A New Way to Connect

by Rev. Brenda Peters

I'm always looking for new ways to help our members connect—new ways for people to feel like they truly belong, and new ways to have service.

This particular idea came from one of our newer members. She wanted to find a way to bond with the rest of the group and introduced me to a card game called We're Not Really Strangers. She handed over her own copy, which included question cards across three levels of depth, and pointed me to a video on the website that showed how it was played. After a little tweaking, we made it work for our community.

We arranged members at tables of four in the café—there was a mix of new faces, familiar ones, and a few people who had walked through our doors for the very first time that day. As we moved through each level of questions, I guided the group on what to do next. I'll be honest: I was nervous. Would this actually work? Would people really open up to each other?

So I walked the room, available for questions, and just watched. What I saw was remarkable.

People were laughing, smiling, and leaning in. Some were deep in conversation; others were deep in listening. With each new level, guiding them became harder—not because anything went wrong, but because they were so engaged they barely needed me anymore. It felt like they'd been waiting for something like this.

When the game wrapped up and we moved into our service, the energy in the room had completely shifted. People came up to me saying how much fun they'd had. One person asked if next time I could sit them next to someone they didn't know. (I had to laugh at that one.) Many wanted to do it again.

That day reinforced something I already believed but hadn't fully felt until that moment: connection is the key. Sometimes all it takes is stepping out, trying something different, and trusting that people are ready to let each other in.