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As I walked back from the bath house in the darkness of night, noting the stars shining brightly above, I pondered my love of camping. Beyond my desire to be out of doors and to feel rather pioneerish and resourceful, I realized that the people at a given campground form a community during the brief period of time they are together. And what a disparate group they can be; on this occasion a girls’ volleyball team in a bonding experience, a cattle farmer who slipped away for a few days, a recently unemployed man who wanted some pondering time, a family that appears to move every two weeks to a new campground for lodging, several college students, the black cat who wanders about looking for a handout. What a wonderful mix. It keeps me humble. Tent camping in particular seems to level the playing field.

At a campground you speak with folks; share experiences, methods of doing things; tell stories around the campfire. The couple across the street brought us peach cobbler in honor of the wedding anniversary my husband and I were celebrating. A young man two sites down brought us his firewood as he was breaking camp. People gathered to talk about kayaks and canoes, and we all fed the cat. We often leave camp endeared to one another but with no exchange of names or information, believing we may meet up again.

Churches and small groups within churches can provide a sense of community. Members tell stories, eat together, care for one another. In these settings, we know one another’s names. What a gift!

What settings offer you a sense of community? Where do you go to meet with others who know you and your story?

Consider engaging in a small-group study like Companions in Christ, and check out Enuma Okoro’s reflections on community in Reluctant Pilgrim.

Rita Collett, Managing Editor

We are pleased to announce that the United Methodist Church is currently featuring Jan L. Richardson’s blog, The Painted Prayerbook.

See Jan’s feature on the UMC.org homepage.  Check out Jan’s blog here.

By Bishop Joe E. Pennel Jr., Special contributor

Numerical growth and institutional maintenance have captured the thinking of many who write about the vital signs of effective congregations. I must admit that when I was serving as a pastor and as a bishop I was caught up in the same swirl of understanding. I am now feeling that there should be a different standard of measurement for meaningful congregational life.

Instead of numerical growth and stabilizing the institution, we need to put strong determined effort into a deeper set of measurements such as growth in compassion, forgiveness, mercy, kindness and justice. These are the benchmarks that bear kingdom fruit. It is possible for a congregation to experience financial and numerical strength and not grow in the fruits of the spirit.

… read

By Paul Stroble

A friend once told me, “Paul, you were our Facebook before there was a Facebook!” He meant that I like to keep in touch with people. I seek ways to keep friendships preserved and to stay in touch. I don’t keep up with people as much as I’d like, but in comparison to my friend’s other acquaintances, apparently I do. Writing letters used to be a joy, but today email and Facebook are the primary ways I check on friends.

I never had a MySpace page, and I’m not on Linkedin, but I love the way Facebook brings people together. I reconnected with a high school friend, whom I hadn’t talked to for over thirty years. Shorty afterward his mother died, and so his other far-flung acquaintances and I gave him prayers and consolation. Without the power of contemporary social media, it’s hard to see how we could’ve supported him better. Participants in other online communities, like the Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir, testify to the caring they receive from people (whom they never meet) around the country and the world!

If you think about it, the majority of the New Testament literature is social networking! Verity Jones, writing in the Yale Divinity School alumni journal Reflections (Fall-Winter 2011), notes that Paul made connections among friends, disciples, and congregations around the Empire. Early Christian congregations had not only face-to-face communication but also “links” around the empire in a “web” of support, teaching, requests for help, and so on.

Today, the Internet creates community and provides for the fast spread of information. Email is an effective tool for churches’ prayer chains, perhaps more so than the telephone. I remember discussions in my parishes about the cost of Yellow Page ads and what we could afford, so that visitors would find us readily. Today, many churches have their own websites, providing schedules of events, information, sermons, and newsletters.

Effective as social media is, we would be lonely if our only religious activity was online. The fellowship of Sunday school classes and Vacation Bible Schools would likely be lost if these programs were conducted like online courses. Sites such as The Virtual Abbey, which conduct worship services on Twitter, offer interaction and fellowship, but of course, important activities and rites like the sacraments must happen with other people in the same physical room.

The benefit of online community is real-time support among people who are geographically scattered. For instance, if you share your troubles on Facebook, people who might otherwise never know your problem can express their concern when you need it most. Those of us who’ve received outpourings of friendship appreciate the power of instant, online communication.

Paul E. Stroble is an elder in The United Methodist Church, has served as parish pastor and college instructor, and currently teaches at Webster University in St. Louis. He is the author of 11 books, including You Gave Me a Wide Place: Holy Places of Our Lives (published by Upper Room Books).