Small Christian Communities
“Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you
came.
You want to go where you can see that troubles are all the same. You want to go
where every body knows your name.” – Cheers
Mission Statement: To build up the parish community and strengthen the life and mission of our
parish by assisting people to make a difference in each others’ lives and
faith and by being active participants in St Bernardine’s parish.
A small Christian community is a group of 8-12 adults, or families, who come together,
usually in each other’ homes, weekly or every other week to share something of
their stories with one another and to share God’s story (i.e., the Sunday
scriptures). People help each other to make connections between everyday life
and faith.
We live such hectic, busy lives; there is often so little time to notice what is happening to
us. Gathering together regularly with a few fellow parishioners in a small
Christian community offers people a chance to slow down, to be a bit more
reflective about life, to sift and sort the things that count. Over time the
small church community becomes a place where members ask: “How might God be
acting in this crazy mixed-up life I’m living?”
Small Christian communities are not just about meeting individual needs, they are also
about building up the parish community and strengthening the life and mission of
the parish. The key to building a parish that makes a difference in the world
around it is to build a parish where people regularly make a difference in each
other’s, lives and faith. Small Christian communities make a difference in the
lives of those who participate in them and in the parish that develops them.
For additional information contact Jean Sampson at 818-888-7073
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