1 Lyndsey Serino Ms.

Erin Workman ENC 1101 Paper Two: Community Member Profile There are so many different communities in this world. Churches, sports, clubs, extra curricular activities, schools, neighborhoods, and occupancies are all different examples of communities. There may be different opinions on what exactly is considered a community, but what most communities do have in common is that it contains a group of people that live in the same area and share the same interests. The traits and interests its members possess will differ depending on the community. The traits may be positive, such as in a hospital community where doctors all share an interest in saving lives, or negative, such as when the New Orleans community shared many difficult traits and hardships after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their community. Communities exist for numerous reasons. Some have been around as long as we can remember. Church communities have been around for centuries and continue to exist because one generation passes on their faith to the next. College university communities have existed for a long time as well because people continually want to pursue an education, and the college community will all continually work to reach the same goal of getting a diploma. On the other hand, some communities are just now coming to be. A new club or extra curricular activity will create a new community with all of its members sharing the interest of the club or activity. Communities can be held together by a higher power, such as a mayor of the city or principal of the school, or equally between all of the individuals in the community.

2 A community that really interests me, because it has been a part of my life since birth, is the Catholic Church community in which my dads godfather and cousin, Frank, is actively a part of. Frank has been a big influence in my life especially in aspects involving my faith. While interviewing Frank I got a brand new perspective on this community. I was able to build my perception of the Catholic Church community by going to church almost every week and volunteering about once a year. Frank actively participates in the Catholic Church community, not only inside the church at mass but around the city in which he lives and even internationally on mission trips. He clearly sees this community in a whole different light than I do. The Catholic Church has affected him in ways I can only hope to one day be transformed. This community has influenced how he lives his life and the choices he makes in it. His relationship with the Catholic Church community is reflected in his every day life and he in turn reflects the interests and values of the community. I was already aware that the Catholic Church was a very active community but until speaking to Frank I had no idea how involved you can really be and what affect the community can have on you. Frank attends mass weekly, as do I, but for him that is only the beginning. He attends, and is a main part of, other parish activities. He leads fundraisers such as food drives and bake sales, and collects toys and school supplies to bring to children that are not as fortunate as those in his community. He is also a member of the choir. The fundraising committees and choir members that he spends countless hours with at events and rehearsals influence his faith to be stronger and the Catholic Church Community to play an even bigger role in his life because he is so involved. Frank is a candidate for a doctoral degree in theology. His involvement led him to pursue

3 this degree. It shows that Frank lets his faith shine even outside of the church community. He is also involved in interreligious and interfaith dialogue programs. Interfaith dialogue is a communication/collaboration between different sects of the same faith. Frank is working with a team of participants to create a documentary type presentation to promote the works of several participating universities in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. Frank has just completed a ministry in Kenya, Africa. Representing donor communities he visited children in slums, orphanages, and law clinics where conditions were beyond deplorable. Their faces- they say it all, Frank explains. Hundreds of kids, living in total oppression raised their weak voices and sang hymns for Frank and those who helped with him. The kids exhibit faith where one would think despair would be understandable. He plans to return again next year. He is also in preparation to do missionary work in a six-week program in Taiwan in the spring of 2014. Franks interaction with the Catholic Church community has clearly changed his perspective of the world around making him more grateful for things that others may take advantage of. He now appreciates the little things more in life after seeing how underprivileged others are and how blessed he truly is. Part of being a community is sharing common interests and traits. The Catholic Church community has many traits that they share with each other. The biggest trait would be faith. Frank explained to me that faith generates action. Since his faith is so strong he builds up other community members faith while they continue to build up his own. All of their faith combined will cause things to be done. For example, Franks community did a canned food drive last year. There are many places in New York, Franks hometown that could use canned foods and other non-perishable items. It would

4 be very difficult to feed them all, but with all of the combined faith and trust in God, themselves, and the other community members, many more places were provided with food than expected. Frank told me that those community members that do not actively participate offer support financially by donating money at mass and special events and in many other ways. He hopes that through our efforts a better world is possible and within reach. Frank reflects this Catholic Church community every day. It can be as simple as smiling at someone on the street or helping a neighbor with yard work. The Catholic Church community has taught him to show kindness and respect to everyone around him. It has also taught him to be more understanding as everyone may be fighting a tough battle that we are currently unaware of. Franks participation in this community has a long history. As a young boy he knew he wanted God to be the focal point in his life. His present understanding of faith has been deeply affected by the Catholic Church community, which in his case extends to my parish, many other parishes in which I either work, volunteer or attend functions, and the religious communities where I am studying for my degree. He has been handed many opportunities to interplay with the interreligious communities both here in the United States and internationally. Others can see by the way Frank acts and treats people that he is kind and shows qualities of the church community. They can see how he reflects the Catholic Church community just by spending time with him. My Catholic Church community shares the same morals and interests so I, and everyone else, can see how he reflects the traits. I asked Frank how he believed he would be different if he did not interact with the Catholic Church community. He explained to me how in some ways he does not think he

5 would be very different at all. This is because his parents were strong believers in the Catholic Church community. They believed in God, they loved Jesus and His message, but they respected all people regardless of the race, creed, color, or religious beliefs. His parents taught him the same traits as the Catholic Church community, but when he was old enough to really become involved in the community, his faith just became stronger. He believes that if he had been denied participation in his Catholic and Interfaith communities, he would probably be doing similar work and be drawn to similar activities and people. This goes to show that the person he was raised as made him an even stronger person and strive to be more active in his community. The Catholic Church community did allow him to see things in a new light after his trip to Kenya that he would not have seen if he were not a member. Frank would still be a person that shares the same traits as those that members of the Catholic Church community share if he were not in the Catholic Church community, but being in it makes his faith stronger and allows the other traits to shine more brightly than before and affect others. Community is a two way street; you must bring something to the community but at the same time you are getting something out of it. Frank brought in his faith and kindness toward all other people, and in turn the Catholic Church gave him an even stronger faith and opportunities to let it shine. Being a part of a community is more than just living in the same place and sharing common interests. You have to reflect the traits of the community and the community must also be reflected in you. Frank surely does possess the traits needed to be in the Catholic Church community. The community has brought him life changing opportunities that would not have been possible if he was not a member. His life and

6 perspective has been changed as he continues to strive to change the perspective of others to be more like his own to make the world a better place for all who live on it. Franks membership in the Catholic Church community has affected and allowed me, and everyone else he has affected, to see how being in this community has had such a great impact on his life and the way he lives it.