Community When we Can't Be in Each Other's Space

I've talked a lot about community and our need for it, about the loneliness of our society, about how things are different when you're single in the last year.

And, all of that is even more important in our current circumstances.

We need each other now - more than ever.

But, how we show up for one another looks very different right now. The method of our community has changed, but it hasn't removed our need for it.

If I'm honest, I've struggled with exactly what I'm writing about in these last few weeks. In many ways I've never felt my need for community more acutely, and struggled with how to find it.

These are strange times, hard times, difficult times . . . and I've heard or seen on social media from enough of us to know we're all struggling in some ways with this. Whether we're at home with family or living on our own, whether we're working or our work has stopped for a time, nothing feels like we're used to it feeling. And we need each other as we walk through this.

So, how do we show up for each other right now? How do we create community when we can't sit around the same tables as one another?

Churches have created some space for it, with services online and Bible studies and small groups through video conferencing. Providing opportunities to learn and worship and pray together.

But we need even more than that. We need to stay in touch with friends and talk about what's really going on.

And that means we have to change the way we do what we always do. If you're like me, you pick up your phone to text a friend more often than to actually phone them. And when you can see each other, that works. But, I'm learning right now to pick up my phone and use it to actually phone a friend. I need to hear the voices of other people right now.

It looks like having people you can reach out to in the moments you're struggling to just let someone know and not feel so alone. And being that person for people too. Sometimes we might only be able to send a text in those times, and that's OK too. The important thing is that we don't keep quiet and hide when we're struggling. We need to have people we can tell, and people who can tell us the same thing for themselves.

I also had a friend teach me yesterday through her actions what it looks like to show up for each other when we can't go for coffee. Knowing I was struggling, she decided to do what she could. I heard a knock at my door, but when I opened it, no one was there, just a bag with a card. Letting me know she cared and was praying. A small act that did more than I could ever describe in words for how I was feeling.

It also looks like standing in the back parking lot at work, 2 meters apart from one another, with coworkers, checking in how we're doing with this all and with all the changes it has brought in our workplace. Stopping in the midst of all we still need to do and listening to one another for a few minutes. Acknowledging the way it feels and letting each other know we're not alone even when things look a lot different than we're used to.

So, can I encourage you in this time: look for ways to reach out and connect with people - family, friends, neighbours. We need each other more than ever. And we have to get creative in how we show up for each other, but we have to keep showing up for each others.