Recently a Facebook friend posted a picture of her mother with a group of other Saint George’s women in the 1970’s. I remember hearing about the mysterious Deep Creek Evangelical Society in my earliest days at Saint George’s, and I recognized most of the women, all of whom have either passed on or moved away. The picture reminded me how deeply informal small groups are engrained in our corporate DNA.

Of course, small groups have always played an important role at St. George’s as in other Episcopal churches. Historically, the groups were often formally established under the auspices of broader organizations such as the Episcopal Church Women (ECW), the Episcopal Young Churchmen (EYC), or the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew men’s fellowship, or functions such as Altar Guild or Acolytes. One can read of the valuable contributions of those groups in the parish history written by Cynthia Clark.

Today St. George’s is enriched by a number of less formal fellowship groups and ad hoc fellowship opportunities. Some of these erupt spontaneously and are never announced. Some meet regularly with little fanfare, but are always open to new participants. Some are by their intimate nature or space constraints limited to an established group. Others are promoted widely and steadily attract new participants.

Recently more than fifteen women participated in a “field trip” to see the exhibit of the Virgin Mary at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, followed by a late lunch at the home of the member who organized the outing.

Almost every Sunday a group forms during coffee hour and moves on to Taqueria Poblano at Lee-Harrison shopping center for brunch. More formally organized, others explore local restaurants for supper on First Sundays.

In the early 1990’s when the traditional women’s circles were almost extinct, a group of stressed-out over-committed multi-tasking modern women formed Time Out, where the only rules were that no church business would be conducted or discussed, and that confidences would stay in the room. The group is much more relaxed now, but continues to meet on the 2^nd and 4^th Saturday mornings, and always welcomes new members and drop-ins. The Men’s Group meets on the first Saturday and conducts more focused discussions on announced topics.

Several Faith, Life and Community classes in recent years have bonded so closely during their weeks of preparation for confirmation, reception, or renewal that they have continued to meet together long after the Bishop’s visit. This is an example of a group that is “closed” by the nature of its origin, but could in the future morph or combine into a new group.

Today we have an energetic active and highly organized group of Twenties and Thirties. In the 1970’s and 80’s the young married couples of the church, a distinct minority at the time, met regularly as the Saint Vitus Circle, an intentionally somewhat subversive moniker. Decades later some of those same couples formed the Squeeze Group, meeting monthly over simple suppers to discuss the challenges of caring for both growing children and aging parents. Now the core group plus some new couples in the same demographic entertain less frequently but more elegantly and talk about retirement, health care and grandchildren.

Many other groups meet regularly for Bible study, book discussions, exercise, fellowship, spiritual journeys, retreats, mutual support and more. A new series will highlight individual groups in the weekly Dragon Bytes and service leaflet and provide specific information and contacts. Groups are also represented each fall at the annual Ministry Fair/Spirit Festival.  This blog will feature specific groups in more detail in coming months.

In the meantime, if you want to get connected, just ask around.   You will probably discover an existing group that will eagerly welcome you.  If not, you may find someone to join you and others in a new adventure.