Community

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘Community’ as in… healthy communities understand the value of gathering to love, support, encourage, mentor, and guide.

Healthy communities see themselves as part of the Body of Christ, which expresses its identity as a worshipping community where all people are encountered by the Word of God and strengthened with communion, where people read ancient wisdom to reimagine and recreate a future where people are nurtured in faith and prayer. Healthy communities are equipped to be the hands and feet of Christ to serve and care for others. Healthy communities work for peace and justice in all places for all people – absolutely no exceptions, and to grow in faith and life together.

When we invest in building a healthy community together, when we work at deepening and widening our connectedness, good things happen. When we nurture healthy relationships with careful attention and purposeful kindness, the usual rhythms of interaction hum a little differently. When we practice intentional acts of compassion, the usual rhythms of relationships take on a different vibe. When we go out of our way to show hospitality, we create a new kind of trust that builds respect. And when we do that, we co-create a new kind of community that knows what it’s like to thrive.

We build community through connected relationships with others that we know and love. We also build community by connecting with others we don’t know – with people down the street, up the road, over the fence, and around the block. We build community by reaching out to people who live in other parts of the world, in places we may never visit, whose names we may never pronounce, whose faces we may never see, whose stories we may never hear, but with whom we share much more than we know.

Thriving Reflections:

++ What are some characteristics of healthy communities?

++ What can you do today to nurture a healthy relationship?

++ How does showing hospitality create trust, build respect and sustain community on every level and of every kind?

++ How does sustaining a healthy community help you thrive?

#100days50words

#Thriv’ëra

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #Thriv’ëra, where he blogs about a different word each week. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog, Thriving Rhythms.