Covenant Groups provide a safe and caring place to make meaningful connections in a small group format and to broaden and deepen our experience and understanding of life. Each group consists of 6-10 people who commit to meet regularly ( usually twice per month) at the church or in homes. The groups not only discuss topics of spirituality, meaning and life passages; they also provide support to members during times of joy and difficulty. A specific topic is provided for each session along with short readings and discussion questions.

One or two members of each group act as facilitators. They open and close the meeting and help assure that everyone gets a change to participate and be heard in an atmosphere of caring and mutual respect. Another function of the facilitators is to help the group determine topics for the meetings. The facilitators meet monthly with each other, and, at times, with the minister to assure that all groups are working well.

Twice each year, October and March, the groups open to new members. During these months anyone wishing to join is placed in a group that fits with that person's availability. This aspect of the program is coordinated with the minister. We try hard to keep groups diverse and well balanced.

Quotes from covenant group members:

"A safe place to talk about some of your deepest feelings--not an easy thing to find in life."

"Being in a Covenant Group gives me the opportunity to get to know several people from the church on an intimate, personal level, to share one?s deepest concerns and to be there for each other on our life?s journeys."

"Friendship and philosophy."

"I highly recommend the Covenant Group experience as a way to explore, reflect, and learn from others on a variety of topics."

"For me, being part of a Covenant Group is like being part of a family without the baggage of old childhood roles. It?s a place of safety where one?s compassionate nature is encouraged and flourishes. Caring and warmth grow as we really live and act on our belief in the basic goodness of people."

"Covenant Groups give us a chance to know a group of people from the congregation well, to share our thoughts and ideas--whether others agree with them or not--in an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality, and to grow and deepen ourselves through exploration of spiritual and other life-affecting topics."

Covenant Groups are a great way to get to know people and to deepen your experience of church and of life. They've really caught on at First Parish. Our program has grown from a single pilot group to more than ten groups in just a few years.