Community, Shcommunity...

Community. What a rich word. It conjures up thoughts of meaty connection and interaction with other people--relationship that is deep and true. And how incredibly elusive it is for me! This drives me nuts!!!

Of course, wise ones say that those who seek so hard after community are the ones who never can find it. And that would be me.

The wise ones also say that if you can't find the community after which you seek, you possibly are being called to create a new brand of community. But quite honestly, that idea has always intimidated the hell out me! That, and I simply have no idea how to do it.

As a Christian, to me "community" equals "church." Of course, I have come to realize that church isn't something you "go to" or "do"; you can only "be" the church. I sense that the same is true of community. It's not a matter of "finding" but instead of "being" community.

The missus and I are learning to "be" with one another, and I like it. We "are" community, I think. But we both want to share ourselves with others--to expand our community.

We've been attending a wonderful Catholic Mass on Sunday evenings. The singing is sweet, the building is beautiful, and the homilies are short and generally very pithy. But one thing is lacking: we never have a sense of community. Hell, during the Our Father, no one holds hands--even if you offer! And of course, since the missus and I aren't Catholic, we don't partake of the Eucharist. So, we always leave feeling a little flat.

We considered taking the RCIA class so that we could "join" the Catholic church, but when we gave it some more thought, we resented the idea that we would have to agree to uphold various beliefs to which we simply don't adhere. Integrity can be such a pesky thing.

Last week, I came across a blog of a local church here that is comprised of three pastors from three different denominations: American Baptist, Episcopal, and Evangelical Covenant. Intriguing.

It always has ticked me off that in order to "join" a church and experience its community, I have to align myself with a portion of the Body of Christ, and in doing so simultaneously align myself against other significant portions of that same Body. This is blooming ludicrous!!!

Perhaps we'll find a solution at the Church of the Holy Amalgamation.