Long Street (Akron, OH): The Beginning

We sat together and ate a meal—fifteen of us. On the outside it may have appeared that we didn’t have much in common—we’re quite the rag-tag bunch from all walks of life. The oldest there is in their 60s, and the youngest is a mere five months. Soon we gathered together in a circle for the meal.  

The circle is a symbolic shape—sacred to many. It is a shape that reflects connectedness and wholeness, and in this space these are realities. Around the circle each of the fifteen is valued as a part of the larger whole, a value that is shown in the confidence of lifted heads and the humble assurance of presence. Eyes meet with quiet smiles as the food is blessed and we eat.

Soon conversations break out among the circle, and connection is built. Wholeness is in the robust laughter and knowing glances, in the gestures of inclusive conversation and validation of thoughts. Wholeness in the inquisitive postures and celebration of people. Wholeness is in the true “seeing” of people—face to face, being to being.  

After dinner, the circle formed once again and we opened up our stories to one another as we talked. It was quickly apparent that this rag-tag bunch came from all walks of life, with many journeys that didn’t make much sense meshed together in the same place. The stories looked different on the outside—some stories of substance abuse recovery and getting back on one's feet, others were stories of finding purpose in post-grad and a desire to align values with lifestyle. Some were stories of incredible pain and suffering and others were stories of growth and change and a deep desire to love. Beneath all of the stories, though, was the common thread about how our lives (through twists and turns and happenstance) intersected with the community that we all are a part—a church.

Many times church is experienced as a place where people go and leave. The church is experienced as a common-space rather than a common-unity, and is many times a place of pain and suffering rather than one of wholeness and healing. In that circle, though, we were not only meeting in a common-space.

The Church, a beloved community, was here.