We Are Community

​The Coronavirus pandemic brought about a loss of togetherness and uncertainty and subsequent “lockdowns” that none of us ever experienced. It caused unprecedented levels of isolation, and while today’s technology has allowed us to remain social with our faith friends and family via social media and video chats, the same could not be said about the necessary interactions we have with the members of our community daily.

In Céilí Community we understand the importance of building a strong authentic community. Human beings are social creatures — we are naturally inclined to cooperate in order to not only survive but thrive and evangelise. Below are just a few reasons why this should be the case.

God calls us to community with one another on earth because it reflects the “Communio” of the Trinity. The mission of the gospel is too big a task for us to do on our own; that is why God collectively calls us in Céilí to build an authentic orthodox catholic community.

Allow the following pieces to inspire the pursuit of deep-rooted community. Some Biblical Reasons to build A Strong Community

The God we serve is a God of unity who desires that His church live in unity and harmony built on the foundation that is Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who draws us together and the power of the Holy Spirit that make our bond stronger. Communities today have a lot of values. Some value doctrine, political correctness, events, programmes, social responsibility or discipleship. However, it’s not that these things are not important, but God declares that in His Kingdom, nothing is as important as being united in love.

God calls all communities to be vibrant and powerful ones that bear much fruit and the way we do that is by working together in perfect unity, not in perfect doctrine, perfect systems, perfect worship or perfect leadership, however important all of these are. That’s why we are likened to a body – because what gets things done is unity in diversity.

​1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

 

God stands and affirms the power of community in getting things done. In Genesis 11:6 the Lord spoke of the power of the people of Babel saying, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” These people were united for the wrong reasons, and yet God acknowledged what ability they had. Imagine what we can do if we are united for the right reasons. That’s why the first thing that God did upon the establishment of the early church was give people a united focus in outreach.

In Acts 2; 42; 47, the Holy Spirit empowered the believers to evangelise out of community:

“These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers……..day by day the Lord added to their community.”

Community is vital for building strong and vibrant evangelisation. The enemy we fight finds no intimidation in a community that is fighting with one another. What threatens Satan is a force built on one foundation and brought closer together by the love of God. That’s why God calls us to love one another over and over again in scripture and the teaching of the Church. God is looking to build communities where everyone values relational unity, and the way we achieve that unity is by being united under one banner. There is no other banner that must be lifted high in God’s house than the banner of Jesus’ name. There is power in being brought together in Jesus’ name, and when we are united in community, in Jesus, we are strong in piercing the realms of darkness. Communities that are united can model important attributes of forgiveness, harmony and agreement that the secular world finds hard to muster.