Submitted by: Jayne Trapnell
How many times do you make a determination that you know someone? You feel you’ve been around them enough to “size them up” and you have your initial impression of them all zipped up? We all do this. Maybe even subconsciously at times, but we all do it. We may only ever talk to them a handful of times, but we form an opinion in our minds whether we think we will be friends or not. Whether or not we see them as someone we’d socially engage with, or even want to spend time talking to more. It’s human nature. If they are standoffish, we assume they don’t want to know us. If their energy is low, and what they share makes us uncomfortable, we steer clear.
But, what if, we had an opportunity to hear them openly share about themselves and their lives. What if we found out details that made them be who they are? What if those details gave us the empathy to see that we’d also approach the world in a certain way if that had been our path? That is what Small Group Ministry does, in the most magical, wonderful way possible. It puts us in a group of people, many of whom we have nothing in common with, other than the fact that we attend UUCC. We may be 20-30 years older than them, or 20-30 years younger. We may see them as people we’d normally not gravitate towards, and yet, as we listen to them share, we find fascinating, interesting people, who have maybe had very different paths than ours. We learn how their lives have shaped them to be who they are, and we are drawn in to their stories and feelings. Soon, affection grows. Respect grows. The feeling of connection grows. We have a new friend, whom we’ve gotten to know in a way we never would have, if we were left to chat with them on Sunday over coffee. And, we grow in spirit. We stretch ourselves in beautiful ways. THAT is the beauty and magic of Small Group Ministry. There is an empty chair in every circle. Who might you know differently?
Listen Intentionally ~ Grow in Spirit ~ Experience Kinship