New Womens Circle resource from Margaret Starbird and Joan Norton

14 Steps to Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene available soon.

Last week I attended a fabulous lecture by Margaret Starbird in Newport, RI. Author of many books exploring the role of Mary Magdalene in Christianity and the sacred feminine, Starbird's work is among those sources inspiring Dan Brown's popular book and movie The DaVinci Code.

Margaret shared news of an upcoming small group resource by her and co-author Joan Norton on leading womens groups called "Magdalene Circles".

You can click here to sign up to be notified when this title is released or purchase it after the release date.

Related Sites
www.blog.MaryMagdaleneWithin.com
www.margaretstarbird.net

Here is the product description from Amazon.com:

A practical guide for inviting the wisdom of Mary Magdalene into everyday life

• Provides a unique workbook for use in the spiritual pathwork of Magdalene Circles

• Includes wisdom stories, guided meditations, journaling questions, and essays by Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar

• Designed for those involved in Magdalene Circles and those interested in applying the sacred feminine wisdom of the Goddess to their lives

Women’s circles have been called a “revolutionary-evolutionary movement hidden in plain sight” by Jean Shinoda Bolen and have been hailed as capable of affecting global change. Magdalene Circles are groups of women who focus their shared energies on the wisdom of Mary Magdalene to gain insight into the role of the sacred feminine in their own lives and to help them advance on their spiritual paths.

This book offers 14 lessons to help understand the wisdom offered by Mary Magdalene’s story and mythos. Among the lessons are prophecies of the bride, why we need the bride, Magdalene’s archetypal pattern of descent, and how modern women carry the Grail. Well-suited for the individual reader as well as a group, each lesson includes an introduction, guided meditation, questions for journaling, and an essay by Margaret Starbird as well as suggestions for group sharing. Placing Mary Magdalene within the pattern of “cyclic renewal” of earth-based religions, this book offers the chance to incorporate the sacred feminine wisdom of Mary Magdalene into everyday life for Christians and spiritual feminists alike.

What small groups are NOT

Fun video from SoutheastChrisitian.

Explore models at SmallGroups.Com

If you haven't seen SmallGroups.Com lately, check it out. They've had a huge redesign of their site which looks great.

They offer some great introductory material including an overview of various small group ministry models. For each they list a congregation advocating for their use, a brief description, advantages and disadvantages.

Their list includes the following:

• Open Small Groups
• Closed Small Groups
• Cell Groups
• Free-Market Groups
• Neighborhood Groups
• Purpose-Driven Groups
• Sermon-Based Groups
• Organic Small Groups
• House Churches
• Host Groups

You can also download some free resource samples. For access to the full site you need a membership.

UU SGM Network acheives charitable org status

As one of the three original co-founders of the Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network -- UU's like long names and acronyms! -- I'm delighted to announce that the UU SGM Network has achieved charitable tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

For those of you who are UU's this means easier fundraising for the network (easier, not easy) and through this more resources and support.

For other readers, UU small group ministry resources are, in many ways, like generic small group resources. Yes, the theology matters. But when it comes to making groups work, we're working hard on that. The way I see it we have a harder time as our membership is far more diverse theologically than the average church small group. If we can make groups thrive we must be on to something.

That something is the fundamentals of healthy human groups. Hence, great generic sgm resources!

You can visit the UU SGM Network online at
http://www.smallgroupministry.net

Small Groups in Retirement Communities

I was very happy to get an email from a staff member of an assisted living facility inquiring about starting secular small groups for elders using learning from small group ministry. "Do you think there is a way for us to use groups to enhance our communities?"

No question. YES and you should get to it fast!!! When my grandmother moved into an assisted living community there were few opportunities to talk, share and explore ideas at a level worth of her intellect. Together we started a group that had structure, sharing and room for discussing issues of the day.

It was the best thing happening. I wish more organizations/companies serving our elders would learn from our small group ministries. I know of some chaplains versed in small group ministry who have done some consulting in this area. Unfortunately the groups they worked with were looking for a quick fix.

Uh, think again. Worthwhile, but not easy.

Small Group vs. Big Church

This video goes into the benefits of small group participation. Funny...

Sticky Church = Sermon Based Small Groups

I just received the book Sticky Church in the mail. I ordered it when reading Made to Stick and a Andy Stanley's Making Vision Stick. Not knowing quite what to expect, I started reading. Front doors, back doors, closing back door, focus on formation of those who have arrived vs. mighty marketing efforts then POW! Right around page 40, section II and beyond -- Small Groups. This book is about sermon based small groups and closing the back door.

So far, pretty good. The author, Larry Osborne, admits that this isn't a "hey, check out this new thing!" kind of book. It is built on years of experience and long term growth. I'm enjoying Larry's explanation of how small groups make our faith communities more sticky. Nothing revolutionary, just a different way of talking about why small groups can make a huge difference.

If you aren't looking for a book on small groups, this one won't stick. Need to communicate the value of small groups to people interested in church growth. Read it.

Read more at stickychurch.com
Purchase Sticky Church at Amazon.com