Many have described the St. Patrick parish of 50 years ago as "small and intimate."  After decades years of rapid growth, the word "small" may no longer apply, but it remains, for many parishioners, quite intimate.  That certainly is the case for parishoners that participate in Small Christian Communities.

At St. Patrick's, the first Small Christian Communities were started by Paula Bilyard and Sister joy Castiglione.  At the time, Paula was working toward receiving a pastoral Formation Certificate.  One requirement of teh PFC program is that candidates perform a practicum.  The formation of Small Christian Communities was Paula's practicum.  With the help of Sister Joy, Paula came up with a list of possible facilitators to whom Father Paul Walsh sent a letter.  A good number responded.

That was in 1994.  Today, 12 Small Christian Communities meeting regularly, with many of the original groups still in existence (although some of the faces mayhave chages due to members moving to anouther area or other circumstances).  The gatherings take place in participants' homes.  They begin with prayer and then focus on the Gospel reading for the coming Sunday.  Participants share their insights as well as how the reading may apply to their lives.  The groups include people from diverse backgrounds and different interests.  Yet, the faith tat they share is an incredible bond;  Perhaps the best way to describe Small Christian Communities is to tell the story of one community.

Becoming a Family

"God makes people different for a reason. One person's strengths might be the other person's weakness. But when you come together, you make each other stronger." I found that quote on a Touched By an Angel calendar and immediately thought of how it applies to our Small Christian Commnunity.  When we gather each week to discuss the readings for the following Sunday, we share our thoughts and realize how relative both the Old and new Testaments are to our lives today.  We are a diverse group who, through God's grace, found each other and formed a "family."  Over the years, we have laughed together, cried together, prayed together, and mourned for our loved ones together.  But most of all, we have come to realize that we must do more than just read about the Word, we must also practice it in our daily lives.

One way in which we have put His words into action is by starting a building fund for the families in the Dominican Republic whose homes were destroyed by hurricane floods.  This was an idea proposed and initiatted by one of our members, Jim Maloney.  Jim started this program and through his efforts, two homes have already been built and more are in progress.nbsp; Unfortunately, Jim died before the first home was built, but the seed has been planted and we are continuing with his vision.

So while we may all have different dreams and goals in life, when we unite, we complete each other.

-- Joan Neubert

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