Small Christian Community focuses on Scripture and the teachings of the Church, share each other’s thoughts on Scripture, have a sincere interest in one another’s lives, 
share common prayer and the needs of others,
 and perform service both within and beyond the community.

We read in scripture about the small communities of Christians who gathered in their homes to follow the teachings of Jesus. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. They went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread together. The community of believers was of one heart and one mind. (Acts 2:42, 44, 46)

Since the early 20th century, contemporary small Christian communities (commonly referred to as SCCs) have evolved in all parts of the globe quite spontaneously. In his 1998 post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia in America, Pope John Paul II recommended small Christian communities as a way to reestablish human relationships in church communities:

“It seems timely, therefore, to form ecclesial communities and groups of a size that allow for true human relationships (in) the parish to which such groups belong and with the entire diocesan and universal Church.  In such a human context, it will be easier to gather to hear the Word of God, to reflect on the range of human problems in the light of this Word, and gradually to make responsible decisions inspired by the all-embracing love of Christ.  The parish is not principally a structure, a territory, a building.  The parish is first of all a community of the faithful… that is the task of the parish today; to be a community, to rediscover itself as community… Make yourselves builders of communities in which, after the example of the first community, the Word lives and acts.”

If you are interested in joining fellow parishioners in Small Christian Community groups, please contact Kathy Lessl.