 January 6th, 2011
 The feast of Epiphany always brings to mind the experience of journey. The wise men from distant lands follow the light and journey to find the newborn King. Beyond the obvious rigors and danger, their journey is significant because it alerts humanity that this newborn king is king for all people. Shortly thereafter, Joseph and Mary journey to an unfamiliar land to ensure the safety of their newborn son. Families always attempt to seek safety and an environment in which their family can thrive. In this, the Holy Family was no different than thousands of migrating peoples today. Our lives too speak of journey. Some would say that the journey is itself as important as the destination. Our journey is filled with insecurity and danger as well as with opportunity and joy. It is in the journey that our life finds meaning. Year by year that meaning becomes clearer as we share it with others; family and friends, our small communities, and with our brother Jesus who best knows the way home to our loving God. Blessings on your Journey,
Barb Howard Back to Top |
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Upcoming Opportunities For
Small Church Communities (and others. . .)
Held and Freed by Love Couple's Day of Reflection
Saturday, February 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Spirit Center East. Dr. Vie Thorgren, Director of the Center for Spirituality and Work, will present the day. In addition to her vast professional expertise, Vie is also a wife, mother and grandmother and has a beautiful way of connecting faith and life. The fee for the day is $30 per couple and includes box lunches. Scholarships are available. You may register for the day via email by sending your names, phone number and mailing address. Also select the type of sandwich you would like: Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef, Chicken Salad or Vegetarian--be sure to select 2! (Should you require a scholarship, please indicate that in your email as well.) Please send or drop off your $30 registration fee to the parish office or put it in an envelope marked "Couple's Day of Reflection" and drop it in the Offertory Collection. You can also pick up a registration form on the counter in the Gathering Space.
 Annual SCC Mass and Potluck,
Monday, March 7th. Mass will be at 5:30 in the Sanctuary followed by the Potluck. At this annual gathering you will be able to pick up the new faith sharing series for Lent titled The Water Project. The series was written by Alice Camille specifically for Spirit of Christ!
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A Spirit of Christ SCC Story
Sweet 7th Heaven
When the Sweet 7th Heaven Small Church Community first gathered two years ago, little did the members know what their communal journey would be. Like all new small groups, it took some time for the membership to stabilize. Some folks left and others joined. In time, the community became very intentional in its prayer and sharing and began to utilize the series Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton. Last March, unbeknown to the others, one of the members, an artist, began painting the images of what she heard in each member's sharing. At the community's Christmas celebration last month, the artist presented a painting to each member of the community that was uniquely expressive of the individual and their personal story. Needless to say, community members were overwhelmed with the generous creativity.
This is a story about listening, creativity and sharing that is beautiful to tell. It is a story of church that could only happen in the ongoing setting of a small community where people intentionally make the time to truly listen to one another and to God's Spirit present within.
Is there an experience of your small community that could never have happened in any other setting?
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What Hurts a Small Church Community ?
It is always wise to be on the look out for warning signs and to deal with problems before they begin to damage the life of a small community:
No clearly defined purpose
Autocratic leadership
Spiritual self-righteousness
Confidences betrayed
Not starting or ending on time
Talking about the faults of others
Repeated absenteeism or lateness
Too much talk by only a few
Too much attention on one person's problem
Material that does not connect faith and life
Unprepared facilitator
One person's agenda dominating
Never enough time for the ministry component
No movement toward prayer in the group
(Adapted from Starting Small Groups and Keeping Them Going)
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Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance to your Small Church Community!
Barb Howard
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Welcome New SCC Members!
Ray and Judy Chavez
Beverly Rutten
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S.O.N. Presentation
Monday,
February 7th
7:00 p.m.
Spirit Center
Come Journey Through the Holy Land
Join Deacon Dick and Theresa Baker as they share photographs and experience from their October, 2010 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This will be an especially interesting presentation for those of you who are part of the Great Adventure Bible Study!
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SCC Art Project
Best of Monday Nite
It's wonderful!
Have you seen it?
Are you part of it?
Your pictures and words are a tapestry of love and faith. If you haven't yet done so, be sure to stop by the
SCC Case outside the
Spirit Center and spend a few minutes reviewing this living testimony.
If your Small Church Community has not yet submitted your picture and SCC information, it's not too late. Without your SCC the project is not complete!!
Just send a picture of your members along with the following information to the parish office:
- The name of your SCC
- How long you've been meeting
- Whose in your community
- The best three things about your community
You can also email the picture and information.
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Reflection on the Journey
Birth is the beginning and death a destination.
And life is a journey from childhood to maturity,
from youth to age;
from innocence to awareness,
from ignorance to knowing; from foolishness to discretion
and then, perhaps to wisdom;
from weakness to strength
or strength to weakness-and back again;
from health to sickness
and back, we pray,
to health again;
from offense to forgiveness, from loneliness to love;
from joy to gratitude, from pain to compassion;
from grief to understanding, from fear to faith; from defeat to defeat to defeat...
Until looking backward or ahead, we see that victory lies not at some high place along the way but in having made the journey, stage by stage.
(Hebrew Prayer " Prayers for Parish Groups")
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