What is Small Group Ministry?

The purpose of Small Group Ministry (SGM) is to help members forge deeper connections with others in the congregation; to be with people who want to talk about things that really matter to them, to share ideas and insights and to develop intentional listening.

There are three essential elements for any small group:

• Each small group must first develop its own covenant or a set of ground rules which explain how members will treat each other.
• Each small group welcomes new members, symbolized by an “empty chair” which means participants are encouraged to invite others to attend a session and join a small group.
• Each small group must offer service to the congregation.

Friends and newcomers have commented that joining a small group allowed them to get to know a circle of people more quickly than attending worship alone.

How does the Small Group Program work?

Small groups comprise six to eight people who commit to meeting once or twice a month. The groups are facilitated by members of the congregation selected and trained by our minister and the SGM Coordinating Committee. They meet monthly with the minister for guidance and support. Each facilitator helps the group craft its covenant, choose when and where the group will meet, and make sure that meetings run smoothly.

Small group meetings have a regular format that includes:

• An opening reading from a UU source.
• A time for personal check-in from all members.
• A reading, discussion topic, or other meeting focus selected by the members of the group or the facilitator.
• A time for individual check-out or reflection.
• A closing reading.

Depending on the wishes of the group, responsibility for leading discussions may rotate among members or rest with the facilitators.

Each group creates its own behavioral covenant that defines how they agree to treat each other and a covenant with the larger community that indicates their commitment to perform some service for UCSI each year.

Why do we need Small Groups at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island?

“People come to our congregations seeking intimacy and spiritual growth. And we give them committee meetings and Sunday morning worship. Neither of these adequately meets those needs,” says Rev. Glenn Turner, a leader of the UU Small Group Ministry movement.

Small Group Ministry can help new friends and old integrate into the life of the UCSI. A small group is a place to get to know people and to build personal relationships. It is a way of growing a healthy, vibrant congregation. This program builds connections between people from one personal connection to the next and enriches all our lives.

Can I participate?

The Small Group Program welcomes all interested participants, including long-time members, newer members, friends and visitors willing to make a six-month commitment.

How do I get involved?

The Small Group Program holds periodic sign-ups for groups. Group members make a six-month commitment to each other, and then the groups close. New participants will be welcomed into the groups when they open again after six months. New groups may also form at the end of each interval.

If you are interested in participating in the Small Group Program, you can contact Rev. Karlson at minister -at- uucsi.org or 347-466-0864.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25

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Fair Trade Coffee: One Group's Service Project

We Unitarians love our coffee hour – it is the central unifying social activity of our congregation.

Fair trade coffee sold at the 2009 Jolly Holly Fair

When we first gathered as a group in the Spring of ’08 and began to give some thought to fulfilling the part of the covenant that requires the group to be of service, we decided to start very close to home. Our congregation’s love of the coffee hour provided us with a vehicle to benefit our own church as well as a means of doing some good in the world.

We had attended other UU churches where Fair Trade coffee was served and so we began to research the Interfaith program through the UUSC Coffee Project, which is a collaboration with Equal Exchange, a worker-owned fair trade company based in Massachusetts.

Here’s what we discovered: Fairly traded coffee eliminates the corporation, the marketer, the retailer and the fancy schmancy advertising. Consequently, by cutting out these entities, small farmers can be paid a fair price for their products; they can afford to pay for the basic needs of their families, to invest in the well-being of their communities, and ensure the long-term growth of their businesses.

In addition, for every pound of Fair Trade product sold through the UUSC Coffee Project, 20 cents goes to UUSC's Small Farmer Fund, generating as much as $18,000 per year.

Fair trade coffee display in 2008

And so, we introduced our Fair Trade Coffee program modestly. We began by purchasing FT coffee through our own contributions for FY ’08 -’09. In the following year, we asked the congregation to make a small donation at coffee hour to cover the cost of the program. Soon people were asking if they could purchase this delicious coffee for home, and so about a year ago we began taking individual orders.

Now we have firmly established the Fair Trade Coffee Program as an enthusiastically supported component of our church life.