Center DC Small Groups

A micro-community for BIG spiritual growth

What are Small Groups?

How have you been staying connected?

For the 6th year in a row, CenterDC is excited to launch “Small Groups” - an informal initiative that began out of the Neighborhood Halaqas DC community in 2014. The goal is to help provide DC area Muslims the opportunity to grow in faith and community through consistent small group accountability and a spiritual support network for a set period.

We will organize several groups of 8-12 people who commit to meet every week for a fixed number of weeks to explore shared interests and activities that facilitate safe space for personal spiritual growth. This round is a LONGER 13-week commitment - spanning from before, during, and after Ramadan - with an option to either meet in-person OR online: you pick!

Each group will have 1 "group host" who helps with housekeeping + logistics. Week-to-week facilitation will rotate amongst participants. Groups will be provided with a guide featuring weekly themes, content options and activities to pick from. For those of you looking to grow in this area, we have a short training video to help you support your group! We will also coordinate a virtual “Group” space on our Church Center App for you all to connect and stay in touch during the week, iA.

All participants will come together for an online orientation event that will help set norms and finalize the small groups, and come together again at the end for a large in-person celebration.

THEME: A Journey to Allāhﷻ: Ramadān Edition

UPCOMING ROUND: Feb 2024 - April 2024

ORIENTATION EVENT: S. 2/3/24 @ 4-5pm on ZOOM

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: W. 1/24/24 @ 9pm

Step 1: Sign up

Do you want to grow spiritually? Looking to connect to others who share that goal? Can you commit to meeting with a small group of peers for a fixed number of weeks? Are you willing to facilitate one or more of the sessions? If the answer is ‘yes,’ fill out the form below.

Step 2: Get matched

After you do, our team will review your submission and match you with a group of 8-12 others who share your gathering preference - either online or in-person - and are free on the same days/times you are, iA! At the virtual matching event, you’ll get oriented to the process, meet your peer group, and start planning logistics. We’ll give you the opportunity to switch groups if the one you get matched with initially isn’t hitting the mark for you!

Step 3: Make the commitment

Once you’ve met your group and settled down, the next is all up to you. Center DC will share a weekly facilitation guide to walk your group through a series of spiritual reflections. Your group will decide who will be facilitating and will set your own group norms. We’ll provide some suggested content and discussion questions, a virtual “Group” space on our Church Center App for you all to chat between sessions, and facilitation resources to help it go as smooth as possible. Like most things, you get out what you put in. Here’s to personal growth and peer support this year!

Interested in Participating?

Take a few moments to fill out this form below. The deadline to sign up for our next round is

Wed. 1/24/24

GOT QUESTIONS?

Q1

Q: Do I have to attend all of the weeks? Is it cool to “drop in” when I can?

A: Center DC offers a TON of drop-in opportunities throughout the week. This particular experience requires that you make a commitment to support and grow with each other for just a few weeks. You can literally do anything for 8-13 weeks! If something comes up and you know that you’ll have to miss a session, communicate that with your group.

This go-round, we are insisting that drop-ins NOT happen. You can’t group surf or hop around after the first week - everyone will roughly be covering the same content and though we really want you to vibe with your group, commitment is the secret ingredient to crafting a meaningful small groups experience!

Q2

Q: I found out about this amazing thing after the deadline. What should I do?

A: Don’t panic! As far as the deadline goes, we’ll do our best to match folks up where we can, with a hard line of having people in within the first 2 weeks. After then, unfortunately, groups will not be accepting new members. It’s important for groups to stay at a manageable size to keep the integrity of the program in tact, so unfortunately, we can’t just ‘add’ you to a group if there’s no space or if you don’t match the demographic of a group that has space. If you didn’t end up in a group for whatever reason, don’t worry! We’ll be running another session about a month after this round ends, iA…. and there is PLENTY for you to drop in to during the week. Just check out our schedule: www.centerdc.org/events

Q3

Q: Do I HAVE to attend the orientation?

A: No, but we HIGHLY recommend it. The event will be our chance to orient you all to how Small Groups will work virtually and how the roles and content roll out will work. It’ll also give you a chance to meet with the group you are assigned to and see if they are a good fit for you. And bonus: it’s on ZOOM!

Q: Can I switch groups?

Our team will be working hard to match groups 1.) based on in-person vs online preference, 2.) based on demographic and 3.) based on day/time availability. During the matching event, you’ll have an opportunity to switch to a different group, provided that there is a group available. If after the first meeting, you’re certain that you’d like to switch, we can put you in a 2nd group or add you to the waiting list and reassess.

Q4

Q: I REALLY don’t want to facilitate. Can I still participate?

A: Absolutely! Keep in mind, though, the way that this micro-community is going to work is if you all chip in to make the most out of the experience. We’ll provide you with a script and questions and activities that you could literally read off like a script if you need to. We’ll also have a few one-off facilitation sessions you can drop into (or watch a recording of!) to help boost your confidence. We believe that facilitation is a skill that anyone can learn. Ideally, we’ll have enough people in the group that if you seriously are against it, you won’t have to facilitate, iA.