Conversion, Commission, Compassion,

Yesterday we continued filming for ‘The School That Grew Wings’, a film about the history of The Seagull Theatre. I was involved with some interviews…

Folks shared matters close to their hearts… personal stories, enduring memories… community and friendship, lives changed for the better. I’m privileged to be part of this community.

I’ve been privileged to be part of a school and a church, both caring communities involving close relationships and lives changed for the better.

…Musing on Seagull, school and church communities…

Conversion

One woman we interviewed spoke of ‘becoming a Seagullian’. People spoke of being drawn in, becoming part of the Seagull family, friends they believed in, and belonged to…

In school we appointed staff who believed in the philosophy of community – and lived it, in and out of the classroom. At church our closest friends aren’t just attenders or observers, but are a ‘converted’ part of an active community.

Commission

Interviewees talked about the way The Seagull has changed them, giving them confidence, reassurance, stability… enabling them to work out their future.

…School and church communities can reasonably be measured not by what goes on within them, but how they change people to live their lives outside the establishment.

Compassion

Several folk got emotional in their interviews; the caring Seagull community had made a deep impact; many referred to it as their second home. One tearful interviewee said: ‘I’ve never worked at a place where people have cared so much’.

With both school and church, it’s about the nature of the community… when it’s inclusive, welcoming, humble, forgiving… when the values aspired to, match the way life is lived… when compassion is not an ideal but an action…

St Paul spoke of faith, hope and love… the faith of conversion – believing in a community; the hope of commission – both individual and community have a good future; the love of compassion – living out caring relationships…

Paul says the greatest of these is compassionate love…