“The Chosen” Virtual Small Groups, 35-50

Primary:     How do I experience God’s presence with increasing demands on my time and attention? Ages 35-50
Secondary: Where is God in the places that I need to surrender? Ages 50-70

Summary: The Chosen is a critically acclaimed mini-series about the life of Jesus Christ told through the stories of the people He called to follow Him. This model involves an 8-week series, in which people watch the episodes (available for free on The Chosen app or YouTube) on their own and then come together for a one-hour discussion over Zoom. It was especially successful during the pandemic, where there has been a poverty of in-person gatherings for faith-sharing and fellowship. This project also helped build relationships across multiple parishes.

Previous Successes:

• Tri-Parish in City of Erie (Sacred Heart, St. Andrew, St. Paul parishes, which are partnered parishes in the city, with parishioners from urban and suburban backgrounds.)

What were the measures of success or how did this practice change parish life?

Of the people in the pilot group who took the assessment:

• 15/15 (100%) articulated something meaningful from the experience related to faith development and/or a sense of belonging.
• 11/15 (73%) said that watching The Chosen helped them experience God’s presence. 11/15 (73%) said that they felt more connected to the parish after participating
• 10/15 (67%) said that the Zoom small group discussions helped them experience God’s presence

Investment:

• Plug and play resources for advertising, facilitation, and assessment data can be found at https://www.eriercd.org/thechosen.html They include specific resources to help parishes facilitate small groups via Zoom.
• Important to have stable internet access and access to a paid Zoom account.