Community

An excerpt from JESUS IN GETHSEMANE by Timothy Fallon, St. Anthony Messenger 4/2006

After reading the book A Different Drum, by M Scott Peck, I decided to attend a weekend of community building led by facilitators from the foundation for Community Encouragement. Approximately 25 people- almost all of us strangers to one another--gathered at a retreat house in northern Michigan. Our goal was to build community during a two-day experience. I was hoping to both experience community and learn something about how to build it.

The weekend began simply enough--we talked about why we came and what we hoped to gain from the experience. The road from 25 strangers to being a community, however, had a few potholes in it. For me, one of those potholes was the approximate size of the Grand Canyon. As we attempted to become a community, our various experiences and agenda began to collide.

Peck refers to this as "chaos" and I'd say it's a pretty good description --both of what was going on in the group and what was happening in my stomach. Trying to move beyond chaos put me in Gethsemane.

According to Peck , there are only two ways that a group can move beyond chaos. One way is to try to "get organized" and attempt to manage the chaos. Unfortunately, getting organized prevents the group from becoming a community. My head kept me from falling into the trap of trying to get organized. OK, I did offer a suggestion or two. But I didn't push too hard. My Gethsemane dilemma had to do with what Peck describes as moving beyond chaos through emptying.

Emptying is the only path toward community. In my head, I was clear enough about that; I'm sure I could have given the book report. Unfortunately, that group didn't seem too interested in a book report. They were expressing intense feelings; hurt, anger, grief-- the whole rainbow of emotion and vulnerablility. I had some of these feelings too. It's just that I was trying to have them without anyone noticing it. I was hoping to have my chaos in private, while I helped other people deal with theirs.

In Gethsemane, Jesus trusts God enough to empty himself. He moves beyond his fear, lets go of his own agenda, opens himself to whatever comes and surrenders to God. What I did that weekend was let my fear get the best of me. I pretty much flunked it the same way the disciples did--by running away. Although my body never left the room, I had an out of body experience. Mentally and emotionally, I got out of Dodge.

By the time the weekend concluded, many of the people had experienced community. I had seen something of what it takes to build community, but my inability to act in the face of fear kept me from fully participating. Through my struggle, however, I learned how much I needed "emptying school".