Community: How Do We Build It?

My son, Michael, was married in New York City in early August, and a week later my husband and I hosted a small reception in Evansville.

We invited our current and our former neighbors. As they entered the reception hall, they happily spotted one another, and soon they were gathered at a table together. They made their own circle with their chairs, and during the next couple of hours they laughed and got caught up with one another, and then they laughed some more.

At the end of the evening, many neighbors told me they felt like they had been to a "block party." The sense of community was still there, and even though many of them had moved away from Fairlawn Avenue quite some time ago, they still felt a strong connection to the neighborhood. And they still felt a sense of community with one another.

We are told by scholars that the early Christians had a tremendous sense of community as they gathered in one another's homes and shared their stories and their faith.

As you travel throughout the Diocese of Evansville today, you can see similar faith communities. Communities where faith has sustained parishioners through good times and bad.

These are communities where the founders made the bricks for the church buildings. These are communities where the quilters have been together for generations, and mothers have taught their daughters and their granddaughters the proper techniques. And we all know about the parish summer socials where everyone has a role, and everyone knows who is responsible for what.

We know that change is on the horizon here in our diocese, and we know that the challenge will be to build new Christ-centered faith communities.

The question is: how do we prepare for the changes that are on the way?

Bishop Charles C. Thompson has said that he is praying "every day" for the Holy Spirit to guide him and the entire diocese in this process.

"I tell people wherever I go, please pray for me," he said. "These are challenging and emotional times for all of us, but they also represent a unique opportunity to bring new life and new vitality to our Church, and to strengthen our ministry for the future."

As our parishes prepare to create new communities, they may want to listen to the words of Pope Francis who urges us to pray to the Lord "that the Holy Spirit help us always to become a community of love, of love for Jesus who loved us so much."

Our pope sees communities of "yes," and he sees communities of "open doors . . . Because Jesus asks us first for love, love for Him, and to remain in His love.”