Thanks for all that stayed for the celebration we had for Elizabeth Nowak after Mass last weekend. We had a great time celebrating Elizabeth’s great ministry here at St. Victoria. For now, Amee Gallagher has stepped in as intrem music director to keep us “humming.” Thank you Amee! Make sure to save the date of Sunday, December 16th for the annual Christmas concert.
In “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” Robert Putnam surveys the decline of social capital in the United States since 1950. Anecdotally he looks at how participation in bowling leagues has declined dramatically since the 1950’s and the negative impact on our culture. He has described the reduction in all the forms of in-person social interaction upon which Americans used to found, educate, and enrich the fabric of their social lives.
I’ve started to ask friends, the staff here, and parishioners: “what’s your bowling league?” Of course, bowling league is a stand-in for any recreation activity you do with other people. Where are you finding community in your life?
You can find community in all sorts of places. I hope that church is one place. We’ve got great small group gatherings we call “Focus Groups.” If you are looking for a place to connect we also have dozens of ministries who could use an extra set of hands to serve. Visit stvictoria.net/harvest for more on how to be involved in the community around here.
Chapter two of The Acts of the Apostles paints this beautiful picture of what Christian community could look like: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”
What’s your bowling league? What could it be?
