In the recent Catholic Times a director of a Theological Institute gives the readers her understanding of group discussion an area that has been neglected for too long, even before the pandemic. We have become Lone Rangers.
This coming Sunday is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Personally, when she looks back on the past year many things have happened but one of the new things is that she has been together with a small faith group in meetings related to women. The reading club run by the Catholic Bible Society held meetings to read books and share them online for about a year and a half under the theme of “Church and Women.” Thanks to a male religious, who was a member of the reading club, gave the group space to gather at the monastery. They decided to meet there once a month and to keep the meeting open so that not only those who were in the book club but also anyone interested in the subject could participate, and decided to hold it online at the same time for those who live far away.
She has often planned meetings or programs related to research institute activities, but this faith meeting feels new in that participants take the lead and organize it together. It is also a meeting with the theme of ‘women’, and it is interesting that a significant number of men also participate. The ages range from young people in their 20s to middle-aged people in their 50s, and each of them does a variety of things. There is no need to appoint a representative or person in charge, as each voluntarily shares roles in various tasks necessary for the meeting, from preparing snacks to setting the theme of the meeting. Various news from the church and the world related to women is shared in the open chat room to promote the meeting.
They've only gathered three times and it's still in the beginning stage, but are looking forward to the future. The November meeting suggested that we make a 'Catholic Sexual Violence Prevention Guideline' together.
Protestant churches and overseas Catholic churches are releasing sexual assault prevention guidelines to create a peaceful and safe church culture, but the Korean Catholic Church decided to discuss and create them on their own instead of waiting for these materials to come out. A participant who works as a counselor in the United States shared various materials from the parish there. She decided to study in advance and is looking forward to what they will be talking about at this meeting.
One of the trends of the younger generation these days is that a number of small groups that share hobbies or interests is increasing. The Millennials and the Generation Z (MZ Generation) has a strong individualistic tendency to enjoy life alone, but it is said that they pursue a loose form of social relationship and community where they comfortably share their interests and needs. They want a new community where they can find emotional support and empathy while respecting the diversity of each person.
In the parish, which is gradually returning to normal life after the pandemic, many members and volunteers have left many apostolic organizations such as district and small village meetings that have operated previously, and are struggling to fill the vacancy. She wonders what it would be like to introduce these active group members to small groups and apostolic activities.
A colleague of the writer at the research institute who serves as the head of education at the parish is preparing for small community meetings according to the different interests of the group. We are investigating the number of believers who are willing to participate in these small group meetings and searching for the subjects of the meeting in advance to start next year around Easter. More than 100 people have signed up for various meeting topics. It is planned to be operated so that not only believers but also local residents can participate. It is the first time such an attempt has been made, so they are worried about what will happen but she hopes that it will all work out well.
