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Community Life A New Openness Barnaby Johns, who is 29, works for the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in southwest London. He has been living in the St John Stone Community, a Catholic lay community, in West London for nine months. Below he shares what he has learnt through Community Living
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When looking for a place to live in London I heard of an Augustinian Friar who was trying to get a lay-community started. The attraction of community life and my perceptions of it were once again awakened. About six months later I found myself living with four others, two other blokes and two girls, all young, only one of whom had the experience of community life before. The community, called the St John Stone Community (after an Augustinian martyr in the Reformation) is based in a large and inviting house in West London. We have regular jobs during the day and our aim is to create a Christian environment through which we spread the message of the gospel, not necessarily through words, although this of course happens, but to give people the opportunity to see the giving of ourselves in a spirit of true Christian community. Finding a compromise can be exasperating but this is how community works This of course presupposes that we are selfless beings who find great joy in spending time doing our share of the cleaning, shopping, cooking and attending of meetings; sadly this is often not the case. We are human. I want things to be the way that I think best, and I want to do things at a time convenient to me. Sometimes I don't want to have to cook a large meal for everybody when I have had a hard day at work, and I don't want to have to concede my viewpoint or my plans to the other four members of the community. But I have to. Finding a compromise can be exasperating, but this is how community works. As much as you find yourself loving those who you live with, it can be very difficult and I have learnt that I am not always right. In community living I have forced myself to be with these people and they are an amazing support in my faith in daily life. And on other occasions they are the last people that I want to see. They have become my close friends and there is certainly a joy in the shared aspects of community. The Morning Prayer and the time we spend in front of the Blessed Sacrament is an enormously unifying experience. The idealism and reality of community living The response from my colleagues at work when I told them of my intention to live in community was that I would soon be wearing sandals, smoking illegal substances and breeding animals in the garden so we could be self-sufficient. Thankfully, for myself as much as for anyone, none of their misconceptions have become real. Of course everyone who goes into community life has preconceptions of what it will be like. Jean Vanier who founded the L'Arche Communities explains that people initially tend to have an idealistic view of community. This then crashes down as the bubble is burst and one or fun, that other members become a little irritating and differences of opinion become more apparent. This calls for a deeper change in outlook and attitude. Finally a more balanced view of life comes about; preconceptions have to be washed away as the reality comes to the fore - that is when you are really living in community. You realise you are not the centre of the universe What I hope for is a unique change, perhaps similar to getting married and having children, one where you realise that you are not the centre of the universe. There is a new focus. You can live in community and go through the motions but what takes time is the transition to living in the spirit of community, where one looks at the other members and sees them, their talents and their beauty but also their brokenness, and you can accept them for who they are, just as I am accepted for who I really am. This is without a doubt life giving, renewing, healing and it creates an environment of openness and growth in our spiritual lives as well as within our relationships with one another. It is where, in a cynical and sceptical world where there is a craving for fulfilment, we can build bridges between ourselves and those that visit. And it is Christ that is at the centre of those relationships.One interesting aspect of living in community has been gaining a greater understanding of gender differences. Men and women are different beings. Perhaps the feminist movement, however important and necessary, has left both sexes (but especially men) trying to find a true identity. In an environment of mutual respect one can realise our truer nature that much easier, while all the time maintaining a healthy balance. The strengths and talents of both sexes become evident and mutually beneficial and all within a milieu of equality. Changing the world by changing ourselves We can change the world in action or we can change ourselves, which affects those whom we come into contact with. As we grow the community will evolve and find new directions hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit. Members will move on finding a direction in their lives and new people will come to take their place. At present the community aims simply to be supportive to other Catholics. In large urban areas such as London, Catholics need a place to be able to share and pray and to be made welcome. Modern day society can leave people feeling terribly isolated and in need of relationships that are life giving, and help draw them towards God. The community tries to try and meet these needs. Another element of the community is evangelism; this we do through dinner parties, barbeques, always welcoming anybody who drops in for a cup of tea and try to meet them where they are in their journey. We are becoming increasingly active in the community. I am about to do an Alpha course with the aim of running an Alpha for Catholics in the New Year and I am in the process of initiating a Vocations Group for Men. The charism is to bring people into our community to be ourselves, while allowing God do the rest.
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The
idea of living in community first struck a chord when I once heard a
family friend tell me of living in a 'house of confusion' in an inner
city area with another eight people. They were all very young, active
and idealistic and wanted to live in community, some working to pay
the bills and others working within the local community with marginalized
groups on housing projects. He painted an idealistic picture that appealed
to me - the giving of oneself, the sharing of work, community meals
being central to the day, a youthful idealism that they clearly had
at that young age. He had inspired me with stories of the cause for
which they were working that appeared nothing short of a life changing
experience.
