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What is a community? Well, the dictionary defines community as 'a body of people living in the same place under the same laws'. According to this definition a city is a community. A state is a community and a country is a community. This is plain and simple. Now let's focus on 'a body of people living in the same place...' and break it down a bit... Every 'body' is composed of individual parts. The 'body' called automobile is composed of wheels, tires, bumpers an engine etc. A 'body' of people, like an automobile, can also be broken down into individual members that collectively make up the whole... Each person like a car part is different . Therefore each community is different. Each is a collection of different people. A collection of different ages and backgrounds. Each community has certain needs and concerns ..but at the same time a community again is composed of smaller factions that connect with the whole picture... A community can have a collection of communities within itself. A church is a community in itself, while being a part of the broader community it is located in. The same is true for a school. And each of these individual communities have an effect on the whole community. All of this is plain and simple. Now let's break it down to the lowest denomination, the individual. An individual is like a pebble or a grain of sand. An individual has his or her own indentity or personality. And like a pebble tossed in a still pool of water, an individual can cause a ripple effect that branches out endlessly. The key here, unlike a pebble, is being conscious of your individual effect on the whole picture. If each one pulls one and each one teaches one, the influence becomes quite powerful. But if an individual does not have a sense or an understanding of the whole community picture then the pulling and teaching is not unified. The community becomes a collection of pieces that don't fit together to makeup the whole puzzle... This is our challnge. This is our goal: coming to grips with our individuality and how indiviuality contributes to the broader picture. A grain of sand is merely a part of the whole beach. And understanding this is the beginning of having a real sense of community...
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