The Veritas & Caritas Group

After much deliberation, two arm wrestling matches, and a cage fight, we have settled upon a new name for our group.  No longer are we "the group" or even "the village", although our numbers certainly have not decreased.  We are now the Veritas & Caritas group, from the Latin words for Truth and Love.  Some have said "V & C", and sometimes I just say "VC".  And so we are named.  Hooray for conformity, right?

Well, as if that weren't enough fun, we also changed our meeting night.  Now we have our Small Church Community gatherings on Friday evenings.  This will help those of us with school age children, as they won't have to miss sleep or study the night before a school day.  The change means that we meet twice this week.  Hooray!

Yet another wonderful evening as our families gathered for Small Church Community.  I cannot get over the amazing feeling I get when I think of the transformations we see in each other each week.  Getting to know one another, sharing our struggles, our victories, our prayers, our attention, our homes, not to mention our munchies, I can see us really becoming a community.  When I take a step back to see where we began and where we've arrived in just a few weeks, I wonder what we'll look like in another 3 months.  Now, what is sure to be the most critical decision we will make this side of heaven, what do we call this rag tag bunch of merry men, women, and children?

Do we take the pious sounding approach and choose a name that sounds supremely religious?  Do we go with a "secular" phrase for the fun of it?  Is there something in between?  And what would really describe us anyway?  Is there a one word descriptor?  Is there something that will fit in the URL?  These are the eternal questions we must ponder.

In the meantime, there is this amazing spiritual growth happening among us as individuals, as families, and as a group.  I am still amazed at what I see and hear each week.  Kids, you all really threw me for a loop with your responses and participation this week.  Wow!  And, Janice, that was probably the most totally awesome activity I have ever seen for such a wide age range.  Well done.  Seeing our children participating with us in prayer, scripture, and praise just gets me fired up.  They truly are part of our group in every way, which is something beautiful to behold.

Well, people, come up with a good name.  You certainly won't bother me if you reference lions, squirrels, lemurs, sharks, leprechauns, or badgers.  Anything related to the saints or the scriptures is wonderful as well.  Hmmm.  Oooh.  What about John Paul the Great?  Did anybody think about that?  What a champion for the Gospel and the family?  And who better to symbolize our unity than the humble servant of God who served as the visible head of the Church?   Yup. That's my vote.