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Faith Sharing Resources
Books, booklets, DVDs and videos are available in the Parish Library or may be ordered through the SCC Office or at Amazon.com. Resource Room location shown in [BRACKETED CAPITAL LETTERS]
The Teaching of the Twelve: believing and practicing the primitive Christianity of the ancient didache community Tony Jones, 7 chapters with reflection questions, Paraclete Press, 2009. Designed for group or personal reflection and sharing. [SPIRITUALITY]
"Before the New Testament was written, much less compiled, the early Christians had to figure out what their community of faith would look like. The Didache (DID-ah-kay) is a document that gives us a glimpse into those early years before creeds (Council of Nicea- AD 325) were written and church hierarchies and orders were put into place (Constantine- AD 313) and, most likely, before any of the Apostle Paul's letters were written.
The document was not considered to be sacred and was not added to the cannon of the New Testament, but that does not make the contents unimportant. The writing has very little to do with theology- what to think about God; instead the focus is on how believers should live with each other."
Quest, Fall 2010 Archdiocese of Hartford Small Christian Community Office
Quest is a lectionary-based reflection booklet for Small Church Communities. It covers the weeks of September 19th through January 16th, 2011. Each weekly unit offers suggestions for creating a reflective environment; prayers, focus questions; commentary on the Sunday readings; faith sharing questions and ideas for action response. Contact the SCC Office to order copies.
History of the Church, Year II Fr. Justin Grose, DVD 6 sessions You may have missed Fr. Justin's July presentations, or you may have been there and want to see it again and share it with your SCC. There are a limited number of copies available in the SCC Office. Just call or email to reserve yours!
Discovering Christian Classics 5 Sessions in the Ancient Faith of Our Future DVD 5 sessions with sharing questions Paraclete Press [SPIRITUALITY]
This brand new series makes it possible for small communities to reflect on some of the foundational classics of Christian spirituality. The series will be especially interesting to those who have followed Fr. Justin Grose's presentations on the History of the Church. Topics of the series include:
*Desert Fathers and Mothers
*St. Benedict's Rule of Life
*St. John Chrysostom's Writings
* The Cloud of Unknowing
* Imitation of Christ
The complete texts of some of these writings are available online when you Google the titles.
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Would You Like to Add Members to Your SCC? | Sign-up for new small groups will be the weekend of September 25th/26th after all the Masses. If you want to add new folks to your SCC be sure to call 303-422-9173 x116 or email Barb by September 15th!
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Please let me know how I can assist your SCC!
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Has Your SCC's Prayer Included Members' Financial Concerns? | Spirit of Christ is hosting the Crown Money Map Seminar on Saturday, September 18th, 9:00 - 4:00 in the Spirit Center.
This will be a great day of community building and an opportunity to examine scriptural insight regarding personal financial freedom.
Information and registration is available at
https://sites.google.com/site/crownsoc/
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 The Loaves and Fish
Events of theses past several weeks remind me of the parable of the feeding of the 5000 (a.k.a. the loaves and the fish.) In his insightful homily on the June feast of Corpus Christ, Fr. Bill Kraus reminded us that Jesus doesn't expect us to do everything, just to contribute what we can and then leave room for the mystery of God to work.
That was certainly the case when so many of you responded to the opportunity to put together layette kits for Haitian mothers and their infants. Arvada United Methodist Church reported receiving 100 layettes and checks in excess of $300 for the project. Many, many of the layettes and the checks were from Spirit of Christ Small Church Community members. Norma Gomes, who is a member of two SCCs was a prime driver behind this terrific outreach.
Loads of Layettes. | Norma is behind it!! |
In early August, at the Spirit of Christ Ice Cream Social, folks brought in bags and bags of school supplies which ended up filling the back of a large pick-up truck! Those supplies enabled a good start to the school year for kids at a very low income elementary school where the subsidized lunch program population is over 80%.
It seems that the mystery of God's work is very often carried out through the generosity of those who contribute what they can, creating over and over again the miracle of the loaves and fish. Thank you for participating in the mystery.
In this newsletter you will descriptions of new faith sharing resources, a redecorating project for SCCs and some tips for helping your small community be even better.
Don't forget to invite Fr. Matt to meet with your Small Church Community. It's a great way for Fr. Matt to meet you individually and to understand the blessing of small communities in our lives and in the life of Spirit of Christ!
Enjoy God's gift of the last days of summer!! Barb Howard
P.S. Here's some exciting news from the Great Adventure Bible Study folks: DVDs of the Letter of James and the short Bible Timeline will be available for checkout from the parish library after the middle of September. Both series will be in the General Distribution portion of the Library. Each series is 8 sessions long. You will be able to check out 1 DVD for 1 week. Here's the really great part - no homework!! You may simply view the DVD with your community and then discuss how the teaching impacts your faith.
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A Redecorating Project For Small Church Communities
Well,
a little redecorating is planned for the Small Church Community display cabinet
outside the Spirit Center. With a new look, folks walking by will
undoubtedly take notice. For this project, however, your participation
is crucial!! The plan is to make a large collage of pictures and
stories from all the Small Church Communities at Spirit of Christ.
The Particulars:
- Please email, mail, or drop off at the parish office a 5' x 7' picture of your small community members.
- Along
with the picture, please send a short paragraph containing six items of
information:the name of your SCC (if you have one);how long you've been
meeting; your members' names;and the best three things about your SCC.
Your
pictures and stories will provide an exciting new look for the Small
Church Community cabinet. Rest assured that the beautiful SCC quilt
square panels will be rotated and carefully kept during the display of
this new art project. In fact, if your SCC hasn't yet designed a quilt
square contact the SCC office. Three beautiful squares are now waiting
to be sewn into a panel but two other new squares are needed for the
panel.
As
your small community regathers in the next few weeks, be sure to bring
along your digital cameras for a group photo and spend a few minutes
talking about the best three things about your Small Church Community.
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Help Your
Small Church Community Be The Best It Can Be!
Plan Ahead
Schedule the dates and locations of your SCC gathering six months to a year in advance. That way everyone know when the SCC is meeting and where! (If you are unable to attend a meeting be sure and call or email the host(s) ahead of time to let them know you are unable to attend -- that's just good manners!)
Pray Together
If you are hosting the gathering of your small community, take some time prior to the gathering to plan a prayer that reflects the topic of your faith sharing and allows members to share their own prayer of thanksgiving and need with the community. Our prayer time builds our relationship with God and with one another.
Keep Your Focus
Make use of a faith-sharing material, it will help keep you on track. Social sharing is wonderful and vital part of our SCCs but our main focus when we gather as a SCC is to engage in refection on faith and life. The upcoming Sunday readings are always important whether the SCC's entire faith sharing time is spent with the readings or with another material. Check the Small Church Community Resource List to find hundreds of faith sharing resources for small communities or call the SCC Office. Ongoing learning is a must for the adult faith journey!
Don't Forget Mission
Look ahead at the outreach opportunities offered in the parish (or other places) and plan as a community to participate. One SCC member said that he would never have thought of participating in Make-A-Difference Day by himself but was thrilled to do it with his SCC. Outreach is an essential part of living the mission of Jesus as a member of his Church.
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Small Ways You Can Make a Huge Difference
(Adapted from an article by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, real life parents who inspired the movie The Blind Side, as published in USA Weekend, July 18, 2010)
Introduce Two Strangers
Pay a teen to rake leaves for an elderly person's yard
Call someone to say thank you
Talk to someone who looks lonely
Pay for the next person in line
Give your old magazines to a hospital
Offer to babysit one night for a friend
Leave a snack for a coworker
Let someone in front of you in line
Leave your change in the soda machine
Give a pie to your local firehouse
Offer directions to someone who looks lost.
If you buy a new gizmo, give the old one away.
Leave a thank you note at the police station
On October 23rd, participate in
Make a Difference Day.
"The thing you do that you discount as no big deal can really turn into something powerful!"
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