Community - What is it to you?

I was asked sometime last week about community in DC, and what it meant to me. Its interesting to me, because I feel like "Community" is a term that can be over-used, both negatively or positively. We use the term "Community Groups" for our youth small groups. I attend and work at a church named National Community Church.

What does community mean? Is it the area in which one lives? Is it the school or work where one attends? Is it the location of service that their family goes to? There are so many things that could mean community.

I would venture to say its a place where you are known. Known in the good times and the bad, known when things are clean and when they are messy. (in the physical and figurative...)

Last October, I moved into a new house in a new neighborhood with two of my friends. We had a full day of moving, and when things were starting to settle down that evening, we had a knock on the door. One of our new neighbors had brought us pie. It was the act of someone noticing and knowing that we were new. And capitalizing on that to welcome us to the neighborhood. It made the experience of moving more enjoyable and the anticipation of being a part of the neighborhood was great. It could have been easy for the neighbors to pass on noticing new neighbors, but they went out of their way to make sure we knew that they knew we were there.

It feels like when you are in a city like DC where your safety is dependent on the neighbors you live next to, there is a sense of community - because you need to know who you are looking out for, and who is looking out for you. You are somewhat forced to get to know them, thus creating some sort of community.

In work, or church, or at the neighborhood java shop - getting to know those around you creates a community. Sometimes you have to be a little more intentional, and make yourself a little uncomfortable to build that community. Each one of us yearn to be known, to be in community, and to know others. And that doesn't change when you are 7, 17, 27, or 107.

Do you have a place where you are known? Do you know those around you? How can you help make someone known?

Sometimes its easy to feel like we aren't known, or nobody cares, or that we lack community, but maybe it takes us noticing something about someone else to get the ball rolling on community.