LIFT (Living in Faith Together) is where life and faith come together.

In LIFT, we create community through small fellowship groups to share our faith and to care for each other as one family in Christ.

LIFT offers a chance for everyone in the communities we serve to share their lives with one another through a small group model that will allow them to get to know one another more fully. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we have the opportunity to discover Christ walking in our midst along the way. This is not a one time program; it is a core part of who we want to be at AVCC. We believe that by providing individuals and families with consistent opportunities to live their lives (and their faith) together outside of weekly liturgy, we will continue to foster a joyful and faith filled community committed to bringing people to Jesus and transforming the world around them.

LIFT runs for two Seasons per year, one beginning around the start of Lent, and one beginning each Fall, continuing into Advent.



 

Our Mission echoes the Mission of the Apple Valley Catholic Collaborative.

We are called to be a joyful and faith filled community that is rooted in:

Nurturing a personal relationship with Jesus
Serving and caring for one another
Sharing our faith and lives together

The next LIFT Season will be September - December of 2023.

Use this form to sign up to be notified early when groups are open for registration.

Like each one of us, each LIFT group is unique. The topics covered, the targeted particpants, even the frequency of meeting and duration of the season. Take some time to read about each one and reflect on which one speaks to you before you sign up. If you don't see a group that's for you, please Email Tom and we can see about creating one for the next season that might meed your needs. 
 

Please note: all groups have a limited number of spaces and will be marked as FULL once they reach capacity.
 

Mothers Group
Hosted by Hayley and Erica

This group will focus on exploring the unique vocation of motherhood.  We will seek wisdom from the many examples of motherhood present in Scripture.  We will pray on timeless themes such as infertility, friendship, sibling strife, instilling faith in our children, anxiety, and hope.  No pre-work will be assigned to this group, but tasty treats will be provided!

Time: Thursdays, 7:30PM - 9PM
Dates: 10/12, 10/26, 11/9, 12/7, 12/21
Location: St. Elizabeth Parish Center

Young Adults - 20-30-ish
hosted by Sheila Bauer

This is group is for anyone, married (but no kids yet...that's a different group!) or single who is between the ages of about 20-30-ish.  We will discuss and share what it means to be a person of faith using contemporary resources such as books, TV shows, movies, and more.  

Time: 7:30-9PM
Dates: 10/12, 10/26, 11/9, 11/30, 12/14
Location: St. Elizabeth's Parish Center

Living Faith - For singles and couples aged 60+
Hosted by Susan and Mike

Using the popular "Living Faith" mini booklets available in our churches, married couple Susan and Mike will choose a reflection each week to spark conversation about the way we bring our faith to life. 

Time: Tuesdays, 7PM - 8:30PM
Dates: 9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 11/7, 11/21, 12/5, 12/19
Location: St. Isidore Residence

Sharon and Marianne's Group - Faith and the Busy Life - For Women Only

This group will offer a chance for women to connect with one another and explore the little (and big!) ways we can make time for our faith in our daily lives. 

***Most LIFT groups meet every other week. This group will meet once a month on the first Monday of each month at 7:30

Time: Mondays, 7:30PM - 9PM
Dates: 10/2, 11/6, 12/4
Location: St. Elizabeth Parish Center

Protecting God's Creation -  For anyone
Jane and Tim’s Group

“Pope Francis has called us to action to protect God’s Creation in his “Laudato Si”. What does this mean for Catholics?  What are we called to do?   We would love to hear what you think, let’s discuss this together.”

This group is open to all. And we mean ALL.

Time: 7:30-9PM
Dates: 10/19, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16
Location: St. Elizabeth's Parish Center

COMING SOON - For Parents of Young Children Group #2

For parents of young children, this group uses the Psalms as conversation starters to explore timeless feelings of hope, frustration, comfort, sadness, and all the other emotions parents of young children experience in a 10 minute timespan. 

Time: TBD
Dates: TBD
Location: St. Elizabeth’s Parish Center
 

Ongoing Groups

Andrea & Tom's Group - Hope in Hopeless Times - GROUP FULL - Email Tom to be added to the waitlist.

For parents of young children, this group uses the Psalms as conversation starters to explore timeless feelings of hope, frustration, comfort, sadness, and all the other emotions parents of young children experience in a 10 minute timespan. 

Time: Thursdays from 7:30PM - 9
Dates: TBD
Location: Saint Elizabeth Parish Center Room 4
 

Barbara & Wendy’s LIFT Group - Women’s Group - GROUP FULL - Email Tom to be added to the waitlist.

This group is for mothers of older teens and young adults. This can be a time of especially challenging transitions for women. Utilizing prayer and Scripture, this group provides support and  hope in friendship, as we discuss these issues together.

Time: Wednesdays from 10AM to 11:30AM
Dates: TBD
Location: Offsite (in homes - address will be given to participants in advance)

When the coronavirus pandemic hit our community, everything changed. This is not unique to AVCC or the Catholic Church as a whole. In response, we shut down our traditional Faith Formation programs and scrambled to put together something that could work while the pandemic ran its course. While we struggled in some areas, we also had a lot of epiphanies about what worked with our new models. We (re)discovered that providing opportunities for children and/or adults to be together in a small group setting yielded great results: a feeling of closeness, of shared experiences, of walking challenging paths together with others in our community. A feeling of not being alone. We believe that the small group model was essential in providing these moments of clarity and togetherness and want to expand that opportunity to everyone in our community.  

Under the guidance of Faither Jeff Archer, a worksgroup was formed to explore the idea of creating a cuture around a small group ministry at Apple Valley Catholic. Beginning in March of 2021, this group of staff members and community volunteers explored the concept. Research and analysis consisted of interviews with local and national communities of many faiths where small groups are an established part of their community.

In Fall of 2022 we launched LIFT Pilot 1.0, a trial version of LIFT with three groups, led by our workgroup members. 

Fall 2022 LIFT Groups:
Group 1
Wendy and Barbara's LIFT Group - For mothers of teens and young adults

Group 2
Andrea and Tom's LIFT Group - For parents of young children - Hope in Hopeless times

Group 3
Sheila and Fr. Jeff's LIFT Group - Reflections on 'The Shack'

Is this only for families?
No! This is for everyone. We will offer LIFT groups for folks from every walk of life. All are welcome and we hope to offer a group that will appeal to you. If you don’t see one you’re interested in, let us know!

Do I have to go to church?
Well, no, but as LIFT grows in prominence in our community, we imagine a greater impact in both liturgy and LIFT meetings when you are able to participate in both. But one does not rely on the other.

When will this start?
It's already started! In Fall of 2022 we launched a Pilot Program of three groups.  We will be launching Pilot 2.0 in Lent 2023 and hope to have open enrollment for all who are interested in Summer of 2023 for a Fall session.

How do I sign up?
We'll let you know right here.

Is this just another word for a bible study group?
No. Although there may be some LIFT groups who are interested in a deeper connection with the bible, it is not a requirement. These are not academic groups (unless you want one!) - our goal is to bring people together outside of liturgy to share their lives with one another.  

What will we be talking about?
Anything! We will provide conversation starters to every group, but the idea is not forced catechesis, rather to provide the opportunity to reflect and share with one another.  

Why am I not allowed in a specific group?
We have some groups that are intentionally crafted to create safe spaces for people at a certain "age and stage" of life. It's not to keep you out--rather it's to make sure those who sign up for the group have shared needs. If you see a group description that you like, but it's not for you, email Tom and we can work to create a version for you and others.

Who will be leading these groups?
Your fellow parishioners. Are you interested in hosting a LIFT group? You do not need a degree in theology to be a LIFT host, we promise. Email us.

Where will we meet?
Anywhere and everywhere. We will make locations available on both of our “campuses” but the LIFT meetings will not be restricted to only at or around our church buildings. They can be in your homes, at local dining establishments, in the outdoors–wherever people want to meet.

Why this? Why now?
When the coronavirus pandemic hit our community, everything changed. This is not unique to AVCC or the Catholic Church as a whole. In response, we shut down our traditional Faith Formation programs and scrambled to put together something that could work while the pandemic ran its course. While we struggled in some areas, we also had a lot of epiphanies about what worked with our new models. We (re)discovered that providing opportunities for children and/or adults to be together in a small group setting yielded great results: a feeling of closeness, of shared experiences, of walking challenging paths together with others in our community. A feeling of not being alone. We believe that the small group model was essential in providing these moments of clarity and togetherness and want to expand that opportunity to everyone in our community.      

What if I don’t like my group?
We purposely have expiration dates for each group season. The default setting is for the group to disband, rather than to re-up. This will give everyone that chance to assess their comfort with moving forward with the same group, or exploring other options.