“May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. Genesis 28:3
That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. Numbers 14:1
When I lived in Cambridge from 1976-1996, I became part of a very close-knit community of socially-conscious singer-songwriters, most of whom lived within a short walk from my apartment in Cambridgeport. We supported each other in a number of ways, including joining together to put out a monthly newsletter which promoted all of our upcoming performances in one document rather than each of us putting out separate mailings to our supporters- this was before the age of email!
But perhaps our most significant collaboration came when one of us was accused of embezzling money from the community-based non-profit organization he worked for part-time, a place he considered part of his extended family- and a charge which he emphatically denied. To compound matters, our friend was not presented with an opportunity to defend himself, but was told that the organization “knew” that he was guilty and would turn him in to the police if he did not immediately pay back what he had stolen.
Our community of folk musicians responded by rallying around our friend and organizing a committee which met regularly both to support him and to strategize how we might respond as a community comprised of individuals with ties to both the non-profit and our friend. Because we responded communally and as part of a larger community we were able to influence the organization which had accused our friend- betrayed him in his eyes- to present the “evidence” they had which convinced them of his guilt, to undergo further investigations, including engaging an expert in handwriting analysis, and eventually, though they may not of have been convinced of his innocence, to drop the matter without involving the police. For our part, we helped set up a mechanism for people to contribute to the organization to recoup the funds that went missing.
Though our friend was permanently scarred by this turn of events and moved to another part of the country where he could start over, if it hadn’t been for the community that he and I were part of- this beloved community- his move might instead have been to a prison cell, or even to an early grave. It was not the first or last time this community came together to support a cause we felt strongly about, but it may have been the most important thing we did as a group. We did this because every one of us loved our friend and believed him. But it’s not likely that we could not have accomplished anything if we had acted as independent individuals. It was because we responded as a community with a much stronger voice than any of us had alone that we were able influence the outcome of this scenario and make a meaningful difference in our friend’s life. Oh, for a world where everyone belongs to a community with bonds such as this!
God of Us All, thank you for friends who stand up for each other, and who stand with people we have never met whose rights and dignity are threatened. May we all belong to a beloved community, and may we see all of Creation as our Beloved Community. Amen
Willie Sordillo