Horizons: Moderator Message
Showing Up!
“Showing up,” a term popularized in a 2022 movie by the same name was also the subject of a recent article in the New York Times by Melissa Kirsch titled “Following Through.” In it she argues that showing up is what builds community. She points out that cancelling or avoiding a commitment to see someone may provide a temporary sense of relief from the grinding obligations of daily life. But it doesn’t build the kind of human relationships you get when you are face-to-face.
Kirsch goes on to cite a guest article two years earlier by Brad Stulberg for the Times Opinion, who also emphasizes the community building nature of showing up. At one time organized religion was the focal point of building community. We saw the same people every week and often stood beside them doing church volunteer work, which in itself created community, particularly in service to others. Showing up is an obligation, of course, and often we feel overburdened by it. We also know that to many people organized religion is of less importance and an easily dismissed obligation compared to sports and social obligations. I am not dismissing either of the last two; there could be a balance with going to church. As Stulberg concludes “If you aren’t expected anywhere from week to week for something requiring your attendance — outside of your financial obligations — fewer people will miss you.” I find that enlightening. And for many, religion provides a missing component that the other two don’t.
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David von Loesecke, Moderator