Who are they for?
What (if anything) should they be doing?
Why are groups so small?
These are some of the FAQs about humanist groups, and below are my personal answers.
A Humanist group is like a family. The members have in common that they are members of that family. All the members have interests and activities outside the family and come together to talk about what they do, and discuss and debate various ideas and issues. But they do not expect the rest of the family to do the same things as each other. People in different age groups, different lifestyles, different political affiliations, different interests will all do their own thing. Retired members do not have the same interests or pressures of younger people who are in full time work and may be fully occupied with child care. Couples with children will have different interests and lifestyles to single professionals. Young people at school or college, without family responsibilities will have other fish to fry!
Any members who have the time and inclination to do voluntary work should, as they already do, find appropriate ways of doing it within existing organisations and charities, both national and local. Occasionally where they see a gap or a service that is only provided on a sectarian basis, they may join with other like minded people to lobby or start something themselves with other people who may or may not be humanists. However if groups try to urge their members to conform to the needs or notions of one particular interest or activity, they will lose the interest of the others.
The 'bottom line' for a group is that it provides a congenial meeting place for its members. Where they can talk freely, exchange ideas, argue and debate, compare notes, seek advice or information, even sources of help. In my view this is the basic job of a group, and if it does nothing more than this it will doing a valuable service for its members and is a justification for a groups existence in itself.
Part of most groups is some level of interest in other organisations and ideas, with speakers for at least some meetings, others arrange social events or educational visits. Some may want to find ways of promoting secular humanist ideas locally and nationally: giving talks, monitoring services, lobbying for improvements, and opposing sectarianism wherever it exists.
Why are they so small, and is this a good or bad thing? I really do not see that this matters at all. If they fulfil the needs of its members then there is nothing wrong with a small group. Small groups can be just as good a large groups, and can do just as much or as little as larger groups. In some ways more small local groups would be more useful to some members than large groups centred on a large town or city. And it would be nice if groups gave some thought to ways in which they could help foster more groups in their localities. They could be open to the need to enable more, small local supportive groups to start up and not see this as 'fragmentation' or 'competition'. I think it is possible that this would not only accommodate more individual members who just want social contact, but might create more opportunity for those who do want to become more active, more locally (bigger fish in smaller ponds). People do not necessarily want to operate within a larger more impersonal group.
How humanists, including members of a group, use their time, is their own choice, and it is not the job of a group to chivvy members into any activity, or make them feel guilty if they do not want to join in with what others are doing. A humanist group should not allow itself to be 'used' to fulfil the aims and needs of enthusiasts for one particular activity or service, if it does it will narrow down and will not attract people who would otherwise keep contact with a group, even if they do not go to every meeting. SL
See also 'GroupActivities', 'Surveys' and 'Seminars' on www.secularsites.freeuk.com/Local.htm