Article January 7, 2002 Issue

Community— our immediate and extended family

By Merelice

Communities don't just happen. They need thoughtful building and nurturing. When they are disrupted, they need mending. At the same time, they can be a source of comfort and support.

Given news reports of the past year, we could think that communities everywhere are under unbearable strain: carjackings in South Africa; escalating violence in Israeli towns and Palestinian villages; earthquakes in India; attacks on women's health clinics and school shootings in the United States. Everyday issues like these, along with recent larger-scale incidents of terrorism and war, could shatter a person's sense of community safety and create a fear of the unknown or unexpected.

What can we do to embrace our communities and help protect them and ourselves from harm? Perhaps a good starting point is to ask where our community is actually found.