The Value of Community
When I was in high school, I wrote a weekly column for my hometown newspaper and this was the title that was assigned to it. I used the column to highlight the small and large acts of kindness that often go unreported in the news.
I’ve been back in that small town for several weeks as both my parents have health issues that are escalating. And I’ve seen the value of community evidenced over and over again. The first week I was home one of my Mom’s friends brought a meal to the house – and, of course, stayed for a visit to catch up – after Mom had minor surgery. The next week I observed my Mom repay the kindness, delivering a meal to the same friend after her friend had knee replacement surgery.
Since then at least a dozen friends have dropped off food and desserts for our family to share. And we’ve shared goodies from our kitchen with them. We have a growing list of friends and neighbours who have volunteered to help any way they can as my parents navigate the life changes that will come with these health concerns. My parents live in a compassionate and caring community where people show up for one another in times of need. Some might call it faith in action.
The teachings of Jesus speak often about the value of community: “Where two or three are gathered, there am I in their midst.” There am I, the one who spoke of love as the fulfillment of the law. The one who also said, “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me,” and “love your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus, the Christ, the embodiment of God’s great love, is present in and through these acts of loving kindness and in these caring relationships. Because ultimately what Jesus understood and taught was the interconnectedness of all living things. What I do to you I do to myself because we are truly all one. Essentially each one of us is one of “the least of these.”
Not everyone has the gift of living in a small town, but community can be found or created anywhere. Some find it in the church. Others in service organizations, clubs for those with the same interests, or in the neighbourhood where they live. Our Wild Church community has poured out kindness and caring upon one another in so many ways. There’s tremendous value in being part of that kind of community.
I am grateful to know that when I return to my Canadian home my parents will be well looked after and will be able to call on any number of friends in times of need. There’s something truly special about small town communities where friendships are measured in decades and people know you well. But I would no longer say “it can only happen in a small town” because caring and kindness are available wherever people connect with one another. In our house, we follow a principle taught us by a friend: ask for what you need and offer what you can. That’s the essence of caring community. “Where two or more are gathered” can happen anywhere.
Stay kind. Stay connected. Practice caring and compassion. Ask for what you need and offer what you can. After all, we are all in this together.
Rev LeAnn Blackert works with Michele Walker, Lesly Comrie and Linda Clark in ministry with Wild Church in Kamloops, Sorrento and the Okanagan. She considers herself a seeker in her faith journey and wanders the wild world looking for the Great Mystery and the “wild Christ.” She believes in the power of kindness and acts of love and remains grateful for her experiences growing up in a small town in northern Illinois. To find out more, visit wildchurchbc.org and be in touch!