I just had a lovely visit from my wife and daughter. I'm doing a very odd commute to seminary. My wife has kept her job back home, which does a lot of things (financial) and otherwise, for our family, making commuting a good option. Most weekends I fly home, sometimes they come out. This weekend they visited, and we had a great time. We puttered around the Berkeley waterfront and hiked in the hills, we ate out, saw a movie, and also hung out with seminary folks. We helped with a fundraising event, ate in the dining hall, and, most importantly, attended the Thursday night Community Eucharist and dinner. The latter is a big deal here on campus. The Eucharist is planned carefully well in advance, and it is followed with a communal meal. It is the CDSP version of a regular Sunday service for a parish.
Of course, being who I am, I kept second guessing myself. Am I doing enough to integrate my wife and daughter into this community? Are we the weirdoes that no one ever sees? Of course, when I really think about it, we aren't unusual here. The community is no longer defined by the bounds of walking distance. We have people living right across from chapel in the dorm, people a block away in student apartments, people living across town, and people living several hours away. I commute a particularly long distance but I'm not the only commuter. Some of these folks I see frequently, some I almost never see.
Are we all weirdoes? Truthfully, I think CDSP is now mirroring most communities. Our ability to travel greater distances means that what used to be a “church community” defined by the geographic area within which folks could walk to church, is now less and less common. Back at my home parish, no one flies in for services, but some folks do drive from distances of 30-45 minutes. We have communities where the ties that bind are not geographical proximity, but shared interests, hopes, dreams.
This gives me hope for the role of churches in communities today. They can be one place where what draws people together is a sense of longing, higher purpose, a desire to serve, something outside our personal desires. It is no small thing that a weekly Eucharist is a big deal.
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2 comments:
I'm glad you're talking about the distance issue. I see it as a double-edged sword. It's wonderful that we're drawing people from great distances and they feel comfortable traveling to our "community" to be a part of it.
It's also a challenge to bring this disparate community together for events. I am thinking specifically of the youth, many of whom don't yet drive. I always feel blessed when we gather because I think that the kids have really made us a priority in their busy lives. But still, it's hard figuring the piece out.
We've recently had discussions about podcasting and whether it will "keep people away" from church. Now that was something I hadn't thought of, and I really doubt that's the case. But it's yet another distance question for churches and their communities.
What I've always appreciated about the Episcopal liturgy (and the same goes for the Roman Catholic church), is that no matter where you are on a particular Sunday (or day), everyone is reading the same thing. I find that universality, that "common"-ality as it were, very comforting, very reassuring. Community and "common prayer" extends beyond social, geographical, even participatory boundaries.
Social media is showing us that people think of their community, their tribe, based upon "shared interests, hopes and dreams", not proximity. I love that you, Matt, are part of our parish in spite of your commute. I consider Sally Thomas, David McGlynn, Sarah Herron, Barbara Algarin and so many others to be a part of us even though they may now live in another state, may be worshiping in another community, or, like me, aren't coming to services weekly. Facebook has facilitated connections with some of them. Shopping in the grocery store puts us in touch with others. But we are still bound, even in a loose way, as part of the same community.
You and Kathy are wise to be thinking about how new forms of communication, like this blog, can build and strengthen community based upon what is shared vs. drawing lines about what is not.
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