Archbishop Bernard Hebda set an ambitious goal in his 2022 pastoral letter: All parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis were to launch small groups building community and forming missionary disciples in 2024.

Not only have most parishes formed these small groups, but leaders in the archdiocese say they are astounded by the number of participants flocking to a form of developing small groups called Parish Evangelization Cell Systems (PECS).

Popular in parts of Europe and South America, this is the first attempt to establish small groups under PECS — which stresses evangelizing through relationship-building — across an entire diocese.

Now there are more than 1,220 groups in the archdiocese, with over 16,000 participants, who meet weekly or biweekly in living rooms and parish centers, said officials in the archdiocese’s Office of Synod Evangelization. Due to gaps in reporting, these numbers are likely lowballing the actual number of participants, said the office’s director, Deacon Joseph Michalak.

“Establishing small groups on this scale, across the archdiocese, is a massive undertaking,” Deacon Michalak said. The response “has exceeded my expectations.”

Implementation of the pastoral letter — “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room” — is a landmark initiative, Deacon Michalak said. The letter grew out of a three-year process of prayer and listening events, prayerful collecting and discerning of suggestions for pastoral needs in the archdiocese, and an Archdiocesan Synod Assembly of nearly 500 people with the archbishop in June 2022.

Among the priorities coming out of the Synod Assembly was forming small groups, which was one of the top five voted-upon propositions.

Although the archdiocese has encouraged the formation of small groups before, the PECS groups are distinguished by their orientation toward relational evangelization.

“We are the first diocese in the U.S. to even attempt this on such a scale,” said Deacon Michalak, who was one of a team of five archdiocesan leaders, including Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams, that traveled to Milan, Italy, in June 2023 to learn about how to implement the PECS model.

PECS group facilitator Gizella Miko said that for many, “these groups have been an answer to prayer and truly a work of the Holy Spirit.”

“People have expressed feeling more connected to their parish community, meeting new parishioners, and feeling closer to people they have seen in the pews. We have also heard that small groups have helped to involve new people in the parish as well as re-engage those who have been far from the Church for some time,” Miko said.

Tom and Julie Rabaey of St. Anne in Le Sueur have experienced those effects firsthand. Together, they lead a small group, which gathers weekly in their living room, on the topic of prayer. The group has cultivated relationships among parishioners who barely knew each other before, Tom Rabaey said.

“We just really connected,” he said. “What I really enjoy about the group is that you realize that you are not alone. You are not alone on your faith journey. The challenges are different, but the struggle is the same.”

They plan to continue the group for years to come.

Kathryn Wehr leads a small group of nine women from Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, which she joined a year and a half ago after moving into the neighborhood.

On April 4, the group gathered in Wehr’s living room. As they sipped tea, they laughed about the events of their week and reflected upon the joy they experienced on Easter. Then they bowed their heads to open their group’s discussion to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Wehr said the small group has made the parish feel like home.

“I personally feel more connected to my parish,” said Wehr. “I see the women in my group when I go to Mass … or even at the grocery store. It feels a little bit more like home, like these are my people.”

Wehr’s small group plans to continue its meetings with regular lectio divina sessions.

Bishop Williams said he offers most of the Masses he celebrates for the members of small groups and that participants might “multiply and grow.”

“The experience has been so rich for so many, and I pray that a great majority of those who have walked in small groups these past weeks realize they have found something essential for their lives as disciples as well as something essential for the life of their parishes and make a choice to continue,” Bishop Williams said.

Although some groups plan to taper the frequency of their meetings, their work is just beginning. Archbishop Hebda’s pastoral letter envisions these groups as a fixture of parishes, which will help draw people into relationship with others and ultimately with Christ.

Deacon Michalak said that it is never too late to join a small group.

“You can’t miss this bus because this bus is always here,” he said.

To find a PECS small group you can join, contact your local parish.