count me in

Continuing our theme of community we had a look at what the Bible, or more specifically Jesus, has to say about it. Well that’s what we started and sort of ended up doing. In between time we had a quite interesting discussion on whether our church was indeed a community at all.

Clearly it is a community but equally clearly, to me, it doesn’t always function too well. The problem as I see it is that good working faith communities, like any good community, are not only improved by changes but they stand a good chance of dying if they don’t. When we were walking round the real community last week we noticed a number of houses for sale. This is how the community gets refreshed and new people can only come in if other people move on to make way for them. We don’t do this in churches. We hang on to jobs in the church, we stay at a church when our circumstances change, when it would be best for everyone if we moved on. Consequently nothing new can come in to refesh them and they die.

Jesus was very big on community. He performed miracles that healed people who were excluded so that they could take part in mainstream life again. Social inclusion is a big thing at the moment with those in the caring professions. Society, like churches, works best for those that need it least. It was the same in Jesus’ day but he did a lot to change that.

How miraculous would it be if we could do the same today?

It’s hard to live in the country

The refrain from a Fall song, called ‘Hard Life in the Country’. I have been listening to the Archers a bit lately, I tuned into the 15 trillionth episode last week and I sort of got caught up in all the rural ruminations. It would never hook me like Coronation St. but then that’s because I am a towny at heart. I like camping but I like getting the bus to the pub better.

All very interesting but why am I telling you this? Well we are looking at ‘Community’ this month in bclc. We started last Sunday by taking a walk around the block and trying to identify things that help make community. You know the kind of things - houses (for people), litter bins, allotments, shops, school etc. We then talked about this and if there was anything missing and what impact each thing had in terms of building or breaking a community. I am sure that a community, like a church, is about the people but take away the places where the people can come together (the club, the local shop, the church??) and you would be hard pressed to make a community out of that.

Of course there are on-line communities now and this is one I suppose but it’s not quite the same is it. Like the Archers or Coronation St., great ways to pass the time but not as good as the real thing.