Building Community in a Big City

Still in response to Rick's post on the assisted suicide story in Germany, it made me think of how many opportunities there are to reach out to people who are alone in our cities, not only to take care of their material needs, but also to help them feel that they are a part of a community in which they are both loved and needed.  I had a tiny experience recently that reinforced this for me.  Some time ago a friend of mine and I noticed that one the elderly ladies who attends daily mass had holes in her shoes.  We asked if she needed a new pair, and after we had collected a bit of money, my friend went with her to the shoe store to pick out what she needed.  Some time later she brought us a beautiful “thank you” card, and then we began to sit next to each other in the very large church where usually folks tend to keep quite a bit of distance.  A few weeks ago we shared a picnic lunch (she brought the drinks), which was a chance to get to know her better as a person, and especially to discover how much time she spent in prayer.  During the picnic we asked if we could entrust to her all of the people who had recently asked for our prayers.  I can’t describe how her face lit up when today I brought her the list of people and situations to pray for… and that look on her face that made me think, who knows how many zillions of opportunities I have missed not only to help, but also to connect and be enriched?  It was a chance to ask forgiveness for the modern sin of constant busy-ness, and for the grace to pay more attention.  Amy