work: Preparation, Action and Reflection Through Small Group Ministry. And look for more Small Group Ministry resources as they are developed by the Network and by others and made available to the Network.

For more information about Reproductive Justice and how your congregation can get involved, contact Jessica Halperin (jhalperin@uua.org).

We have been talking about the resource, Implementing Small Group Ministry. An older version is on the free resource section of the Network website, but the document has grown to over 100 pages, with suggestions from congregations and discussions at conferences. Following is an example of how this works, applied to a question of where groups meet that was raised on the UUA e-list. The format for Implementing is to give the guidelines for making a decision, followed by a chart format that presents a variety of options. The decision of the options used will depend on the situation. This is adapted from the 2011 Small Group Ministry Institute edition, under the section, Groups Galore!

WHERE TO MEET
Where: The meeting space must be free from disruption and distraction, readily accessible, and comfortable.
*The space can be arranged with or without a table.
*Geographic area may also be a consideration.
*There can be variation in meeting location, sometimes in homes, sometimes at church or other settings. The above guidelines are part of determining any meeting location.

Meet in homes. This helps the group members understand and appreciate home setting of the members and adds to group bonding. However, offering a home for a meeting is an option rather than a requirement. Meeting in a home might be inconvenient or a burden for a group member.

Meet at the church. The space at the church needs to be available to the group at the designated time (on the church calendar), and the group use of the space is a priority (versus other groups or rentals). Meeting at church may be more convenient for group members. The church may be seen as a more 'neutral' area.

We are looking forward to getting Implementing onto the Network website as soon as possible. We plan to include a way for you to contribute your ideas, comments, and experiences so that this is an evolving document.

The intimacy that we have and the need for the relationships continue even as the seasons change. But the way we carry out Small Group Ministry has wide variation. Here are some things that we have heard or experienced in our own congregations:

• SGM continues throughout the summer the same as throughout the rest of the year
• Groups may meet less frequently. This is usually going from twice a month to monthly or once or twice during the summer.
• Groups take 'field trips', like visiting at summer places of members, with informal activities (possibly even swimming!)
• There may be specific summer SGM, especially in areas that have an influx of people during the summer.
• Suspend SGM for the summer.

There are undoubtedly other variations. Whatever you do in SGM, I hope that your summer is refreshing, renewing and enjoyable.

Response from Claude VanderVeen, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

My group meets during the summer, and we alternate serious topics with "fun" things, like seeing and discussing The Invention of Lying, and a potluck dinner. We still do check in and check out,

Other responses are still welcome. Diana_dorroh@hotmail.com

See Events for all events, more details and registration information.

Small Group Ministry & Covenant Group
Introduction& Facilitator Training
Saturday, September 22, 2012, 9-4:30
Hosted by the First Church in Barre -- Universalist, 19 Church Street, Barre, VT
Facilitator: Rev. M'ellen Kennedy at mellenken@aol.comor 802-479-0114.
Flier/Registration Information

NETWORK ONLINE      www.smallgroupministry.net
The source for session plans, networking opportunities, Small Group Ministry resources, news of events and workshops, membership renewal forms, and back issues of Covenant Group News and the SGM Quarterly.

For information on training opportunities see the Event Announcements

Order forms available from http://www.smallgroupministry.net

NEW Social Justice Work: Preparation, Action, Reflection Through Small Group Ministry
The publication includes
--The Process of Social Justice work, with distinct phases of preparation, action, and reflection.
--Background and use of Small Group Ministry, and
--34 session plans for Social Justice work
Book $25/$15 for members CD $20/$15 for members
Order form is on line

Small Group Ministry with All Ages
Explores multigenerational covenant groups and their integration into congregations. Implementation strategies, leader training, session development, and session plans for children through elders are included. June 2011
BOOK Network Members: $20 plus $6 shipping Non-members: $30 plus $6 shipping
CD Network Members: $15 plus $2 shipping Non-members: $20 plus $2 shipping

Spiritual Journeys: 101 Session Plans for Small Group Ministry Programs
Sessions on Spiritual Journeying, Personal Beliefs and Values, Spiritual Challenges, Holidays, and more. Themes drawn from art, literature, UU liturgy and hymnals, current events, and religious scriptures. June 2010.
CD Network Members: $15 plus $2 shipping Non-members: $20 plus $2 shipping

ALSO AVAILABLE See our website for details.

Small Group Ministry 2010: Celebrating Congregations. Over 100 congregations relate their SGM program origins, challenges and success stories.

Small Group Ministry for Youth. Twenty-five sessions for middle and high school youth.

Implementing Small Group Ministry. Download from Online Resources.

Facilitator Training and Development Manual. A guide for training and support plus a handbook on CD to customize for group leaders and facilitators.

In keeping up with the newest technologies, we are working to help others keep up with our activities and join the conversations by expanding to social media.

We have added some new pages to Facebook. First is the Small Group Ministry Network group, in which people are encouraged to post their own thoughts and comments. We will also be posting some events and announcements there as well.

Another group is the UU Small Group Ministry Lab, which is general discussion area to exchange ideas, resources and session content.

If you are not yet a member of Facebook, joining is completely free to everyone.

We have also started a blog, entitled Small Groups, Deep Connections, to help share older materials to a larger public as well as new articles and announcements. It is still being developed, and can be found here

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

The purpose of the Network is "to support small group ministry and related shared ministry models in Unitarian Universalist congregations through developing new resources, networking, and training opportunities."

In addition to the SGM Quarterly journal for members and the free, online Covenant Group News, we publish new resources for program coordinators and facilitators, sponsor a consultation booth and SGM workshops at General Assembly, offer a week-long SGM Summer Institute, help local leaders plan regional SGM conferences, and give workshops in congregations and districts across the nation.

The UU SGM Network is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization supported solely by congregational and individual memberships, donations and publication sales revenue. Network Board members donate their time and personal resources to spread the good news of small group ministry.