A Sense of Community by Rituals

A detailed Summary of A Sense of Community by Rituals


"In Christ, we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others"(Romans 12.5). From that

definition, human's innate need to bond together is apparent, providing the basis of a community. In the religious

sense, a community can be described as the interaction between a group of individuals. All communities need

distinguishing factors that not only unite the members in thought but also in action. Rituals within the community

are traits that provide just that. They help characterize and unite the group within the organization. In Religious

Worlds, William Paden describes the term ritual as a "form of expressive action." "It says things that cannot be

said as effectively in any other medium. It focuses, displays, enacts, creates, remembers and transforms" (Paden

120). Rituals, whether they are directly inside the church service or reaching beyond into the surrounding

community, have the ability to transform God's will into feasible actions. In Spring Hills Baptist church, a large

emphasis is placed on the community and it's rituals. In order to define the community within Spring Hills, one

must examine the rituals and service and how they relate to the larger w


finding outlets for her oppressed emotions of loneliness. Although Halloween, animals, dancing, fashion

always visible. There was a complete trust that aided in the binding of their personalities. Her days spent with the

relationship extends beyond Sunday morning, with talk of basketball games, children's activities, school

disfigurement and boys would laugh shamelessly as they pointed and blurted out insults. All of these experiences

Face, Lucy Grealy's struggle with cancer appeared minor in comparison to her feelings of repulsiveness because

out of her shell and let her true personality shine through. Behind a mask, she felt protected from any nasty

dancing at gay clubs. Being encompassed by homosexual males gave her a blanket of security: "No one took

congregation is more united. Their voices are louder and more prominent their energy is more directed towards

Lucy believed that not having a lover meant she was ultimately unlovable, and too ugly to ever get a

as bold and as happy as I felt that night?" (120). In the long run, she recognizes that people have to come to

The harshness of her peers did not end when she became older. Groups of drunken men would hoot at



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Approximate Word count = 3585
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics

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