Community in Suburbia: Lessons From Evangelicals

Eduardo's call for the Church to address land use resonates with my experience, but perhaps for different reasons.  Put simply, evangelicals have adapted to suburban living in ways that make meaningful community still possible.  In my experience, Catholics have not.  Growing up in suburban evangelical churches, each Sunday morning I attended a 90-minute Sunday school class, followed by a 90-minute worship service.  My family would linger after the service for up to an hour talking with friends, then gather at someone's home for a big Sunday dinner with friends or extended family.  In the evening, we would return to church for another worship service.  And on Wednesday nights, we would again go to church for children's activities while the adults participated in a prayer meeting.  All of these activities were intensely communal, rich with bonding potential.  The fact that we all retreated to our car-centered, isolated living arrangements did not matter as much because we had three opportunities for building relationships every week (not to mention the regular potlucks, holiday services, etc.).  The church was the social and spiritual center of my family's weekly existence.

As a Catholic, I am consistently surprised by how quickly the church empties after each Mass (beginning before the Mass even ends, as some folks begin to file out once they get communion).  At least at the parishes I've attended, there is very little socializing that occurs.  In fact, in the many parishes I've visited, no one has ever stopped me to introduce themselves, asked me if I'm a visitor, or made any effort to reach out to me unless I initiate a conversation.  Now that I've gotten to know a few people in our parish, I'm again surprised that none of them know each other -- even though most have belonged to the parish for years, I'm introducing them for the first time.  When I've asked longtime Catholics about the apparent lack of community surrounding the Mass, the response I usually get is, "Well, the mass is primarily about worship, not socializing.  The socializing traditionally occurs during the week."  That approach might have facilitated community-building in urban ethnic enclaves, but it doesn't cut it anymore in suburbia when folks disperse to their isolated existences without even a Sunday-morning experience of community (much less a Sunday-night or Wednesday-night experience) to fall back on.

So while I agree that the evangelical spiritual life is much more amenable to the solitary living-room experience, evangelicals have actually made suburban community a reality in ways I have yet to see from Catholics.

Rob