Small groups are very big deal for Catholic spiritual growth

Many Catholics in the Albany Diocese are involved in small Christian communities like prayer circles, faith-sharing groups and Scripture-study sessions.

They meet in church halls or around dining-room tables over a pot of coffee. Some groups are informal, fashioned among longtime friends; others are run by parish staff. Many descend from the Renew 2000 program, which made use of small faith-sharing groups.

Whatever their origin and style, the groups seem to deepen the faith of participants.

Sticking with it

At Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Latham, for example, Vic Gilbert belongs to an eight-member faith-sharing group that began in 1997 with Renew.

"It's a great group of folks," he said. "At this point, we're comfortable enough to share the trickier things -- the more controversial items -- because we're all accepted. It's taken time to grow that."

The group tackles matters of faith that may take off from discussions surrounding the Gospel. They pray, sing gathering and closing songs, and make their own comment on the readings.

The materials they use give "us a deeper insight into the Scriptures that we wouldn't get unless we studied them," he said.

Special times

While Mr. Gilbert's group meets for most of the year, eight members of St. Mary of Mt. Carmel parish in Gloversville gathered for faith- and Scripture-sharing during Lent. They worked in partnership with Holy Trinity parish in Johnstown and plan to do so again in 2005.

From Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday, participants read and shared Scripture readings from the previous week "so we could unravel the meaning of the Gospel," said Toni Ambrosino, the parish's adult faith formation coordinator.

"It worked out really well," she added. "A lot of people got to express their ideas. The faith sharing was great. It enabled them to relate [the Gospel] to their lives and understand where God was in their lives."

Ongoing process

At Our Lady of Fatima parish in Schenectady, one Scripture-sharing group is offered as an adult-education course when participants' children are in religious ed class. Three other groups meet during the day or evening to match parishioners' scheduling needs.

Helen Moon, pastoral associate for adult faith formation, said that the groups focus on learning about the cultural and historical contexts of the Bible.

Doing this "gives us structure, prepares us for the Sunday liturgy and allows us, when we wish, to spend more time on a certain aspect of faith-sharing that the group desires," she said.

Open discussion

There are two small faith-sharing groups at St. Mary/St. Paul's Church in Hudson Falls. A monthly group examines Scripture, "discussing anything that isn't familiar about the Sunday readings, anything they're not comfortable with -- and there's no pressure involved," said Mary Renaud, a parishioner.

She is also involved with the second group, which meets nine times a year to "share our lives, our interests, our concerns" and how they relate to faith.

She believes that staying involved with the Renew groups has altered the way she interacts with others.

"I was a person growing up who kept everything within -- who was interested in people, but I just never shared myself," she explained. "But everybody was warm and loving. And it helped us to see our faith in other people's eyes as well as our own."

RCIA follow-up

Dona Fragnoli, a convert, started a small Christian community at Immaculate Conception Church in Glenville as a result of her desire to maintain the "intense" involvement with her faith that she experienced during the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

The RCIA program "was an incredible thing for me," she said. "I was so overwhelmed with the beauty of the Catholic faith. RCIA is intense -- and then it's over, and you're done, and that's it. I couldn't stand it!"

The group, which she calls a "continuation of the exploration of Catholicism and spirituality," uses materials she obtains online to spark discussion and coordinate readings.

She believes that participating in a small faith-sharing group is "something that would change the faith of our Church dramatically if everyone participated in a group. There's so much to know!"

(Resources for forming and running small faith-sharing groups and small Christian communities are available from the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis at 453-6630.)

(11/4/04)