Jim O'Connor is St. Hilary's Director of Small Groups, a ministry the parish builds on one plainly stated conviction: life is not meant to be lived alone. A small group here is defined as three or more people who gather each week to talk about important issues, pray and just do life together, in what the parish calls a relaxed, informal and safe environment — and it is careful to add that there is never an obligation to continue, so anyone can come once as a guest and check it out. He also serves with SPARK, the parish's Next Gen ministry for 4th through 8th graders, which meets two Sunday evenings a month for a light meal, games, faith topics pitched at tweens and teens and service work alongside each other — and whose name the parish spells out as Service, Prayer, Actions, Relationships & Kindness.