When the canary in the coal mine ceases to sing, it tells the coal miner that something is wrong with the air. There is a lack of oxygen or there are toxins, and unless fresh air is introduced there will be calamity. Something needs to change. Similarly when the lonely old woman in a nursing home, the homeless man with mental illness and the young woman who comes to the point of selling her body on the streets are no longer "singing," we need to pay attention. I suggest that these highly sensitive and fragile individuals are our society’s "canaries." And many have lost their song.

[However, unless we have "heard" the song of these individuals in the first place, we will never recognize it when they stop singing. Instead we look for a professional diagnosis. Too quickly we identify a "dysfunction" or "pathology." Too slowly we understand that the real sin is that of exclusion from belonging.]

Psychologist Abraham Maslow, in his research and discovery about the human psyche identified that the need to belong is one of the fundamental needs that all humans share. We are created for connection to family, to friends, to a group and to a culture. As an organization we have chosen a name, Communitas, which expresses this connection, this belonging. Communitas, defined, describes an ideal community where there is an intense community spirit, the feeling of great social equality, solidarity, and togetherness. Our calling has been to connect with people who have been marginalized. It is to invite them to the table, into our homes and to join with our families. It is in this process of invitation that we discover the value of each individual and the great gift that each one brings.

We are called to work together to bring peace and to make this world a better place. Each of us has a part to play in this call. But it is not to work independently or alone. It is to work together with our sisters and brothers. It is to learn how to get along with each other and to work for the good of all.

Steve Thiessen, CEO

BACK