How to Start a Frassati Society -- Part One

Some general guidelines for starting a Frassati Society can be found on the FrassatiUSA website. But the blog is a better place for a forum of ideas and I hope some of you will be willing to share your experiences -- what works and what doesn't, etc. I'll start off with the first Frassati Society that I was involved with back in 1996. It came about at the inspiration of our associate pastor who wanted a group for young adults but something more than just another singles group. After much consideration, he one day was inspired to use Pier Giorgio for our model and call the group, "The Frassati Society." We never put an age limit on the group but aimed at the 20s and 30s crowd, single or married. We came up with a format that worked pretty well down in the Bible Belt. We met every Wednesday evening and had a four-week cycle. One week would focus on service, one on social, one on spiritual and one on catechetical. This opened up a lot of possibilities for activities. For example, we studied a section of the catechism under the guidance of our priest on the weeks devoted to catechetical. Our favorite service project was probably cooking dinner at the Dismas House, a place for people transitioning from prison to freedom. Social included things from hiking to parties to sporting activities to dinner out. Spiritual allowed us to learn more about the sacraments and devotions and grow in our faith. This is just a little of what we did. There were never dues or financial obligations or commitments to make. It was pretty much, "come when you can and pray for us when you can't." I can honestly say that I made some of the best friends I have ever had in that group.

What does your group do?