Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Community

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting our son and daughter's golf team at our home for a pasta dinner after they had a match. I've always questioned these events because after a full day of school and a multi-hour long match, I didn't understand the need to gather for dinner also....extending the day so long makes it hard to have time for and focus on homework. After our dinner (oh, my these kids eat a lot!) I formulated a new opinion. These eighteen, 14-18 year olds sat together, shared the food that was served family style, and talked, laughed and advised each other about their golf games, high school classes, relationships and their futures beyond high school. Not necessarily within each other's social circles, these teens regardlessly exhibited a real sense of community. This morning while doing the final clean up and enjoying a leftover brownie with my coffee (don't ask how early it was!) it was this sense of community that remained with me as the warm and fuzzy feeling from the evening prior. I'm proud of these teens and it reminds me of why we as Christians are called together in community. We need each other!

The first worship banners I ever worked on were done in community. A team of artists and seamstresses gathered together to pray about, generate ideas for and then complete eight sets of worship banners for our church sanctuary. This project is what led to the development of Carrot Top Studio. I had never taken on a task quite like worship banners and for the project to be successful it really needed the community of a group.

The first Christians in the New Testament were a great example of community as they quickly learned to gather together for worship.It's awesome that gathering together is a precursor to the Kingdom of God that is to come. In today's fast paced world may we not forget to take time to come together as community.