What is a University Prayers Group (UPG)???

Are prayers groups promoted by university students, with the same louvor objectives and gratefulness to God, and still plus, to promote the conscientization of the exercise of the profession to the light of the Catholic faith.

Structure of UPG

To write on the structure of a prayer group in the University requests a previous knowledge of the coexistence and of the comunity in that interferes the ability. Each one has its own characteristics, as well as each group and each coordinator. Besides, the Holy Spirit is who creates, it guides and it inspires our activities, especially, our prayers meetings.

However, certain aspects exist inside of the groups I give certain forms of the meeting that you/they need to be reavaliadas driving. The precise coodernador to have clear the objective of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the objective of the prayer group is, above of all, the dimension of the work that is developing with its group.

"The objective of each prayer group is to take all the participants to try the personal pentecostes, to grow and to arrive to the maturity of Holy Spirit. It's full Christian life an authentic, cheerful, happy, overflowing Christian life, in family, community and society, capable to call the contemporaries attention and of attracting many other for the same life form." (Grupos de Oração - Como fazer acontecer. Pe Alírio Pedrini)

Inside of that, he/she enters the coordinator's mission, that it is not limited to gather a group of people to praise and to hear the word, it is not limited to prepare a cheerful meeting in that everybody sings and it doesn't end when it finishes a sentence meeting, in the qual there were good testimonies e/ou cures.

The coordinator needs to have as priority the work that develops with the group. He/she needs to be alive witness of the Gospel, knowing the hour about eulogizing and the hour of exhorting. The coordinator should teach to yours as go to God, as to live the faith, the sacraments, the life of the Church. It should motivate the taste for the reading of the word of God and to be the main unit agent and life in communion of the members of the group that coordinates.

Of course the precise coodenador of formation, for like this to form its group. Being like this, we created that material so that it is offered to each coodenador basic notions of as it should be the meeting of a UPG and examples of records, office material that need to be used for a larger organization and unit among the groups that it composes the Project Renewed Universities.

The meeting of the group that you coordinate should be characterized by Holy Spirit gush. That is the strong point of every work that one wants to begin. See below what should exist in the weekly meetings of its UPG:

Moment for Our Mother (a song, etc.)
Musics / dynamics that express the happiness of be gathered to praise to the Mister.
Strong moment of praise to God.
Gives of the meeting
Prayer of gush of the Holy Spirit (to leave that the Spirit manifests its talents).
Reflections / preaching of some word.
The beginners welcome and presentations.
Final prayer.

PS: always to begin and close the meetings, do the signal on behalf of Sacred Trinidad. To motivate a sentence of the " Glory to the Father ". The coordinator owes to guide the members of its group they open it the mouth to praise to God, without fear and shame. However, it should never force the bar " for a person to pray, to lift the hands, etc.

The person should have freedom. A lot of times, UPG becomes even a catechesis class. It fits to the coordinator to instruct on values of the Catholic Church when it goes need. In order to drive the reflection, will be suggested some questions so that each one evaluates as its UPG has been progressing:

1. The people that are going to its group go back?
2. The people of its group have been transformed in the faith?
3. Which the religious faith of most of the participants? Do they only participate Catholic? Think about.
4. As it is the sacramental life of the membros?
5. How is the relationship out of the group? Friendship?
6. Its group has nucleus or everything is in the hand of the coordenador?
7. Does its group "inconvenience" or is it indifferent for the Ability?

See that a UPG needs to be much more than a simple group inside of the Ability. He should be linked to the Project Renewed Universities, that is tied up CCR, that is Roman Apostolic Catholic Church!!! That mission doesn't end when he/she is formed the nucleus or the coordinator, because it is not fruit of a human plan, but will of God and special invitation of God.

"Oh of us if we don't prepare better people than us for they assume our places".

How do I begin an university prayer group (UPG)?

The first important thing is you to be in prayers, asking to God that opens the evangelization opportunities in yours a little specific (university) and that drives until you more a person to help it in that mission. In general the groups begin with two or three members, that weekly meet in some site of the ability to pray on the future of grup.

Enter in contact with the coordination of the Project Renewed Universities by the internet mail, that always will be to total disposition to help, to motivate and to guide the new prayers groups. You can enter in contact with a coordinator of CCR groups in your country.

Do we have to inform the community's priest?

Yes, as soon as the people that compose that group of intercession inicial have strong in the called heart him of university evangelization. Very probably, in the beginning the nucleus perhaps is an alone person... That chat and orientation with a priest are not obligatory, but it will be good in this instante to bring experience, wisdom of God and to stay linked our church and community. Later a little, already with structured UPG, then a posture before the community can be even having assumed, without forgetting of the identity of the Project Renewed Universities and, principally, of CCR.

For how long should we meet without opening to the another students' participation?

That is going of the feeling of the nucleus. See that all the decisions goes by the nucleus! As it is big its importance and its existence. It is him that should always be strong and in a sentence contagiantes. It can be one months, typically two months. That time varies of the maturity and exercises of the talents that are we given by the Lord. When the nucleus is already mature, the thirst of announcing the word and the salvation that it comes from Jesus Christ is obvious and it contaminates our close ones, be them teachers or colleagues of classroom.

The music:

The music should be adapted to the moment of the meeting of the group, with acusticals instruments or not. The misician tries to learn some easier and common music. If he/she has the talent of playing some instrument, as our friend guitar, give praise The God! The use of some instrument help in a lot the prayers meetings. The music should be in total communion with the sense of the encounter of that day. The participation in the chorales of the ability or the use of leaves with the letters of the music help and it enriches the meeting.

It is very important that the musician participates in the nucleus of the group, to be in total syntony about the events and conduction of the meeting. The music of CCR always bring a gesture or choreography that help us to lose the shyness of praising to God. Use them! They can be older music or not. The important is to seek that the participants feel fascinate for the music and for the praise prayer the one that her in direct.

How to do a popularization of the group?

He/she has several means: posters, panphlets. Cheerful posters and colorings accomplish its function well, when nailed of room in room, runners and panels, and clear, a to say lighter and questionante. Remember that you will be calling the people's opinion maker attention, in its majority. Him mouth to mouth will give more work, but it can leave of a simple chat or of the observation of shirts and crosses that the colleagues of the ability bring I get... The planphlets can be accomplished and its best results are in the registrations of news students.

Intelligent Panphlets and of good taste it should be studied, as book markers in paper card, with the impression of the calendar of classes of the school. The waste is almost zero!! ! Sees examples of posters for you it places in its ability in the area of materials, in portuguese.

How to participate more of the Project Renewed Universities?

We have the Newspaper of Partilha (in portuguese), that is a correspondent the whole ones that has been involved with university evangelization and that are with its addresses in our data bank. The NP is available in the internet in its previous versions. You can check all the matters in the session of materials. Other ways are through channels of IRC, ICQs Chats, and-mails and phone calls. See as participating in our discution list.