Mapping the Heart
Mapping the Heart
Applied Theology in the Urban Environment 4
This is the last publication on a series I have called: applied theology in the urban environment. The last few essays have been fun to write. I remembered some stories, I called a few old friends, and chatted over text messages with some others. I have learned many things about my city. She became my teacher and reminded me of why I love her. If you have not been able to read the previous posts, click the links below to access them.
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in leading a study in one of the communities that I worked at. The community had been undergoing a difficult process. The leadership was struggling to bring everybody together. During the process, we mapped the hurt and the hope of the community. That helped tremendously in opening the space for conversation. However, when we got to the implementation of possible projects all hell broke loose. People started arguing with one another. Old rivalries and feuds came to the surface. The process came to a halt. This happened because people wanted their desires for their community to be fulfilled. People became obstacles to one another as they al tried to make their desires known.
One of the findings of the study showed that there were over thirty humanitarian non-for-profit organizations in a one mile radius. All of the organizations, including ours, were in direct competition with each other. We all had a desire for the community to be better. However, we all tried to make “our organization” the center of the community’s wants and needs. The organizational structures needed to be financially sustainable, and that created an even more hostile environment for collaboration. Competition was so fierce that even the people who benefited from the programs were divided against each other.
At that point in the study, it became clear that to move forward we needed to map the desires of the community. We had to map the heart of the people. They needed to express their desires for themselves, their community, and their neighbors. For, the heart of the community cannot be centered around the desires of one organization or individual. In other words, the desires of one person or institution shouldn’t define the heart of our communities.
There was no question about it. The work of listening was the path forward. And one thing we could all do as faith-based organizations was to use prayer as a way to ignite the positive imitation of one another.
My friend Fito was the one who took on the task of walking his community in prayer. In addition, he opened up the space for the leaders of different organizations to come together for a prayer time. One of the struggles Fito faced was that many organizational leaders did not think this was a productive use of their time. It is totally understandable, for prayer feels like a waste of time when poverty, violence, and lack are people’s daily experience.
As time went by, Fito persevered and other leaders kept showing up to the weekly prayer meeting that he convened. As a result, non-faith-based organizations started showing up to the prayer time. They did not become Christians. Prayer became a conduit for expressing desires, sorrows, and joys. This did not happen because of some magical divine intervention (yes, I am being a skeptic on divine providence here, and even Fito would disagree with me on this). I believe it occurred because Fito opened up a non-rivalrous space for people to openly speak their desires for the organizations they serve with and the communities they love. It has taken almost seven years to take the first steps in creating a community of desire that gets closer everyday to map the heart of the communities they serve. After many years, the leaders, community members, and non-for-profit workers have been able to articulate a clear desire for peace with justice in their community. As a result, they are pointing their efforts towards that end.
Mapping the heart of our cities and communities is difficult. The slow process of exploring what we want for our communities is more than just the sum of the hurt and hope that we experience. Knowing the heart of a place is an elusive task, for the heart can be deceitful. That is why mapping the heart requires that we embark on a communal cartography of discernment. In other words, there is a need to create a map to trace our desires and connect them to the larger context we inhabit. Let me repeat myself, the heart of the community cannot be centered around the desires of one organization or individual. It is a communal task.
What I learned from Fito is that we need to pray with eyes wide open as we walk our communities. We have to incarnate ourselves completely in our context so our eyes, ears, nose, our touch, and even our feet when we feel the ground become a stethoscope that listens to the beating heart of our neighbors. The truth is that we may never complete the map of our heart and desires. It is a life-long journey. We can trust however, that the Spirit speaks through our desires.
Reflection Questions:
As we come to finish our mapping process, leave a comment with your responses to the following questions.
What do you sense is one of your deepest desires?
How does it connect to the wellbeing of your neighbors and extended community?
Another solidly applicable article. Thank you.
1. What do you sense is one of your deepest desires?
One of my deepest desires is to see people treated as people rather than demographics to be bought, sold and marketed towards by the church; for our dignity as image bearers to be recognised resulting in honour, respect and submission to one another.
2. How does it connect to the wellbeing of your neighbors and extended community?
When each person is regarded with honour, respect and submission we throw out all controlling language when referring to one another. It frees a Catholic or Protestant up to be a person around their neighbours rather than a Prod or a Cathol. It opens up our hearts to one another to love and care for one another.
Gracias.