CARITAS CORNER: A Sense of Community

By Andy Barton

Throughout my time with Catholic Charities, I have taken occasional trips to parish communities on the Eastern plains and in the mountains, visiting with church and town leaders. One of the characteristics of these towns that inspires me most is how well people care for each other. A couple of years ago, during a lunch meeting in Cheyenne Wells with the Cheyenne County Health Care Coalition, a longtime resident talked about the closeness of the community, saying how unusual it was for her to not know someone she saw walking downtown, volunteering at the school, or visiting the county fair. I was struck by how that experience contrasted with being in downtown Colorado Springs, where most of the faces we encounter are unfamiliar, and how that impacts the way in which we care for each other.

It is worth pausing on the word “community” itself. It comes from the Latin “communitas,” which grew out of “communis,” meaning common or shared by all. Dig one layer deeper and you find “munus,” an old Latin word for duty, service, or gift. It is the idea that a group of people who live near each other are bound by mutual obligation.  That is a very different thing from “proximity,” and it helps explain why some towns feel like true communities while some neighborhoods, even crowded ones, do not.

My time in rural communities comes to mind as we continue our work in support of and in solidarity with those in Colorado Springs who are battling homelessness. Recently, much of the attention around this issue has focused on the city ordinance making it illegal for people to camp in cars. This is a challenging issue for all stakeholders. The reality is that everyone — elected leaders, business owners, service providers and certainly those men and women who would be affected — all want a better solution than the one we currently have. 

In Cheyenne Wells, homelessness is not an issue, yet the community has plenty of experience assisting people in crisis. If a traveler without any money experiences a vehicle breakdown and has no place to go, the people in town will help find shelter, food, and other resources to help the person continue his or her journey. Similarly, if a family loses their home to a fire or other disaster, neighbors provide a place to stay, set up a fund at the bank, and the community helps rebuild. This incredible response to those in need is not unique to Cheyenne Wells. I have heard similar stories during my visits to Victor, Leadville, Burlington, Stratton and Limon. In rural communities, individuals work together in unique and beautiful ways.

What makes these communities strong is not their size or their wealth. It is the trust people place in each other, a shared sense of what is owed to a neighbor, and a willingness to show up when someone is in need without waiting to be asked. These are the same qualities researchers point to when they study what holds any community together, whether it is a book club, parish, small town or city. A strong community is one where people still feel that duty embedded in the word itself — the sense that another person’s need is ours to answer. 

The first letter of John speaks to the continuity between love of neighbor and love of God: “If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” (1 Jn 3:17-18) I suspect that there will never be an ordinance in Cheyenne Wells that outlaws sleeping in cars, not because of legal or civil rights objections, but because the community would find another way to deal with the problem. 

In Colorado Springs, the scale may be larger, but our resolve should be the same. As we work on different solutions, we would be well served to remember and embrace the words in John’s letter. As children of God, our focus should always be on how we care for our neighbors, wherever we encounter them.  We are, as a community, inextricably bound to each other.