Communities
It has been said that on average all of us in the world are only separated from
each other by 6 steps or links – commonly known as the theory of the ‘6 degrees
of separation’.
"The Western world, at the start of the third millennium, is best described as a
'network society'. This is a fundamental change: 'the emergence of a new
social structure'." (p4, Mission Shaped Church)
Yet despite this closeness and proximity, we are living increasingly fragmented
lives. In Mission Shaped Church we read how we live in a network society where
"the importance of ‘place’ [our location] is secondary to the importance of
‘flows’ [how and where we obtain information, make connections and
communicate]." (pp4-5, Mission Shaped Church) How we connect and communicate
with one another is increasingly important when we live in a society where
people may be physically separated from family and friends.
The evidence for this is all around us:
a) We hear all too often in the news of people having difficulties with
neighbours, or tragically of a deceased neighbour not being discovered for weeks
because no one ever spoke to them. And yet it is not unusual for people to
engage with one another remotely, whether via text messaging, or email or
connecting via social networking sites.
b) The rapidity with which news updates are diffused throughout the world -
globalization.
c) The tremendous growth in social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Bebo etc.
This presents some real challenges to how the Gospel message may best be shared,
what it means to 'be church', what it means to 'be community', and the very
shape of mission. There is a transition from the 'face to face' encounter
to the virtual encounter. There is a clear paradox of how in a network or
connected society we can see such unprecedented levels of fragmentation.
I believe that the church is called to stand in the gap and seek to hold
together in tension this fragmentation and connectedness. The commentary
in Mission Shaped Church goes on to say that "the establishing of bonds within
networks and the bridging between networks will be crucial." (p7, Mission Shaped
Church)
There are a number of ways in which Bethany Hope seeks to respond to this
challenge, both at a local level and at a wider network level. We
recognise that community, albeit in very different ways, can be established at
both of these levels.
If you would like to know more, please contact us
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