People attend a Recovering from Religion meet up to get a specific social and emotional need met.  They want to talk to others and listen to others about the issues they are facing with religion in family, personal life, work, etc.  If a person gets that need met, they will likely come back for more.  If they don’t they may not come back at all.  As they get their social/emotional needs met, they begin to feel very good about what they have learned about themselves and others.  They soon become a resource for others both inside and outside the meeting.  Our purpose is to help people develop webs of social support outside of religion.

As a facilitator, we can help people accomplish their goals, meet their needs and become a support for others if we follow these principles:

1. 1.We are facilitators first and foremost.  Our opinions are not important, it is their opinions, feelings and ideas that are most critical.
   

2. 2.We are level headed, open and accepting of all who come BUT we are not shy to maintain control of the meeting.  If a few people get sidetracked talking about the football game for 20 minutes, the rest of the group will feel discouraged and feel the meeting was not worth their time and effort. 
   

3. 3.Controlling the meeting DOES NOT mean dominating. It means making sure everyone has an opportunity to contribute and that the group stays somewhat close to the topic of recovering from religion.
   

4. 4.We do not pressure people to participate but we do pressure people to share air time. Some people need extra encouragement to share their viewpoint, but encouragement is not pressuring them.  Learn the difference and you will become a great facilitator.
   

5. 5.Be completely open about the guidelines you are following. Go over them with the group at the very beginning.  People will quickly see the value of following the facilitator guidelines and will help you enforce them when necessary.
   

6. 6.Learn and use every participant’s name and at the very beginning of the group, do an activity that allows people to get to know each other one-on-one.  This relaxes people and makes it a safe place to reveal and explore.
   

I will be putting up other techniques and ideas from time to time.  Let me know if you have questions at this email:  facilitator questions