The concepts underlying Small Group Ministry can involve all ages, including children and youth, at various levels in

1. the child care/activity that is provided while adult small groups meet,
2. Small Group Ministry for families in their homes
3. introducing the relational concepts while retaining much of the present materials and methodology in religious education program
4. using the Small Group Ministry format for religious education sessions.

In all of these areas, consideration needs to be given to the spiritual developmental stages and to the underlying principles and assumptions of education and Small Group Ministry.

Using Small Group Ministry with children is based on the following characteristics:

• The size of the group should still be under 10 people, including the adults who are with the children. The group should be as consistent in participants as possible.
• The format of the sessions includes opening, check-in, a topic, closing, likes and wishes.
• A 'covenant' or 'guidelines for being together' or 'promise of how we will treat each other' is developed by each group.
• There is a facilitator for the sessions. Older children and youth can assist and move into this role.

There are some differences between Small Group Ministry with adults and using the model with children and youth. One difference is the role of adults working with children and youth within the Small Group Ministry context. The usual role of the adult is as teacher and protector. The focus moves toward mentor and role model to empower children and youth as they participate. This is reflected in interactions with children:

• During check-in, children are given an opportunity to say something or to pass, without adults suggesting that they tell about something specific. This allows the child to determine what he or she wants to share. If children pass, they may be ready to speak after others have shared.
• Adults may need to guide the use of the covenant, and may need to help move the session along. The change is probably in the verbiage: from "Now we are going to…." To "Let's go on to…" In addressing a potential conflict, focus is on the topic being addressed by the group, with a suggestion that there will be time and opportunity to address the conflict outside of the group -- and follow-through with making time to address the conflict after the session.
• The smaller group size may allow for increased attention to each participant, including the adult. The adults in the group is part of the group, and can participate as peers, without dominating or giving the impression that they have 'the answers'. In fact, one of the most exciting dynamics about Small Group Ministry with children is the wisdom that they can impart to adults!

A second difference in using Small Group Ministry with children may be the need for additional activities. Depending on the ages and developmental stages of the participants, it is helpful to have paper and crayons or markers, pens or pencils, clay and some active games available for use at any session. The focus of these items in the Small Group Ministry is to assist the participants in being more present in the group and the dialog, rather than as an end in themselves.

Families usually arrange care for children while the Small Groups meet. If the childcare is in the same location as the adult session, discussion will be needed regarding when children may interrupt the adults. These parameters become part of the covenanting of the group with the children, so that the adult session is able to meet the intent of Small Group Ministry. This may include videos or games for children, with a designated childcare provider or older children overseeing younger children.

Consider what the small group can mean to children as their parents participate in the adult small group. The same principles that apply to the adults can be applied children by orienting the "childcare provider" to the basic principles of the program, and providing resources to carry implement the session.

• A set of pages for children could be developed to parallel those for adults, with additional activities and stories. These could follow the same themes as the adult discussions.
• The focus would be personal explorations, with age-appropriate questions.
• The material would be developed for multiple ages.
• The Religious Education Director or Coordinator could be a resource for the development of sessions.

A variation of this might be to have some of the time, such as a brief check-in, as families. Considering that the sessions last for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, alternative activities for the children need to be considered, for at least part of the time. However, a small group might plan some sessions that were specifically intergenerational activities, including events such as a potluck meal or a hiking trip.

Another consideration is having Small Group Ministry groups that are intergenerational or family-focused. This is an opportunity and is a great way for children to learn from adults. But it also presents some challenges:

• Topics and presentation will need to be age inclusive. With wide diversity in faith development stages, is this possible while still honoring the needs at the various levels?
• Adults and children may miss having sharing around concerns in their own ages

Regardless of the arrangements made with the children during the small group meeting, parents' discussion of the importance of small group ministry will provide a way for children to understand that connection to the church community is more than the Sunday service.

Small Group Ministry within the family setting can contribute to intentional family religious education and ministry to each other. After all, the parents are the primary religious educators, and the religious education still occurs primarily in the home through the modeling of spiritual practice. Small Group Ministry can provide a focused time and method for this educational process.

With the increasing focus on family ministry, this concept of Small Group Ministry in the home can be moved forward. This can occur regardless of the ages of the members of the family. And the focus on the stories and myths from our living traditions and from our own life stories make this family dialogue timeless. Families also have an opportunity of incorporating stories and wisdom from their own background.

The concepts of Small Group Ministry that are used with children apply to the family setting. (See the beginning section on "What Small Group Ministry Offers Children and Youth") The resources that might be helpful include the current Unitarian Universalist hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition, and short stories, from fables to contemporary.

An importance of the Small Group Ministry for families is the intentional time spent in being together, understanding each other and considering spiritual topics. Using the Small Group Ministry approach in the family will also prepare the participants for participating this relational approach in religious education and the larger church community. Ministry begins at home!

The concepts underlying Small Group Ministry can be applied to make the educational ministry of the church more relational, even if the content of the curricula does not change. Consider these suggestions.

<>Change in terminology sets the stage:

• from "class" to "group";
• from "lesson" to "session" or a time together;
• from "Sunday School" to "Religious Education" or "educational ministry" or "religious exploration"; and
• from "teacher" to "leader" or "facilitator" or "co-discoverer." Leaders set the stage for the session, providing resources and structure, but are not responsible for the learning itself. Leaders also learn in the process!

<>Prepare for a session, or time together, rather than a "lesson," which is something to be followed or accomplished. Keep the members of the group in mind. Are there special considerations? Special interests or perspectives? This becomes a natural part of planning and implementation.

<>Develop a covenant or "Guidelines for Being Together" within each group so that the expectations are clear, are formed with input from everyone, and are in the language of the group. This practice can be a covenant, or promise on how we will act, moving from just avoiding disruption and conflict to a way of caring.

<>Be attentive to each other. "Be present" for each other, sensing where you are (how you are feeling, etc.) and where the group is. Take attendance, a necessary task for program planning, to celebrate and be attentive to each person present, acknowledging people who are absent, and possibly connecting with them after the session. A suggestion is to have cards available so that notes from the group ("we miss you," or "thinking about you") can be sent to people who are not present.

<>Adhere to suggestions for group size. If adults can comfortably develop meaningful bonds with no more than 8-10 people at a time, why should children be expected to relate comfortably with larger groups? This number needs to include the facilitators (leaders, teachers). When the total number of participants increases beyond 8-10, consider creating another group rather than adding a leader to assist with the group size. While this has implications for space requirements, the comfort and calmness and learning ability of groups will increase with smaller groups. The importance of each participant to the total group is more evident in a smaller group.

Fluctuation in the attendance at religious education sessions may make it difficult to develop consistent groups. However, consistency of a group needs to be considered rather than consolidating groups if the attendance is low. Consistency in attendance can be a factor in structuring groups: plan the groups so that there are a core of children who attend consistently in each group.

One way to provide continuity of a group over a longer period is to establish groups around age ranges rather than grades, such as K-grade 2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8 (or that group can come under youth). This also allows for sharing of wisdom and modeling among ages, which helps to carry on our faith traditions.

<>Support the facilitators. The role of the facilitator is to

• Build community in the group, making sure that each person is included, hear, and valued
• Help participants bring their own experiences to the living tradition we share
• Provide a variety of ways to "process" the message or topic

(Gail Forsythe Vail)

The facilitator can also be a participant in the dialog.

The leaders/facilitators meet together on a regular basis, to discuss how things are going within the groups, how they are feeling about their role and how they can support each other. These meetings are with a "coach," such as a Director of Religious Education and minister. Support of the leaders is essential for celebrating the teaching moments, and helping with the problem solving. This can be a way of strengthening team teaching/facilitation.

Small Group Ministry can be implemented for younger religious education participants at various levels.

• The relational components can be implemented, with the changes in session format to include check-in within the group. Check-in that is done as part of worship in the format of joys and sorrows should be considered as different from the check-in that is done with a smaller intentional group, with allowing more time for each person to speak and making sure that each voice is heard. The remainder of the curriculum could remain the same.
• As children move toward the upper grades, sessions can take on more of the features of the Small Group Ministry. However, attention needs to be paid to the purpose of the educational process. Is content (information) needed or can the content of the session be drawn more from the experiences of the participants, without the need to add information?
• The manner in which questions are phrased is important. Questions can be phrased to obtain information (educational focus), or they can be phrased to elicit personal insight (spiritual growth or ministry). For example, "What did the story mean?" is the didactic, while "Where did you find yourself in the story? Why? " is more reflective or ministerial.

We are only at the beginning of exploring the possible impact of Small Group Ministry on Religious Education. This can change the way that we develop programming, prepare curriculum, and recruit and support both children and leaders.

Gail Forsythe-Vail, Director of Religious Education, started using a Small Group Ministry format with grades 1-8 in church year 2001-2002. Her model weaves a number of educational principles into the Small Group Ministry concept and format. Her model has the following characteristics:

• The Religious Education session follows a worship service in which a wisdom story drawn from one of our living traditions is told.
• She has prepared generic ways of implementing each part of the session format that can be used by the facilitators (Opening, check-in, reflecting, carrying our faith into the world, appreciation/wishes/closure). These include games and activities as well as discussion.
• Gail has emphasized the service or outreach component under "carrying our faith into the world." This is an example of connecting the group with the larger whole. It also illustrates the shared praxis approach of educating for action. (See section on Shared Praxis)
• Each week, the facilitators are sent plans for each age group that relates to the story that is used in the worship.
• The groups include several grades (grades 1-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8). Gail has found that it is easier to place a child in a group configured this way than the specific graded groups.

The session format that is being used in North Andover is this:

Another model might be to have the chalice lighting, and use the story as the opening. The use of the story, rather than a reading, engages children. Indeed, our heritage is passed on through its stories. The importance, then, is in the stories that we select. Gail selects her stories from the living traditions. In reality, the principles and purposes that we espouse arise from our traditions. Teaching from stories – stories that we tell, not read -- calls on the vital work of Sophia Fahs and Dorothy Spoerl, who knew the importance of myths in imparting truths!

For more details on the North Andover program, see the new curriculum:

Adapting Small Group Ministry for Children's Religious Education: An Implementation Plan With Thirty-one Sample Sessions, Gail Forsyth-Vail, DRE, North Parish of North Andover, Unitarian Universalist, North Andover, MA 01845.