Small goes over big. (signs of the times).

SAN ANTONIO -- For people used to gathering in groups of only a dozen or so, it must have been a shock to meet in a crowd of nearly 700. That's how many people attended an August convocation of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) that focused on "faithful and feasible" action for the future.

Networking with other SCCs was the leading agenda item to come out of a caucus process that asked the question: What is the major task for SCCs in the future? "It definitely feels like the time to expand," says Amy Sheber Howard, executive director of Buena Vista (www.buenavista.org), one of the convocation's three sponsoring organizations. "There was energy to try to feel connected."

Another issue that arose at the convocation was the tension between nurturing members' faith and going out into the world. Organizing SCCs for public life also made the gathering's future agenda list.

"This is a big part of the way people are being church," says Sheber Howard, who belongs to a "Women and Moms" SCC of eight women in Colorado. "Several people said, `I wish bishops were here to hear this.'"