Life Circles provide a fairly informal, but still structured, venue through which one can enter more deeply into this faith community. Life Circles are small groups of people often gathered together for the purpose of discovering more about each other, themselves, and their relation to the divine through common activities or ideas.  Life Circles may also meet for the purpose of listening for callings or their place in the world.  Mission Teams may grow out of Life Circles when a common calling or ministry is discerned or Mission Teams may result directly from the identification of a calling or need. Circles often focus on one idea, specific or general and several Circles have read a book together and used it as a jumping off point for discussion and growth.  Others have formed around a shared activity such as explorative prayer, knitting or drumming.

In our church, life circles often utilise a loose structure, some ways they connect each time they meet:
• Shared PRAYER for others -- this could take the form of meditation, silence, spoken prayer, written prayer, sung prayer, etc.
• Participating fully in the shared ACTIVITY for which everyone in the group feels an affinity or enthusiasm.
• Some kind of spiritual LEARNING activity that involves our own spiritual growth and self-insight -- discerning our gifts and passions, personality types, clarifying hopes and dreams, etc. -- as well as an activity aimed at discovering more about God and scripture -- Bible study, book discussion, examining religious history, etc.
• Authentic SHARING of ourselves with each other in the group through intimate, honest, and personally revealing conversation  

Guidelines for Life Circles

To learn more about how Life Circles have evolved in our congregation click here.