… of the Bible points to a deep and abiding desire for relationship. Its stories provide repeated examples of the desire of God looking to establish and maintain a relationship and then calling on those with whom one has been established, to extend it to others. The Bible has too frequently been used as evidence to support an entrenched position resulting in the fracturing of community. Families suffer, sports teams suffer, work environments suffer, churches and synagogues and mosques suffer, towns and cities suffer and the world itself groans in despair.
The Eden organization holds before itself, a Christian faith perspective that calls us to advocate for hope, healing and for community and this is the year for us to rebuild relationships; to rebuild community. The rebuilding of community will need the individual to first decide that the disintegration of community into fractured tribes is not a good thing and something better is needed. We have the advantage of knowing what that ‘something better’ is; we’ve been there and now it’s time to rebuild and extend.
There are those among us who find it very hard to have hope, in part due to the fact that they’ve never been on the inside of a community. This is part of the work of Eden. Eden Mental Health Centre is an example of that at the most critical stage and then from there the work continues. Linden Place; in existence since 1981, is a place where community is reintroduced. Enns Courts and Community Choices are another expression of building community as are Penfeld Court, Wilson Courts and the Positive Living Program and Concordia Village IV. These are not only places where people exist, these are places where people find home, fellowship and community. These are examples to us as to how we all can “do community”.