Need a small group for Lent?
*Form your own group or join a group from the parish
*Reflection questions provided
*Meet in homes or wherever you want during Lent
*Meet for lunch or just meet
*Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate, including everyone who worships here part time.
*Let’s grow as disciples…together!
Scripture is filled with gatherings of faithful people over meals, so in this spirit, we are inviting you to join with others as you journey through Lent in a Lenten Small Group. You can form your own with faithful people in your neighborhood, sports club, or circle of friends, or contact the office to be set up in a small group. Meeting times are determined by each small group’s needs, must include some element of a meal or hospitality, and be centered around the practices of prayer, friendship, and community.
We are hoping to see many of our neighborhoods get excited about getting together over this beautiful season of 40 days. From the first day of Lent, the Ash Wednesday Readings make God’s call to us clear: “Return to me with your whole heart.” (Joel 2:12) It is an extraordinary invitation from God to each one of us…in a personal, individual way. This journey to discover Christ the Servant in a deeper way begins with your desire for relationship, identity and mission.
How to get started?
Invite a friend or family you know to join you in an intentional way once per week during Lent for prayer and a meal.
Your format might be:
Over lunch after a tennis match
With a pizza at the playground with another family or two
After 8:30am Morning Mass or Adoration during the week over coffee and pastries in the Parish Center
In your backyard with S’Mores or hamburgers
A parent sitting with their teen and friends from the neighborhood after school and a snack
During a coffee and pie date with a couple of couples
As part of a small group setting you already are in a circle with (Bunco, Pickleball, Tennis, Boy Scouts, Cheerleading, Sewing group, Book club, Travel ball…)
Once you have your group, register your group with us so we know you are participating. Fill out this simple form to register.
How does it work?
1) After the meeting/sport/fun, or when you first sit down to meet, spend some time checking in. This is where you build community! You can do “Highs and Lows”, prayer requests and praise reports, or simply go around the group and share how you have seen God at work in your life this week (sometimes called God-winks). If you need an ice breaker, here are some questions to try:
https://thecounselingteacher.com/2020/12/think-outside-the-box-and-get-students-outside.html
2) As part of your meeting, have something to eat. Jesus dined with every kind of saint and sinner and did so to build relationship with them. Your meal does not have to be fancy or substantial – chips and salsa or cheese and crackers will do, or you can plan something big and intentional: A different country’s cuisine each week, the meatless and unusual recipes suggested by Operation Rice Bowl, or a different church’s fish fry each Friday of Lent.
3) Third, get ready to pray and share. Our Lent 2023 Small Group Guide will be your passport to guide you in this!
It is important to have safe spaces to talk about your faith, and with this, you look to your community to find those spaces. Be brave! Look for folks wearing ashes on Ash Wednesday, or signing themselves when an ambulance goes by. Try: “I was thinking about getting together with some other faithful folks during Lent to see God at work.” We will give you all you need for the prayer and discussion piece of this group. Have faith, and remember where two or more are gathered, God is there!! As you step into this project, pray with your whole heard that God would give you understanding and wisdom, and that this small group would be to His glory. Look for ways to encourage and build one another in your small group up, and if you have theology questions, ask someone in the Faith Formation department and we will help you search for an answer.
Have a small group? Let us know so we can check in with you and watch the goodness of God grow in our parish.
Need a small group? Contact Lori in the Office of Faith Formation to get connected with a group.