The Need for Community
By Richard Newell
What is community? Merriam-Webster defines community as, a unified body of individuals. Then the question might be, what is it that makes us unified? It can be common interest in sports, the arts, work, a business group, our families, our faith in God, and just the simple fact that we are human beings. Community gives us a sense of belonging a connection with other people. Having a sense of belonging is beneficial to our physical and mental wellbeing. Community helps us adapt to our changing world and environment, relieves the feeling of being isolated and alone which in turn helps us to feel better about ourselves, that we matter and knowing that we matter can lead us to take care of ourselves health wise.
The above is a brief explanation of community and its benefits, but as Christians, as members of Grace Church we may ask ourselves, what does God say about community. For this we can look to the bible. I did this, and what I found is that, right from the beginning God addresses community in Genesis 2; 18, The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make him a helper…” As I continued my quest, I found that there over 25 scripture verses where God talks about community. I have learned over the years that when a theme appears several times in the bible it is a pretty good indication that it is important to God which then ought to be important to me, to us as Christians living to serve our loving and gracious God.
For those of us who belong to Grace Church, we experience community each Sunday when we attend service, come together for a cup of coffee in the gathering space, and/or attend a book study. We may even be a member of a home book study group. There are members of our church, for whom attending in person is not possible. The reasons are many, but the effects are the same, isolation, loneliness, the loss of belonging.
I mentioned above that community, gathering as Christians is important to God so it should be for us as well. Grace Church has a ministry with the explicit purpose of reaching our brothers and sisters who are unable to attend in person. “Grace Cares” is the ministry that is staffed with volunteers who give of their time to connect with folks who otherwise may not be connected to our church community. These volunteers can meet in person or when appropriate connect by phone. If you know of anyone who is unable to be a part our church community in person, please fill out a connection card or contact me Richard Newell at Richard.newell@peopleofgrace.org or call me at 630 947-9311.
The above is a brief explanation of community and its benefits, but as Christians, as members of Grace Church we may ask ourselves, what does God say about community. For this we can look to the bible. I did this, and what I found is that, right from the beginning God addresses community in Genesis 2; 18, The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone, I will make him a helper…” As I continued my quest, I found that there over 25 scripture verses where God talks about community. I have learned over the years that when a theme appears several times in the bible it is a pretty good indication that it is important to God which then ought to be important to me, to us as Christians living to serve our loving and gracious God.
For those of us who belong to Grace Church, we experience community each Sunday when we attend service, come together for a cup of coffee in the gathering space, and/or attend a book study. We may even be a member of a home book study group. There are members of our church, for whom attending in person is not possible. The reasons are many, but the effects are the same, isolation, loneliness, the loss of belonging.
I mentioned above that community, gathering as Christians is important to God so it should be for us as well. Grace Church has a ministry with the explicit purpose of reaching our brothers and sisters who are unable to attend in person. “Grace Cares” is the ministry that is staffed with volunteers who give of their time to connect with folks who otherwise may not be connected to our church community. These volunteers can meet in person or when appropriate connect by phone. If you know of anyone who is unable to be a part our church community in person, please fill out a connection card or contact me Richard Newell at Richard.newell@peopleofgrace.org or call me at 630 947-9311.