EDITOR'S NOTE: Since becoming the clergy leader at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn., in November 2017, I've written a monthly column for our church newsletter. This column originally published in the March 2018 FLC Newsletter.
Community … That word evokes a different image to each of us, but I can confidently tell you that word means a lot to this congregation.
I have been struck by the number of times that in my time here, how many times I’ve heard people use the word “community.” … And that was the case again Wednesday night during the first of our Lenten “talking circle” services.
The first week we tackled the question: “What in the life and ministry of this congregation brings a smile to my face?”
And you know what the first answer of the night was? … Community.
And then we heard that word over and over again. It was a recurring theme that ran through many people’s comments. When I asked the group attending to play word association with me and tell me what came to mind when I said the word “community,” we received answers such as “friends,” “food,” “family” and maybe most importantly “belonging.”
It’s true: being part of a community does give us a sense of belonging. And it’s a known fact that belonging is as basic of a human need as food, sleep and shelter. The need to feel included is part of who we are as relational creatures, or in other words, it’s the way God made us.
We know that God created us to be in relation, both in relation to Jesus Christ, who is in relation to the father, and in relation to each other. And so is it any wonder that belonging is integral to good mental health and wellbeing, and the other additional benefits to us as individuals are endless.
On a related note, isolation and loneliness can harm a person’s sense of well-being and their physical health. In fact new scientific research is showing that loneliness is more dangerous to us than obesity, smoking and other factors that have long been feared.
As I’ve mentioned before, I am involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and as part of becoming a “Big,” you get exposed to why it’s so important for kids to have meaningful connections. And what the research shows is that there is a magical number of meaningful connections that can determine how successful a child will be. And that number is 7. If a child has 7 or more meaningful connections with adults, the statistics show that they will lead a fairly typical and healthy life. Fewer than 7 connections and that child is at risk of mental and physical health issues, school drop out, economic issues, and the list goes on.
And I could go about the dangers of feeling disconnected, but I think you get the picture.
That is why I was so excited after Wednesday’s “talking circle”: Hearing the people of Faith Lutheran talk about community in such a meaningful way. Because in this day and age, when many feel so disconnected from family and we on average have fewer friends than we did in the past, I see this as an opportunity for our church to play a significant role in people’s lives. And I believe this whether we’re talking inside the walls of our church or on the outside. We have the ability to impact people’s lives and help them feel a sense of belonging.
I know that the times we live in seem perilous. We have a sense of being deeply divided as a nation, maybe even as a world. But I truly believe that we can make a difference right here in our congregation. The domino effect of helping one child, one adult, one family feel as if they belong can be remarkable. There are an infinite number of stories that show the power of how person, or in our case, one congregation, made a difference. And so that is my challenge to us as a congregation in our coming days, weeks and months. Let’s do some serious dwelling on how it is that we can use this devotion to community to positively impact everyone who walks through our doors, and additionally, how do we take this same sense of community devotion with us when we leave the church building?
This is my challenge to each of us, on an individual basis, but also as a congregation. What are we actively doing to create more community, to give more people that vital sense of belonging?
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