Connecting everyday life and faith

by JoAnn Borchert

Putting on the coffee pot and gathering around the table to share our stories with our friends and relatives is a common occurrence on these long and cold winter days. We grow in appreciation of one another and the world around us in conversation. We come to understand life as individuals and in community at a deeper level.

In the church we are called to enter into the reality of Small Christian Communities or Small Church Communities (SCC’s). We are invited to share our faith with one another. We are called to form small groups that gather and share faith. “We are called to create small communities of faith which will become a means of evangelization and of the initial proclamation of the gospel and a source of new ministries.” John Paul II - Redemptoris Missio. “Small church communities not only foster the faith of individuals, they are living cells which build up the Body of Christ. As basic units of the parish they serve to increase the corporate life and mission of the parish. Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium by the United States Bishops.

Faith sharing is the ability to see how a particular Scripture is a picture of my own life, and how God is working in the group and in me. As Father Art Baranowski would say, “It is ordinary people helping each other connect everyday life and faith regularly.” Faith sharing is being aware of a moment of grace when God touched my life and sharing that with others. It is a time to pause, step back and discover new insights in our relationship with God and others. SCC’s are formed groups of people who meet regularly to share faith.

The elements of a SCC are the same as those of the church: belonging, faith formation, prayer and worship, and service and mission. The usual format is: gathering, input - scripture and reflection material, discussion of input, prayer and an action response. SCC participants have an opportunity to be attentive to their personal, their church and community life. Small church communities are not just a prayer group or a Bible study group or a social action group or even a support group, all of these elements need to be present to make a small church community.

Lent is a great time for us to put on the coffee and form a group where we can be attentive to the grace of the liturgical season. The groups do not have to be large or over organized. A family unit can become a faith sharing group. There are many materials available to use. Your parish or diocesan office can help you with finding resources. Lent is close at hand which provides an opportunity to gather with family or friends to pray, study and live in response to the sending forth at the end of Mass, “Go forth to Love and Serve the Lord.”

JoAnn Borchert is Director for Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of New Ulm.