Connections create community.

People can live as close as they want, but we wouldn’t call it a community of people unless they are connected to each other. At the same time, some people say that they belong to a wonderful community even though they drive three miles to their closest neighbor’s house for that pinch of salt or a cup of flour.

This embodies what I am focusing on as I delve into my position as the “Community Concierge”. My job is to create opportunities for connection: with businesses, individuals, families, employers, with people far from here, and with the people right next door. We tasted what making connections feels like with our Service Day on September 23^rd. We went out to interact with the people who live near us to serve them, and we created connections where there weren’t any before. By the way, thanks to everyone who participated! We had 26 people volunteer in four different areas across Seattle.

My job is also to be a community enabler, which can only be done through the connections we have with those around us. Enabling others to do more with what is available is a great job to have, and it’s why I’ve taken a liking to the title of “concierge”. We can only enable when we are connected to each other, and Emmanuel’s history speaks to this truth. How many overseas missionaries have called Emmanuel their “home church”? Has it been 50? 75? 100? Probably even more!  We were founding members of Sambica summer camp, a place I went to as a kid! Emmanuel was involved at the formation of the Office of Radio and Television, which has shared the gospel with countless people all across the world. The Union Gospel Mission does outstanding, important work all around Seattle reaching the homeless, the poor, and the marginalized every day and Emmanuel had a hand in shaping it in its earliest days. It’s incredible to think about all the people that Emmanuel had connections to! It’s humbling to serve in this capacity when I look at the legacy behind me.

As we go forward, I’m excited to  see how this truth is revealed in practice. Perhaps we’ll learn that the community needs us to be a place where homeless individuals come to find friendship and peers. Maybe we will see that our greatest offering is hosting a group of business people who start up ideas that create social good. We may even find out that the best way we can connect with the people around us is to use our sanctuary for loud and uproarious concerts on weekday nights! We don’t know how we’re going to best serve and connect with our neighbors, but we know that this is our mission field, and we’ve got a great opportunity to enter into God’s story on Phinney Ridge.