The Richness of Community

Wayne Squires-Partners In Neighborhood Transformation, a ministry of The Other Way

Story by Kurt Reppart, Director of Family Development at The Other Way

Some of our most satisfying work at The Other Way happens around food and tables.  Throughout the year on Monday evenings, 8-10 families get together in the Family Center to share a meal.  Each family brings a dish to pass, and we literally get to taste the variety of cultures represented.  The experience is rich.  The goal of these gatherings is to build a community of trust and support.  We do this by listening to each other, sharing our stories, playing games, and reflecting on God’s Word together.

After the meal is finished, the children are dismissed for enrichment activities so that the adults can have some focused conversation.  This fall these adult conversations centered on the topic of “passing on our values to our children”.   We broke up into 3 groups, and the atmosphere was full of joy and discovery as our discussion narrowed to how to foster responsibility in our children.  Represented in the room were a wide range of  values, ideas, and practical wisdom.  The variety of experiences was rich.  Several important things happened as we shared:  we learned from one another, our love for our children was affirmed, and we all left with  new insights and new ideas to try.  The conversation will continue, but this particular conversation provided solid ground to build upon;  to build community and to build hope.