From the President: Janet Onnie

April 2008

A few weeks ago I got a call from the Venice Gondolier asking for a VICA response to four questions. While I'm always inclined to hop to it when the press calls, once I heard the questions I felt that they deserved something more than a brief, off-the-cuff comment. So I sent them out to the VICA board and spent the rest of the week synthesizing their thoughts. Listed below are the questions and 'answers'. What are your answers? Please send them along to our editor, Don Hughes (mchug@verizon.net), so we can continue this important dialogue.

Q: What’s the greatest spiritual challenge facing our community today?

A: Overcoming our fear of the ‘other’. I sometimes suspect that people come to Venice to escape (or take a break from) the diversity of colors, languages, social-economic

classes, and cultures found in our larger cities. But the freedom we have to segregate ourselves into relatively risk-free zones comes with the penalty of spiritual loneliness

and isolation. That isolation is manifested in our pursuit of more ‘stuff’; more clothes, bigger cars and houses, a fuller schedule of leisure activities and entertainment options.

The faith community is not exempt from this fear. We are equally fearful of welcoming people unlike ourselves into our congregations, of rocking our denominational boats to

engage in community projects with and for people who may not share our belief system, and of risking our congregants’ displeasure if we speak too loudly or forcefully about painful social issues on which there is no easy or ready agreement.

Q: Why do you think Americans are so angry from road rage to nasty political campaigns. What’s the answer?

A: We are angry because we are largely disconnected from our personal and communal spiritual core at the same time we’re living in a Culture of Narcissism (Christopher Lasch, author). This orientation to ‘my rights’, ‘me first’ diminishes the concept of the communal good. To deepen our isolation we have leaders, supported by the media, who foster divisiveness in loud, simplistic, angry sound-bites. We pick up on this anger, and, in our loneliness and helplessness, we want to hit back, to blame. Rush Limbaugh isn’t popular because he’s a community builder. He’s popular because he assigns blame. One answer is to find and publicize models of energizing positive dialogue -- conversations where people put aside their personal agendas for a time and really listen to another person with the goal of reaching common ground. The Venice City Council has set a fine example of this model.

Q: What things should people consider when doing a spiritual check up on themselves?

A: Let’s first define what we mean as ‘spiritual’. Most of the VICA members agree that spirituality is where we, of all faiths and religions, meet to embrace what is common to

us and try to understand and accept what is different. At the core of the spiritual is relationship: with one’s self, with one’s neighbor, with one’s community, and with the Divine. So given the relational aspect of spirituality, the overarching question is: “Do I do to others as I would have them do to me?” Here’s some exercises to help answer that question.

a. Do I pray/meditate every day? Even 3 minutes reading a verse or paragraph form some inspirational book will help get you outside of yourself. Or consider the creation – a sunrise, a flower, a bird.

b. Do I ask someone how they’re doing and listen to the answer? Most people just want to be heard. It’s risky, but you’ll likely hear some amazing stories if you’re willing to listen.

c. Do I tell someone I love them? Or, if you can’t manage that, that you appreciate them? Saying the word, ‘thanks’ and then telling people how their thoughtfulness made you feel goes a long way to developing a sense of what’s really going on inside of you. (The advanced form of this is seeing God in someone with whom you have disagreement.)

d. Do I have a community of faith – a group of people I can be myself with? If not, you might want to look for a place where you feel comfortable. (If you can’t find it, call me.)

e. How do I feel when I go to bed? Try falling asleep counting all the good things that happened during the day.

Q: What role should the church play in meeting community needs?

A: A central role. In every single world religion there is a Divine mandate to treat your neighbor as you yourself wish to be treated. In the Judeo-Christian tradition this

treatment is called “loving your neighbor as yourself” and comes with a specific set of instructions: feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit those imprisoned, and care for the widows and orphans. It doesn’t say do all this only for people who look and act and believe as you do. Your neighbor is everyone. The faith

groups, then, are called to be aware of what is taking place outside their own walls, politically, social, and economically, so they can identify their neighbors in need and fulfill

that mandate. Community needs are met when the faith groups cooperate -- sharing their resources to serve and strengthen the entire community.

Janet Onnie, President

Venice Interfaith Community Association

Venice, Florida

Home   >  President's Comments