12 November 2014
Introduction
I have worked in the area of community
development for most of my life. I have experienced at first hand the journey
that this entails for all those involved. It is a journey that confronts the community
development worker with life-sapping obstacles such as isolation, poverty,
exclusion, poor housing, poor education, lack of life- enhancing opportunities,
severe family disruptions, the heavy toll of different addictions and all the
other symptoms of systemic dysfunction and malaise. It is a journey in which
the worker listens to and builds up relationships with individuals whose
personal problems are more than just their own problems. It is a journey in
which the worker is invited to negotiate the intertwining circles of the
personal, interpersonal, systemic and cosmic levels of life and to make
connections between them.
I have also experienced the commitment,
passion, spirit, drive and vision of community workers to strive for change for
a more just, equal and compassionate society. They are people who are filled
with a strong desire to create a sense of community where individuals and
families are empowered to grow to their potential, to have their human needs
met and to feel that they belong.
These workers are human. Their work is
challenging. It is all the more so now, carried out against the background of
an ever more emerging neo-liberal value system that favours the strongest and
most powerful individuals and corporations at the expense of the weakest and
most vulnerable; that propagates a privatization process at the expense of what
is communitarian and common; that kneels at the feet of the god of consumerism
by putting people before profit and that inexorably moves our planet in the
direction of ecological collapse.
Community workers are up against it. How can
they keep going? What will sustain them? How will they nurture their vision?
Where will they get food for the journey? What will prevent them from losing
their faith and hope? What will help them to persevere on the long road ahead?
My sense is that community development work
is a very spiritual one. It is also my sense that this aspect is not valued,
understood or nurtured sufficiently by community development workers or their
managers or indeed by the academic institutions that train them. This what I
set out to explore in my thesis. I will outline my findings and some proposals
arising from them.
A
questionnaire among community development workers.
I carried out a questionnaire among the
majority of professional community workers in a community – Rialto – in south
inner city Dublin, Ireland. I surveyed 33 development workers of a total of
approximately 40. Rialto is a community that has long been associated with the
different social indicators of poverty. The workers who participated in the
questionnaire work with either young people at risk or individuals along with
their families struggling with addiction, health problems, housing issues, poor
educational attainment, unemployment, anti-social activities, etc. They approach
their work from a community development perspective, believing that a holistic
response is needed – one that holds that the problems and difficulties that
people have are indeed theirs and have to be owned by them and responded to at
a personal level but also understand that, all too often, their problems are
also systemic and so have to be especially addressed at that level in order for
meaningful change to occur.
The purpose of the research after initially
getting a sense of their work and qualifications, was to get an insight into -
(a) their vision, values and philosophy; (b) what give them energy and hope;
(c) what are their challenges to holding on to their vision, etc.; (d) how
would they define spirituality? ; (e) accepting the following as a definition
of spirituality –‘Spirituality is the
relationship between one’s spirit (or that of a group) with all of reality’
(spirit standing for that search for meaning, connection, love, freedom, etc.) - would they see a role or place for
spirituality in their work?; (f) how do they see that role now being expressed;
(g) How could that spirituality be better carried out in practical ways their work?;
(h) what has been the part of God, religion or specific spirituality in their
work?; (I) How do they rate spirituality in their work and what final insights
and comments do they have? (See Questionnaire in appendix 1)
The notion of journey has always been
associated with the spiritual quest. Carrying out this survey has indeed been a
journey for me! This paper is about sharing this journey.
On initially approached, I sensed among the
participants a general reluctance and hesitancy to explore the whole area of
spirituality. It had to do generally with their association of spirituality
with religion. Many referred to a difficultly they had with religion as an
institution and that they had moved on from ‘organised religion’. However
having explained the purpose of my survey as explained above they were all
willing to partake.
My main ‘findings’. (See Appendices 2 - 14 for
detailed break-down) The vast majority espoused the values of justice, equality
and empowerment and a large proportion alluded to the importance of compassion,
empathy and of being non-judgmental. The following were named as the main
sources of energy and hope – experiencing people reaching their potential and
development and in having trusting and caring relationships. The very clear
majority of respondents held that the main challenge to their sense of hope,
vision and value system was the external to them. They made reference to
government-led austerity packages, bureaucratic and management demands, the
capitalist system, etc. A minority of
workers made a reference to internal challenges such as personal difficulties
and boundaries. When asked to attempt a
definition of spirituality it was felt generally that it had something to do
with peace, love, positivity and awareness. This was further broken down by
some who associated it with a sense of connectivity with self, others or nature’. Others
linked it a relationship to a personal God or Higher Power or to a specific
spiritual practice. Interestingly when asked if they were happy with the definition
of spirituality as noted above and, if so, whether a spirituality, understood
in that manner, was relevant to their work and had a role in it, a very
conclusive majority answered in the affirmative. They saw that role of spirituality,
in the main, being expressed through caring and trusting relationships. A
lesser number here referred to practicing different exercises such as having
quiet times, awareness, mindfulness and breathing exercises and nurturing
rituals. When questioned on what practical steps would help to bring a more
spiritual focus on their work, the vast majority made reference to the
importance of building-in times for mindfulness, awareness, soul/nourishment
days, etc. When asked about the place of God, religion or specific spirituality,
many made reference again to their problem with organised religion. While some
gained strength and nourishment from an experience with a Personal God and from
Christian values many made reference again at this juncture to a spirituality
fed by quiet times and awareness exercises. Towards the end of the
questionnaire people seemed to come very alive when asked to share a poem, a
saying, a book, a person, etc. that were a source of inspiration for them. And
they became even more fully animated at the final invitation to add a comment
or further insight.
What
I have learned
I
have had the experience to spend quality time with a group of professional
community workers in a given area of Dublin. Their work in the community is
intense and is deeply immersed in the drama of people’s lives. They have been
engaged in their community work for sustained lengths of time. The average length
of time is 14 years. They are very highly experienced and professionally
qualified (See Appendix 4). They aspire to the highest values of empowerment
and justice and are energised by a sense of hope and by witnessing meaningful
change and growth in peoples’ lives. Although initially hesitant and unsure
about the place of spirituality in their work they readily accepted the definition
of spirituality as the relationship between one’s spirit and all of reality and
recognise it, thus understood, as having a central role in their work. Towards
the end of the survey the overwhelming majority become enthused about spirituality and its relationship with
community development work and believed that it was an important area to follow
up on. There was a recognition that spirituality was inner work and that it
needs to be addressed and nurtured. Some areas of caution that stood out for me
need note. Firstly is my sense that the
connection between this inner spiritual work and justice/empowerment work was
not sufficiently appreciated or owned. Secondly, is the understanding that people’s
energy and hope were very much dependent on external factors and forces rather
than on inner strengths and resources
Spirituality and Justice Work
And this leads me thus to say something about
spirituality and the work of justice and
to clarify the link between them.
There are a few different definitions of
spirituality that speak to me. It was the
Latin American liberation theologian Jon Sobrino who put forward the above
definition of spirituality. It is simply
the spirit of a subject – an individual or a group – in its relationship with
the whole of reality. Spirit here stands for that dimension in us that allows
us to love, to have values, to hope and be free, etc.’ *This relationship
involves three aspects, which are fundamental features of any expression or
format of spirituality. They are: - a) being totally honest with the reality of
life; b) fidelity to this reality and c) being open and willing to be moved by
the ‘more than of life” (P.13ff: Jon Sobrino: ‘Spirituality of Liberation – towards political holiness: Orbis books:
1989:) Honesty with reality is the starting point. This honesty with the
reality of life is, for example, seen as the bedrock of the 12-step AA
programme that is in essence a spiritual journey. ‘We admitted that we are powerless over our addiction, that our lives
had become unmanageable….We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of
ourselves….’ (Alcoholics Anonymous –
The Big Book: New York AA World Services Inc. 1993 and 12 Steps and 12 Traditions:
1991) When you embrace the reality of life you become aware of an invite to say
yes to what is life- affirming and no to what is life-denying. This then
leads to the second aspect. Saying yes
to what is positive and no to what is
negative comes at a cost. This cost calls for perseverance and persistence. As
Calvin Coolidge put it – ‘nothing in this world can take the place of
persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with
talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will
not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination
alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will always solve
the problems of the human race’. Sobrino refers to the third dimension as the
‘willingness to be carried along by the ‘more than of reality’. When we say yes to life, following an honest
encounter with reality and persevere in our faithfulness to this choice of
life, we accept or intuit that there is ‘more to life’ than we can see. There
is hope. But this hope is not just a passive sentiment. It calls for active
involvement and partnership on our part. Mackey speaking of this in biblical
images says that the ‘one true divine
Creator creates all creatures so as to be co-creators with God and with and of
the others’. (P.96: James Mackey: Christianity
and Creation: Continuum: 2006 :) Although ‘we truly hope for the life of
the world only if we bestow life on the world’, we are also swept along by
life’s gift of transcendence – ‘the more than of life’. (ibid, Sobrino: p.19).
To say that this hope is an active one is to say that it is fundamentally all
about love and compassion.
I have also found Sandra Schneider’s
definition of spirituality very insightful and helpful. (P. 73: Beyond Patching: faith and feminism in the
Catholic Church: Paulist Press: 1991 :) She understands it as ‘the experience of consciously striving to
integrate one’s life in terms, not of isolation and self-absorption but of
self-transcendence towards the ultimate value one perceives. The essential
elements are – (a) a conscious decision and effort; (b) to embark on a journey,
involving life integration leading to the experience of self-transcendence; (c)
by means of a commitment and faithfulness to an ultimate cause and its values.
Finally, I like what Mike Bells writes on
Spirituality. It is, he says, a place within us where we ponder the great
questions of life; where we learn to have dreams and visions; where we
encounter reality and relevance; where we give full reign to our consciousness
and mindfulness; where we practice prayer or draw on concepts or images of the
inner world; where we go to for strength and courage, especially in times of critical
transitions in life. It is a place of ritual and deep and meaningful
celebration of life; a place to foster hope and lastly and especially a place of
connection and communion. (P. 9: Cosmology and the Ecozoic Society:
Cosmology and the Ecozoic Society: Number 1: 2008. – a publication of the
Centre of Ecozoic Studies)
And now to add something about Community and
Community Development Work. The following summary is one that the questionnaire
participants would be happy with.
·
“Radical community Development Work is committed to collective action
for social and environmental justice.
·
This begins in a process of empowerment through critical consciousness,
and grows through participation in local issues.
·
A critical approach calls for an analysis of power and discrimination in
society.
·
The analysis needs to be understood in relation to dominant ideas and
the wider political context.
·
Collective action, based on this analysis, focuses on the root causes of
discrimination rather than on the symptoms.” (P.1:
Margaret Ledwith: Community Development –
A critical approach: The Policy Press: 2007)
Mike Bells beautifully describes community
development in a less academic way by saying that it is a process “that helps a community become healthy
through the strengthening or restoration of primary relationships. It does this
by building the community’s capacity to recognize and build upon its strengths,
plan for its future and deal with its problems”. By primary relationships
he means the relationships of individuals and groups with the land, the
universe, with their inner spirit and aspirations, with one’s family,
community, and organizations and institutions. He names this as the Spirit
Paradigm of community development. (P. 34f: The
Changing Face of Community Development in the North: From the Power Paradigm to
the Spirit Paradigm: An Essay: Inukshuk Management Consultants: 1999)
Community development is basically all about
a process or a journey with the aim to bring about change, equality and
justice. It requires deep listening, dialogue, participation,
consciousness-raising, empowerment, partnership, self-help, a bottom-up
approach and shared leadership. It calls for constant reflective action. It is
energised by people who are committed to a more just world, have deep values
concerning justice, equality and empowerment. It calls for creativity,
imagination and clarity of purpose. Vision, compassion and hope are central. A
methodology and a belief in a whole systems approach, embracing the personal,
interpersonal and wider world dimensions is essential. And lastly the
practitioner is called to be the change that he or she is advocating and
championing.
Cross-over
It is clear to me that there is a big
cross-over between spirituality and community development work. They are both
concerned with journey and process. Sobrino named honesty, fidelity and
persistence and an accompanied hope as basic elements of all spirituality. They
are too key elements in community work. All of the respondents, despite their
initial hesitancy and uncomfortableness with linking spirituality with their
work, enthusiastically embraced his definition of spirituality as the relationship
between the spirit - (understand as the dimension in us that allows for the
search for meaning, integrity and connection and it is about loving and being
free) - of an individual or of a group with all of reality. As the questionnaire proceeded all the
respondents became more alive and enthusiastic in exploring this spiritual dimension
of their work. (See especially appendix 12 and 13.) Schneiders’ take on spirituality
as the conscious decision to integrate one’s life not in terms of isolation and
self-absorption but of self-transcendence towards the ultimate value one
preserves, is seen very much in the very high value that was placed by the
workers in their striving for justice, equality and compassion. They were
themselves empowered and transformed by experiencing the deep change and growth
of others.
*Spirituality, like community development, is
all about connecting and relating. Mystics are those who have a heightened
sense of unity and oneness. A modern mystic Willigis Jager says that true humanism
can never be achieved in a technical, mechanistic and commandments-based way
but ‘only through a mystical experience of our unity with all of existence’.
And he goes on to hold that while we all need rules and the acceptance of
responsibilities in order to live sensible in society, rules are not enough. ‘A true transformation of the human being
can only come from the depths of our being’. (P. XV111: Willigis Jager: Mysticism for Modern Times:
Liguori/Triumph: 2006:) I have referred above to self-transcendence and the
‘more than of life’ and the link between them and the efforts at integration at
personal, societal and environmental
levels; being honest with what is real, perseverance and partnering hope. The Centre for Action and Contemplation,
in Albuquerque and associated with Richard Rohr, advocates a simple message – the work of justice that the world is crying
out for needs to be carried out and accompanied by a contemplative practice. My
understanding of this is that the ‘doing of justice’, the working for change at
structural levels needs to embrace the following – personal transformation;
avoidance of the dualistic mentality and ‘either/or’
philosophy that lies behind many of our world difficulties and acceptance of a
universe that is understood in a holistic manner – where the whole is not the
sum of the different parts, where mystery and wonder is honoured and where
there is space for ‘both/and’ and
paradox. Community development work needs this kind of spirituality. Bell bring
them nicely together. In doing so he makes a distinction between the Power Paradigm and Spirit Paradigm of community development.
|
“Category
|
Power Paradigm
|
Spirit Paradigm
|
|
Community
|
A place
|
A relationship
|
|
A developed
community
|
An economically
developed community
|
A Healthy community
|
|
Characteristics of
a developed community
|
Jobs, business,
infrastructure, services, control of services, economic opportunities
|
Strong primary
relationships in balance: relations with the land, one’s individual spirit,
the family, organizations (including workplaces), etc...
|
|
Obstacles to
Development
|
Lack of resources
and control over resources
|
Social conflict,
illness, addictions, loss of identity, loss of culture and spirituality,
inadequate knowledge and learning.
|
|
Objectives
|
Acquire power and
resources to develop jobs and business; control of service sector
|
Renew Spirit an
strengthen primary relationships through healing, learning and personal
development
|
|
Strategy
|
Identify problems
and work out solutions
|
Identify assets and
build capacity
|
|
Organizational
structures
|
Determined by the
requirements of government or corporate systems – Form follows Function
|
Ideally, determined
or at least influenced by the requirements of culture and tradition –
Form follows
Spirit.
|
|
Prerequisite for
success
|
Education and
Training
|
Knowledge and
Learning”
|
(ibid: P.39)
The
power paradigm of community development is of course
needed for educational and employment purposes and for provision of other basic
human needs. The Spirit Paradigm however
covers aspects that the Power Paradigm
does not or is not able to deal with. It emphasises building community rather
than building communities. Instead of developing services and business it
develops relationships so that people can properly avail of them. “In a word, the Spirit Paradigm is all about
capacity building, so that people can develop their own communities. It spends
its energies developing the essential capacities of visioning, leadership,
learning and healing. It links the development of the community to pride in its
past, recognition and respect for its present capacities, and a realistic hope
in the future”. This is very akin to that understanding of community
development of my respondents.
This type of community development needs to
be accompanied by a spirituality. The community development of my interviewees
is all about relationships, compassionate listening and dialogue, centrality of
visioning and a holding of values of justice and equality. It demands
persistence, courage and risk-taking. It is not easy work. It demands a lot of
energy and inner strength. People are human and can burn out. The respondents strongly
sensed this towards the end of the questionnaire by stating overwhelming that
there was a need for the setting aside of spaces and times within the workplace
for inner work, mindfulness, breathing practices and periods of reflection and
contemplation. (See appendix 11.) Their final comments spoke eloquently and
enthusiastically about the importance of developing spaces and places for a
spirituality in their community work. (Appendix 12 and 13.) This is all the
more important in light of their overwhelming understanding of the biggest
challenges they faced in their work. They saw their most serious threats as
residing outside of them – in the ‘system’, the demands of bureaucracy, etc.
This, all the more, emphasises and underlines the great need for them build on
their inner strengths. Spirituality would address this. This inner work will
also bring them to that place where all are equal. It will provide the base for
personal transformation and change. It will hold them in that space of unity
and compassion. It will provide the platform needed to be fired for justice
work and for sustenance in it. It calls for a planned response from both
workers and managers. It calls for spirituality to be embraced, planned for and
accepted as a core element in community development work.
Some
suggestions, pointers and proposals into the future.
Community development is about journey and
process as is spirituality. My proposals arising from my study and survey are
to be undertaken also as a journey. I see them as something emerging. I will
keep them short and simple. I share them with a sense of expectancy.
1.
Developing and experimenting
with a spirituality practice with Rialto Youth Project, (RYP) Rialto, Dublin. RYP works with young people at risk in the community. It was founded
in 1981. It has 15 professional youth workers. It is managed by a voluntary
management committee, of which I am a member. As a project, it places a lot of
emphasis on art and creativity, music, dance, street performance, story-telling
and a range of after-school activities. It is pioneering linkages between the
informal and formal education systems. Its political commitments arise from a
belief in equality and a need to challenge social injustice. Its culture is
non-hierarchical and values the providing of a safe, welcoming space. It’s
eight ways of doing things are -cooperation and collaboration; the power of art
and creativity; critical reflection and evaluation; best practice and what works;
learning through risk taking, value of process; a needs orientated approach and
that as a project they are a work in progress.
Following carrying
out the questionnaire, the manager of the RYP requested that I work with his
team to develop a spirituality for the project and to oversee and facilitate
the process. My hope is that we may develop a model of best practice in the
area of spirituality and community work. I am happy to be embarking on this
journey and am looking forward to what will emerge and to what it will led to
in subsequent conversations with other community organisations. I regard this proposal as my basic one. It
will be a time of learning, experimentation, a spiritual journey and a pointer
to practical ways forward in the intersection between spirituality and
community development. It will also inform the subsequent suggestions.
2.
Initiating conversations
with Institutions and Universities that train and educate community development
workers. It is my understanding that spirituality
does not feature much, if at all, in their teaching methodology and practice. I will be advocating for and promoting its
inclusion.
3.
Promotion of the centrality
of The Universe Story as a key
feature of community development work and
spirituality. Justice work needs be
positioned against the background of creation, evolution and environmental
issues. There is a vital need in religion to adapt its concepts and language
about God and the divine in the light of scientific and evolutionary insights. The
language of community work must likewise adapt. Many of the participants made
reference to a spirituality that involves connecting more with nature. The Big Story of our universe needs to
become ever more central to justice work. We can no longer do justice work without doing
nature work. Working for a sustainable environment and for the preservation of
our universe is essentially a task of spirituality and of justice. They are
intrinsically linked. I intend to take every opportunity to highlight the
connection between community development work, justice work and The Universe
Story.
4.
Facilitation and development
of meaningful life-celebrations and rituals for community development
organisations and community groups. I
have been involved for many years in a ministry that has involved facilitating
community ‘soul-days’, yearly ‘Friends Remembering Friends’ in honour of the
vast number of young people who have died in the community because of drugs and
AIDs related illnesses, contemplative sessions and breathing practices. I plan
to continue this ministry. (See appendix 14 for some sample work.)
5.
Nurturing my own specific
spirituality in the Christian Community by
facilitating participative Eucharists, by promoting at every opportunity and
from a Christian perspective the link between contemplation and social
activism, by honouring the memory of Jesus that is both sacred and subversive
and helping to realise the Kingdom of God
message of Jesus, which Diarmuid O’Murchu says is best translated as ‘the companionship of empowerment’.
Ending with a story………….
I very recently
participated in an interview panel for a youth worker post with the Rialto
Youth Project. ‘Seamus’ was one of
the interviewees. He told us how he got into the youth worker field. He had his
own business and had people working for him. He had property and money. By
chance he was invited to attend an open community event for young people.
Following an encounter there with a troublesome young person, something stirred
within him. He became unsettled. In time he left his life-style behind. He
walked away from his comfort zone. We went to college and became a community
youth worker. He told us that following his initial experience with that
troublesome young person at the community day, he became aware ‘of an
unpolished diamond’ within himself. He has come to understand his journey as
the process of polishing that diamond and doing the same for others. He spoke
eloquently of empowering young people and of the importance of understanding
their lives from a systemic perspective. He was on fire with compassion, hope
and love. It all came from that diamond
within. Polishing that diamond is what spirituality is all about. It is
about coming into that space within – at a personal level. It is also about
coming into that space that we share in common. In some mysterious way what is
most true of me is most true of all. I see my ministry as helping to polish
that ‘inner diamond’. The above proposals are practical ways to do so. It is a
journey and I am looking forward to it. I started on a quest and it is leading
me on another one.
(This article is from Tony Mac Carthaigh's Doctor of. Ministry Project and published with permission of author)
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