Small Groups Overview
We are all on a spiritual journey, whether we recognize it or not. The Catholic Church is a beautiful place to walk on this spiritual journey, being fed by the community, teachings, and sacraments. The full parish can be large and difficult to engage. It is critical to engage in smaller group activities to fully realize the blessings of walking in faith with others. People can feel God’s love through the love of others in small groups, thus drawing closer to God. Through His life, Jesus shared the example for us of individual prayer time, small community time, and large community time. Our goal is to be in union with God here on earth and then fully in heaven for eternity. Small faith groups help us make progress on that goal.
This group is open to those who have gone through the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP/Welcome) process. During the CRHP process, strong bonds were formed between team members. The CRHP continuation groups seek to build on those bonds and expand beyond your immediate CRHP team. Like original CRHP teams, these groups will share life challenges and faith learnings. Initial meetings will focus on faith shares. Subsequent meetings can be centered around life sharing and group studies such as a spiritual topic, book, or particular portion of the Bible. The intent is to continue to develop in faith while sharing life together as a small, trusted group, creating an open and trusting environment where members can gain insights, support, and encouragement as they deepen their relationship with our God. Each team will be composed of 10-12 members. As in the original CHRP process, teams will be men only and women only.
This group is open to those who have gone through the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP/Welcome) process. During the CRHP process, strong bonds were formed between team members. The CRHP continuation groups seek to build on those bonds and expand beyond your immediate CRHP team. Like original CRHP teams, these groups will share life challenges and faith learnings. Initial meetings will focus on faith shares. Subsequent meetings can be centered around life sharing and group studies such as a spiritual topic, book, or particular portion of the Bible. The intent is to continue to develop in faith while sharing life together as a small, trusted group, creating an open and trusting environment where members can gain insights, support, and encouragement as they deepen their relationship with our God. Each team will be composed of 10-12 members. As in the original CHRP process, teams will be men only and women only.
These groups are designed to be very small and personal, typically 4-5 people with very open sharing. These small groups enable men to share their inner lives and spiritual journeys together. The purpose is to support, encourage, challenge, teach, and learn from each other in a spirit of unconditional love. Iron sharpens iron. There is great value in deep relationships in drawing you closer to the loving person God created you to be. Named after Mark chapter 4, the parable of the sower – we can help each other have good soil to produce spiritual fruit. We can also practice and help each other be a sower, a lamp on the stand, and a calmer of the seas. The groups share their life journeys to draw closer to our God. Meetings are typically 3-4 weeks apart. Meetings often start with prayer and move into a discussion of each other’s current and ongoing challenges.
These groups are designed to be very small and personal, typically 4-5 people with very open sharing. These small groups enable women to share their inner lives and spiritual journeys together. The purpose is to support, encourage, challenge, teach, and learn from each other in a spirit of unconditional love. Iron sharpens iron. There is great value in deep relationships in drawing you closer to the loving person God created you to be. Named after Mark chapter 4, the parable of the sower – we can help each other have good soil to produce spiritual fruit. We can also practice and help each other be a sower, a lamp on the stand, and a calmer of the seas. The groups share their life journeys to draw closer to our God. Meetings are typically 3-4 weeks apart. Meetings often start with prayer and move into a discussion of each other’s current and ongoing challenges.
Married couples need the support and encouragement from other married couples as they navigate the journey of living out the call to the Sacrament of Marriage. Married couples need a “safe” place where we can gather in a social setting to share our faith and experiences in the context of married and family life. This comes from a place of unconditional love, respect, prayer, and support for one another. The couples usually spend the first portion of the meeting in a social time, sharing food, drink, and light conversation. The second part of the meeting is used to pray, share, and support one another in the challenges and joys of married life. The faith sharing segment of the meeting may take the form of a bible study, book study, video series, or subject determined by the host couple. Engaged couples also welcomed. Groups typically have 5-6 couples.
The Raphael Group is a Catholic fellowship of adult men who are struggling with the virtue of chastity and sins against the sixth commandment. The group is a safe place to share experience, strength, and hope with each other on the path to overcoming problems and help others to recover. Any adult men 21 and over are encouraged to attend. The Raphael Group meets on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th Thursdays of the month from 7:00p – 8:00p in the St. Julie Billiart room. On the 3rd Thursday of every month meetings are held online. Meetings consist of readings, discussions, prayer, and fellowship.
For more information, or to ask questions, pertaining to this specific group – please contact Jordan Hardee at jordanhardee@mailbox.org
Many people share their love for God and for others through the “Service Love Language”. These groups are being created to have teams ready to serve the needs that exist and arise in our local community. There is a huge variety of needs that could include home needs, yard needs, automobile help, transportation needs, food needs, mentoring, and many other labor needs. The desire is to create teams of 10-12 people that can view known needs and decide if their team can help. They can be one-time needs or reoccurring needs. Can you help? The needs are great and too often the laborers are few.
Study groups are designed to enable men to meet with other men and explore their faith. Various materials (books and videos) are used to guide the group through learnings and insight sharing. Specific studies on a book of the Bible or any spiritual topics with group discussions are the main focus of the meetings. Personal sharing and social time can also occur. These smaller groups nourish the individuals and the community as the group members learn from each other and are encouraged by each other. Getting involved in smaller groups enables personal experience and growth. Small communities within the big community can develop deeper and fulfilling relationships. Being an active member of the parish is a critical part of the faith journey, growing in relationship with God and others. This follows the example Jesus gave with quiet prayer time, along with small and large community spiritual time. Groups are typically 8-15 people and meet once/month. We all have so much to give and so much to learn.
Study groups are designed to enable women to meet with other women and explore their faith. Various materials (books and videos) are used to guide the group through learnings and insight sharing. Specific studies on a book of the Bible or any spiritual topics with group discussions are the main focus of the meetings. Personal sharing and social time can also occur. These smaller groups nourish the individuals and the community as the group members learn from each other and are encouraged by each other. Getting involved in smaller groups enables personal experience and growth. Small communities within the big community can develop deeper and fulfilling relationships. Being an active member of the parish is a critical part of the faith journey, growing in relationship with God and others. This follows the example Jesus gave with quiet prayer time, along with small and large community spiritual time. Groups are typically 8-15 people and meet once/month. We all have so much to give and so much to learn.
Mixed study groups are designed to enable anyone to meet with others and explore their faith. Various materials (books and videos) are used to guide the group through learnings and insight sharing. Specific studies on a book of the Bible or any spiritual topics with group discussions are the main focus of the meetings. Personal sharing and social time can also occur. These smaller groups nourish the individuals and the community as the group members learn from each other and are encouraged by each other. Getting involved in smaller groups enables personal experience and growth. Small communities within the big community can develop deeper and fulfilling relationships. Being an active member of the parish is a critical part of the faith journey, growing in relationship with God and others. This follows the example Jesus gave with quiet prayer time, along with small and large community spiritual time. Groups are typically 8-15 people and meet once/month. We all have so much to give and so much to learn.
This group serves to build a community of people ages 18-35 who have a desire to share life in Christ, who desire fellowship with each other, and who want to be more involved in the life of the parish. In order to further our relationships with Christ & His Church, we need community. This community will share social time and spiritual reflections, creating an open and trusting environment where members can gain insights, support, and encouragement as they deepen their relationship with our God. Anyone between the ages of 18-35 is welcome to join, whether you are married, parents, engaged, or single! Join Here
The St. Susanna Young Adult Ministry has an Instagram page for parishioners (ages 18-35) to follow to learn about our latest news as well as details on upcoming events. Check out @mcyaohio to get connected!
We also have a GroupMe that Young Adults are welcome to join to learn about upcoming events. To join, scan the QR code or visit https://groupme.com/join_group/86211904/lZ0ODqw3 .
