We had a great time last Tuesday, engaging with people of all ages at our pancake party. It’s become something of an annual event, so many thanks to all of those who were able to be involved. The event also provided a suitable springboard into our theme for the next four Sundays, as we look at what it means to be ‘called to community’, one of our core values here at CCC.
I looked up the definition of community, and the general thought was that it is a ‘group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common’. As I began to process what community really means, I began to think about Jesus’ example of sharing his life with people. The Lord may have been raised in Nazareth but his ministry led him to engage with many who were outside of the parameters of his neighbourhood and culture.
For example, his encounter with a Samaritan woman took place on her territory and, as Jesus asks her for a drink at the well, she exclaims, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (John 4:9) You can almost hear the confusion in the woman’s voice as Jesus does away with the blockade of mistrust and enters into her world! As we explore our ‘call to community’ further, my prayer is that we see the barriers, fears and comfort zones, that often exist in our lives, disbanded and that we confidently embrace community in a