In a recent post on the MC USA website, Rachel Gerber, denominational minister to youth and young adults, sends a message to small congregations, with words of appreciation for her own small fellowship. Rachel is part of Bloomington Mennonite Fellowship, where Erin was before moving back to Goshen. Here's the link:

To small congregations: you are enough.
http://mennoniteusa.org/menno-snapshots/to-small-congregations-you-are-enough/

This coming Sunday, January 24, we will be celebrating another step in our exploration of how to combine growth with maintaining a small inter-generational worship experience. After several months of being a "test bud" and an "anchor," we are now a 9:00 worship circle and an 11:00 worship circle, both meeting at Faith House. The 9:00 group starts their time with breakfast together, followed by worship; the 11:00 group begins with worship, followed by a simple soup and bread meal.
    This Sunday the 9:00 circle will meet at their regular time, but we'll have an overlapping time for fellowship beginning at 10:45, followed by a time of blessing each other and asking for God's blessing on the network, from 11:00 - 11:30, with the 11:00 circle then continuing with their worship and meal.
     We spent time at yesterday's discernment meeting brainstorming ways of maintaining our connections -- times of overlapping fellowship between the two worship times, possibly hymn sings, potlucks and/or discernment meetings on a Wednesday night every month or every six weeks. And we'll be having our retreat together at Camp Friedenswald on January 30 - 31st, with worship on Sunday at 10:00. Notice the banner photo above, from last year's retreat -- you can just glimpse some of the snowstorm that nearly had us staying there an extra day!
     If you have ideas on how we remain connected as we add a new worship circle, let us know!