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Thursday, September 7, 2000 I 1 'ni tii Alive i The Southern Cross, Page 9 Small communities equal faith in action By Father Herb Weber Catholic News Service ost members of the small faith community never had met Linda. Nonetheless, when she was di agnosed with cancer, all of them re sponded. Linda is the daughter of two mem bers of one of the small groups in my parish. She lives nearly 100 miles away, but when her parents found out her diagnosis, they immediately shared it with the group. That seemed like the logical place to express their fears and concerns. Throughout the ordeal of chemo therapy, progress reports, setbacks and remission, the entire group prayed with Linda’s parents. Even more, they provided an emotional out let for them through countless tele phone conversations and visits. At times, group members cooked meals for family members, watched the parents’ house when they spent days at the hospital and sent notes to Linda. When she regained health, group members rejoiced as well! Often people give the impression when they talk about small groups in the Catholic Church that these are just discussion groups. Indeed, groups do gather for discussion and prayer. The account of Linda and her parents, however, is a reminder that small faith communities are also about ac tion. The development of small faith communities is growing. Especially when people live at some distance from their family, these groups often act as surrogate families. Moreover, small communities help people experi ence the church in a uniquely per sonal way. For many, involvement in a small community offers challenges as much as support. In fact, faith often grows through the two-prong approach of support and challenge. And working together has allowed members of parish small communi ties to go beyond their normal comfort zones. —One group was afraid they were turning in on themselves. So they started working with a struggling family they met through the local St. Vincent de Paul Society. —Others have agonized over issues like capital punishment, racism and local drug problems. I recall when David first joined a small group, he was hesitant and re luctant. His presence was based on a desire to please his wife. David’s back ground lacked any formal church membership. His personal beliefs were precisely that: personal. In addition, he truly believed he had nothing to offer in terms of faith. He felt that church membership was for others. After awhile, however, David dis covered that the other members took the time to really listen to each other All contents copyright©2000 by CNS — and to him. He was surprised that his own awkwardness with faith is sues didn’t matter. Once over that hurdle, he wanted to learn more and find ways that he could practice the faith himself. David eventually was received into the Catholic Church. More than once he told me that, for him, attending church on Sunday was only part of his faith commitment. He had learned that connecting with others in a per sonal way supported his growth and allowed him to claim active church membership. Being a part of a group had brought home to him a full notion of what faith is. (Father Weber is pastor of St. Peter’s Parish in Mansfield, Ohio.) That contagious parish spirit By Patricia Kobieius Thompson Catholic News Service Our parishes are conglomerates of young, old, adolescents and Boomers — a motley collection of humanity. Yet this is the arena where Pope John Paul tells us that “true human relation ships” take place. Rich, poor, humble or haughty, we gather at the family table for the Eu charist, bringing there both our gifts and our private sufferings. And the Eucharist answers our souls’ unex plainable longing for spiritual suste nance. A community of disparate souls, we come in answer to a common invita tion. In our common response we dis cover mutual strength, drawing us closer in heart and mind to one an other. “Community of communities” is Pope John Paul II’s provocative de scription of a parish in his 1999 apos tolic letter “The Church in America.” The phrase invites further exploration. What does it mean? Is it real or is it a mirage flickering on the spiritual desert of our cultural landscape? We are called by Christ to a eucha- ristic community. Are we up to the challenge? Can we lay aside our myriad personal and professional roles, and take time to let Jesus’ words, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst” (Mt 18:20), inflame our hearts? We discover our Christian identity in our eucharistic celebrations. Community brings its challenges, however: —Anonymity, so common in the modern phenomenon of urbanization, can be terrifying. Within the larger community we often are faces without names. —Yet in rural communities even proximity can be frightful — too much known about one another, sometimes not willingly shared. Both extremes find meeting ground in “parish.” Within the parish, pastors search for true leaders among their people. These men and women, committed to living Christian lives, exhibit in them selves and foster in one another formidable re sources of spiritual strength. And it is contagious, this spirit of the living Christ! Responding to pastoral mentorship, we in turn mentor each other. So, in the midst of the corporate world of dot.corns and mega structures, the parish serves as our spiritual oasis — reaching out, shining forth and draw ing others in. The challenge is immense. Ambition and competition, so common in corpo rate life, are barriers to soul-deep en counter. Furthermore, within par ishes, our constricted mental carica tures of each other hinder the growth of mutual respect and trust. But beside us — in that person who, somewhat different from ourselves, may cause us to squirm uncomfortably — is the face of the living Christ. CNS photo by Bill Wittman Qj Si) FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE Tell what is done by a small parish group in which you participate. “I belong to our parish’s domestic violence response team. We are available to people in domestic violence situa tions, and part of our mission is to educate the parish at large on domestic violence issues.” — Barbara Maloney, Buffalo, N.Y. “I’m currently a member of the secular Franciscan order. At the local level we gather once a month, and individual formation groups meet twice monthly. We socialize, we pray and we follow a formal program guide.... We close with prayer and more socializing. Also, once a month we do service work for local charity organizations.” — Barbara Ganz, Independence, Mo. “We socialize initially.... We become extended family in the process.... We have readings and scriptural questions following the Quest program.... We discuss how the Scriptures touch us in our personal lives. Before finishing, we stand, hold hands and pray regarding the events in our lives. And, of course, we stay for dessert.” — Jane Fransioli, Las Vegas, Nev. An upcoming edition asks: What sorts of situations call for ethical reflection in the workplace? If you would like to respond for possible publication, please write: Faith Alive! 3211 Fourth St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1100. Our challenge is to honor each unique expression of the spiritual jour ney, beginning with our own. The par ish provides our starting point, the venue within which we ourselves are transformed both individually and communally as we join in eucharistic celebration. “Come and see,” Jesus said. His invitation still stands. We’re in vited to the meal, where, like the dis ciples at Emmaus, we recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread. Like those very disciples, we rise from the table, traveling forth to joyfully, spontane ously, share what we have received. Nothing then can stop us. We cannot stop ourselves. That’s just how the Spirit has always worked and how, in us and through us, it continues to do so today. (Thompson, a certified hospice nurse, recently completed a doctorate in theology with a focus on spirituality and health care.) Ina Nutshell People often connect to the larger parish through smaller parish groups. Each parish small community*s specific purpose is different, but all share certain characteristics of the larger church, starting with faith. Faith often is helped to grow when others both support and challenge us — two things parish small communities tend to do. In small communities, people discover mutual strength.