The Stewardship of Community

The document discusses the importance of community and stewardship. It highlights the impact of the lack of housing on the community and emphasizes the need for connection. The story of Tiffany Adams, who experienced homelessness, is shared as an example of the importance of understanding and empathy. The document also references the biblical story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman to illustrate practical lessons on creating connections and building community. The key takeaways include taking direct routes to connect with others, treating individuals with dignity, and building relationships one-on-one to form a community.

• If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Affordable Housing discussion on Tuesday, you missed a terrific conversation on how much the lack of housing impacts our community.
• In particular, one thing that we’ve tried to do in our Flourishing Together conversations is not just to provide data but also to provide a story. Tiffany Adams, one of the panelists from the evening, told a story, and I want to play a clip of that.
• What’s so engaging about her story is that over time, she reveals something that we might not have known originally - she, too, had been homeless. She knew what it was to be on both sides of this conversation… the one on the street and in the store. Which is why “those people” became so disparaging… she was one of “those people” too.
• When we look at the word community, many definitions lead us towards linking - connection, often by the culture that people are in. SJPC is no different. Here, we are partly connected by geography and similar rules, mores, and movements in our lives.
• What Tiffany reminded many of us is that where community collapses is where we lack connection. And when that happens, we create different stories. How often have you had that happen?
• So, the stewardship of community, and our ability to be caretakers of it, is to create places of connection.
  • Look at Jesus here in John 4. There are some practical lessons on how to do this.
    • “He had to go through Samaria” - the truth is, Jesus didn’t need to. He could have taken the long way around. That’s not an unusual thing we may do to avoid communal connection, especially with “those people.”… we take the long route. Jesus instead takes the direct way, right to people who should not have been trusted… Samaritans and Jews were “those people to each other.”
    • “Give me a drink” - Jesus invites a connection. I’m pretty sure Jesus could have handled this alone, but instead, he finds a way to be part of the woman’s life. And note, too, Jesus doesn’t provide a handout. There’s dignity in his request. We may want to second guess Tiffany’s potential purchase of a Twisted Tea for the man, but what she does is offer him dignity. He has his agency. Indeed, even if we disagree with that choice, we can see how the cashier and the other man in the story do not provide the homeless man with dignity. He’s an inconvenience, not a human being.
    • (the disciples are away.) - I’ve always thought this is funny. How many disciples does it take to get a pita? But there’s more here. The stewardship of a community’s start rarely begins en masse. There is too much to be angry about, too many crossed lines. Instead, it forms one on one. That one on one builds the first lines of community. It creates a shared bridge of time.
    • Jesus then begins to move from the individual to the culture. It is not just a relationship between two people - two representatives of “those people.” Still, it now tells the story of how they are no longer just “those people” but a community that will share a new story.
    • And you notice, by the time the disciples come back, while they’re astonished, they don’t ask. Perhaps it’s because they can see what’s happening. New connections are made - links between people who may not have reason to connect. And Jesus doubles down on this reality - the moment is now, not later. There are communal connections everywhere, but it will take the custodial work of the field laborer to ensure it comes into being.
• So, how might we create this and live a life of community stewardship?
  • Don’t take the side door every time.
  • Seek dignity from person to person.
  • Find the pathway from person to community.

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