What is community? An interesting question, and one I had not much considered until the last few years.
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A decade or so ago, when I was still married and raising a family, my definition of family would have been fairly narrow. My wife and four children. Perhaps the kids I coached in football (as well as their parents.) The one or two people I felt close to. On a generous day possibly a few co-workers.
Then a series of events occurred that began to broaden that definition. I became a single parent and my community began to include the new people in my life, particularly as I moved from the safe and insular world of marriage. Suddenly I was confronted with a new concept of family, and with that my definition of community began to grow. Yet it still had not reached its current broadness. I had yet to experience the events that underscored the truth of "there but for the grace of God go I."
The details aren't important, and rather than sound maudlin, suffice it to say that through errors in judgement I found myself on the street. All the plans I had made as a young father had somehow gone awry. Fortunately for me, and unlike so many others, I had people who could and would care for my children as I tried to regroup.
What does this have to do with community? Once I found myself on the street, living in shelters and eating in kitchens, I realized my community now included: the homeless, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised. Like them I sought more than just a roof over my head at night and food for the day, more than just the proverbial three hots and a cot. Fortunately I was able to find places such as the Shepherds of Good Hope. Here I can get in out of the cold at night, have a coffee while I read or perhaps do some writing, find chapel services to nourish the spirit, and find people with whom to build hope.
The true measure of a society is how it cares for its poor. It is through the care and generosity of those who give that our society grows and flourishes.
Posted by irishcrows
at 6:09 PM EST
Updated: Thursday, 22 February 2007 10:44 PM EST
