Christian Comment with Derek Jowett of Stroud Baptist Church

COMMUNITY: it’s a word we hear a lot these days, and it can have different meanings.

We’re often defined by which ‘community’ we belong to, whether that’s the community we work with, the community with whom we share interests or have similar lifestyles; then there’s the ‘community’ where we live, whether that be our neighbourhood, or even our country.

We even now have in the government a Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, although I don’t think ‘Community’ is yet an official term of local government like ‘District’ or ‘County’ - but wait till the next reorganisation.

But how exactly do we play our part in making our community work together, and indeed become more than acquainted with our fellow members of that community?

Some time ago I was becoming aware that I didn’t really knew more than a few of my neighbours.

Then we had a wonderful evening in our road - literally in the middle of the road (fortunately we live in a cul-de-sac) - when we all sat in our garden chairs listening to a highly professional folk concert arranged by one of the newer neighbours and featuring her daughter, a local well-known singer, and another folk-singer friend passing through on a tour to raise money for cancer research.

It was a great opportunity to meet and chat with neighbours with whom we had only a nodding acquaintance, if that.

So, the hope is that our community will build up.

But communities do break down, whether local, national, and particularly international.

I’ve been reading the Book of Proverbs in the Bible - no, it’s not all one-liners like ‘a bird in the hand…’ or ‘too many cooks…’.

Deriving from the legendary wisdom of Solomon, it gives very sound advice, first of all to young people growing up and facing the world, then to rulers, and particularly to communities trying to work together.

There’s quite a bit about theft, and taking out unsustainable loans, and it’s quite frank about sex, relationships, and marriage and family breakdown, all of which is much more than a private matter but can lead to breakdown of a whole community.

There’s much needed advice on listening to both sides of a dispute and not being swayed by the loudest voice, and avoiding giving unnecessary offence while nevertheless striving to establish truth.

I think it was Billy Graham who said that everyday he read the Psalms to get to know God, and Proverbs to get to know his fellow human beings.