I spent the first week of February in Chicago for a week of intensive study at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. It was a week of learning, but also a week of deepening my connections with my cohort. Some of the best conversations I’ve had in my life have been in the community kitchen of the school during class breaks. Currently, I’m a few weeks into my 4th semester of seminary. Much of the work I do there is in community with small groups online. As time has gone on, some deep friendships have formed in those small groups. It got me thinking about small group ministry and how learning and sharing together can be a power accelerant to forming new and lasting relationships
Friendship doesn’t seem to be as well examined as other relationships, yet it is deeply important in our lives. Rev. Sian did a sermon a few months ago about the Surgeon General’s report that identified epidemic loneliness in the United States. One of the things identified in the 72-page report was the statistic that half the adults in this study experienced loneliness regularly. The rate was even higher among young adults. The most shocking thing about this for me was that this study was started in 2019. These numbers came out even before the Covid 19 pandemic. How are we doing now?
There are many ways to connect here at OCUUC. In the events section of this newsletter, you will find the monthly calendar for a wide range of groups. If you’re not attending one of our groups already, I encourage you to take another look. I’m adding a monthly Sermon Discussion Group to the 4th Sunday of every month through June. This will be an in-person group that will meet after our regular Sunday service and I’d love to see you there!
Wendy Karn was Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's intern minister from 2023-2025.