Team Works
Want to build trust, hope, and community? Join the club...
I don’t consider myself a big “joiner,” yet, looking back over my life, I’ve certainly done my share. I was a Girl Scout (ever so briefly). I was in school choruses and drama clubs (wholeheartedly). Later, I was co-president of EONA, our neighborhood association, and our babysitting co-op as well. I’ve served on our Lutheran Synod council and I am a member of a book club too. It never occurred to me that these were pivotal acts, yet I’ve been reading about the great importance of group membership, to create a happy and engaged society. We all know how the human longing for belonging can go tragically astray (Nazis, Jonestown), which is why being part of a good and positive organization is so crucial.
BOOK: BOWLING ALONE
In 2009, Professor Robert Putnam wrote what became a seminal work, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. How many people know you by name? What teams have you joined? How lonely are we? (pretty darned lonely) Check out the trailer for Join or Die, a thought-provoking documentary connecting our…connectedness, with the future of democracy.
VIDEO CLIP: “JOIN OR DIE” TRAILER
BOOK: SOUL SEARCHING
Another author, sociologist Christian Smith, spent a good bit of time surveying teens across the country. What does their religious faith look like? He concluded that, while faith is important in the lives of many teens, across the spectrum of faiths (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc.) a large number of young people espouse what Smith called moralistic therapeutic deism (they believe in a God, but a God who primarily exists to serve them and their needs). I met and participated in a workshop with Christian in Denver, almost 20 years ago. I found him to be both intellectually rigorous, and very compassionate. His 2005 book Soul Searching, was eye-opening…
Years later, both Putnam and Smith report that things haven’t really changed much. Lots of us still “bowl alone,” many of our youth still believe in a God of convenience. But the concerns these authors raise still resonate today, and they challenge us. What do we want our world to be like? Isolated and self-centered, or connected and empathetic? We’ll never get where we want to be, without taking a good, hard look at where we are.
OLYMPICS TIME!
We’re just three days from the start of the Paris Olympics. The City of Lights has been polishing those lights, cleaning up the Seine River for swimming events, and generally making itself even more beautiful, in advance of the 2024 Summer Games. There are individual sports superstars, but each participating country is its own team. And while I’m certainly rooting for Simone Biles and LeBron James (Team USA), victories by Kenyan, Jamaican, Chinese and Indian athletes will be equally exciting. This year’s Olympics, in the shadow of current wars and other international crises, is a “golden” opportunity for us to envision a Team World. We are all running the same race, the human race, aren’t we? Go, Team!
RECIPES FROM A REUNION
“TEAM FAMILY” gathered en masse July 11 in Oreland, including the Brooklyn, Elizabethtown, Seattle and Honolulu members. It was a magical reunion after FAR too long.
For a change, I was banished from the kitchen, and the food was left in the kids’ extremely capable hands. Chef Patrick’s contributions included amazingly flavorful slow-cooked beef, and a delectable slaw featuring (surprise!) Brussels sprouts.
Rose and Julie handled the fabulous desserts:
Claire Saffitz’ Salted Halvah Blondies
BLOG PREVIEW: HOBBYIST
I don’t bowl (alone OR on a team) but I do see the great value of pastimes. This week I look at hobbies, all kinds, and try to find the perfect hobby for me (note: it can’t be too hard, or time-consuming, or messy, or…maybe my standards are a tad high). But whatever YOUR standards, join me over at Working Title for a survey of the hobbies we love!
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
The wonderful poet, essayist (and farmer!) Wendell Berry nails it for me…love IS the ultimate answer. Let’s add some more love to the world this week, my friends, and be part of the redemption it so greatly needs!!