This is our first season doing Grace Groups on Wednesday evenings, and September 16 was our third time meeting. Thirteen people showed up.
That is a good number three weeks into something new. Good enough that two full circles worked easily, in a room we have set up for three.
We could have kept everyone in one circle. Thirteen fits in a group built for twelve without much trouble. But a group that size runs out of time before it runs out of people who have not spoken yet, so we split, and each circle got real time and real conversation.
Some of that conversation had quiet in it. Not every question got answered right away, and a few people just sat with it instead. I used to read that as a group not working. I do not think that anymore. An honest silence is still the group working.
Two full circles, three weeks in, is something to be glad about. There is a whole third circle worth of room still open, chairs ready to go, and I like thinking about who fills it next.