The Spirituality of Community Book

Adele Gonsalez begins The Spirituality of Community by defining spirituality as "our life in the Spirit". (17) She states that we live out our spirituality through 4 relationships: with God, ourselves, our neigbours, and creation.

Our first relationship is one of transcendence, while the others, are ones of immanence, although these two core relationships are not mutually exclusive: "Christians believe that God is both within and beyond the universe, capable of being found in everything and everyone and yet surpassing everything and everyone." (19). Indeed, one cannot claim to have a healthy relationship with God unless one has a healthy relationship with him/herself and those around him/her. Gonsalez quotes Dorothy Day on this important point: "Your love for God is only as great as the love you have for the person you love the least." (21)

In the opening chapter, Gonzalez also contends that our notion of spirituality needs to be both "liberated" and expanded so that it is not limited to trying to live "as otherworldly, flawlessly perfect eccentrics", but rather "affirm{s} the voices of simple, ordinary Christians whose stories and spiritual journeys are not recorded in our history books", but are nonetheless meaningful and authentic. (27) She also stresses that our belief in the Incarnation dictates that "there is no place where God is not" (41), including "the dark places" (43). Hence, Christians view creation as essentially good and have a hope-filled outlook that "both human beings and the world can be healed" (22)

In Chapter 2, Gonzalez deals with three specific aspects of spirituality. First, since God is love, and God's relationship with us is as Lover to beloved, spirituality is passionate. Secondly, it is communal: "To be human is to be on a journey, and to be a Christian means that we never journey alone." (51) The author reminds us that the Greek word ekklesia, from which the English word church evolved, designates "a gathering of people". Lastly, spirituality is contextual: "Our interpretation of the experience of God needs to take into consideration the context in which it happens and the specific perspectives of those who are interpreting it." (56)

Chapter 3 deals with key elements that comprise a Christian community. Gonzalez writes that we should examine the New Testament stories of the early Christian church in order to discover these elements. In Acts, we learn that the early Christian communities were marked by a "spirit of generous giving". (67) St. Paul used the analogy of the different parts of the body working together to emphasize that a Christian community consists of a unity of people working together and sharing a diversity of gifts, that is, unity without uniformity. A Christian community is also "grounded in the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ". (71) As well, celebration of the
Eucharist is at the centre of a Christian community. The final element is service. On this point, Gonzalez is eloquent, "No community deserves to be known as Christian if their praying sharing, celebrating, and proclaiming are not wrapped in a blanket of active service to each other and to the world." (78)

More characteristics and beliefs of a Christian community are explored in Chapter 4. Acceptance and inclusivity are important qualities: "The measure of the quality of a Christian community is the way in which its weakest members are treated and the willingness to welcome everyone as an important part of the Body of Christ." (90) Christian communities are always on a journey of hope, and within them there is a belief that every member is a "beloved of God". (93) Finally, there is a shared belief in the revelatory power of experiences as each of us finds God in our unique and ordinary experiences.

This brief book concludes with some challenges faced by Christian communities. The growth and transformation of individuals within a community are specific to the individuals themselves, and sometimes, very different. These differences inevitably lead to conflict. Accepting and respecting these differences and occasional conflicts is essential. As Gonzalez writes, "Unless we learn to dance together with different steps, Christian community will not happen." (106)