Connections: Church in Community

Abstract

small community, especially one situated at some distance from larger centers, has a distinct life-story of its own. It consists of the families and individuals who inhabit it, the businesses that feed its economic well-being, the professions that care for it, and the churches that nurture its spiritual life. Its lifeblood is the network of past and present relationships that hold and transmit the stories; these stories are the lives that pass through the community, and the ones that stay. In fact, one could see each community as a living, dynamic story enacting its own narrative within the larger context of the region, the nation, and the world. Like any good story, the community narrative is complex, with many interactions, relationships, and sub-stories that move forward. However, unlike the typical story, the community story is not (nor should it be) ever finalized. Even when communities disappear from the ever-changing geographical and political map, their stories live on in the individuals and families whose historical and present lives help to shape the future reality of a new community. The core questions were explored by analyzing the roles played by the churches, not only in spiritual life but also in the social life and justice-making with in the community. In addition, I examined the role of the churches as story-holders and place-anchors for the families both present and former.