On October 25, 2008, about 30 members of Brown Woodbrook spent the day working to come up with a list of core values. Number three on the list is compassion.
So what is "compassion" by our definition?
Ideally we will be able to summarize our definitions in two or three words. So that we will be able to say, "When BMWPC says 'compassion,' we mean X, Y, and Z." That kind of shorthand will help us stay focused. While anyone is welcome to comment on the values, that intitial group of 30 will be invited explicitly to do so and share their thinking as we work toward agreed definitions of the six core values.
It will be their agreement that will determine the final definitions. In the time we spent doing initial definitions, here is what that work group came up with:
Caring for each other.
Caring for the poor, hungry, etc.
Seeing need without judgement.
Giving out of love, not obligation.
Without borders or boundaries
And here are the concrete ideas that work group listed to put flesh on compassion:
Set personal agendas aside.
Pay attention to the homebound and others in our midst.
Find the next "Kidsake"
Get involved with BIN
Proactively help those in need.
See conflict resolution as compassion.
Share our mission stories/Stephen Ministries
So what do you think?
Click "Post a comment" below to join the conversation.
And remember January 17, 9 AM - noon is Definitions Day, when we'll gather in the Fellowship hall and hash out our definitions.
Thanks. Jamie
1 comment:
Compassion, as defined by one dictionary I consulted, is the “(d)eep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.” It is a noun defined by verbs. So – compassion is a feeling that is exhibited by our actions. We feel sympathy, empathy and concern for another person’s condition; we suffer with them. And the result is that we seek to lighten his or her burden.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we see compassion in action. The Samaritan had pity (compassion) for the robbed man and cared for him in his suffering. Jesus, who compassionately gave his life for us, tells us that his yoke (compassion) is easy and his burden is light (Matt. 11:30). We carry that yoke when we show compassion to our neighbors in need. Rather than tell us who our neighbor is in the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us how to behave as a neighbor – to respond with compassion.
So – our challenge is not to determine who is our neighbor in need. Instead, I hear Jesus saying that our responsibility is to respond as a neighbor when need appears before us. My belief is that we will see need wherever we look. We might see another member of our congregation who is ill or is grieving. We might see Baltimore City school children who lack school supplies. We might see men at Baltimore Station who are struggling to reestablish a healthy lifestyle and garner a living wage. We might see families in Kenya, Pakistan or in other nations who are tenaciously working to feed and clothe themselves despite endemic poverty. The possibilities are limitless.
We do not have to be constantly looking for need. If we do, then we cannot fully address ourselves to the need before us. In other words, we are not responsible to all need – just to the need that we first see and to which we can effectively respond. That is compassion.
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