No, I’m not telling you about updated protocols. We’re still working with the same plans you’ve been hearing about for gathering in person. But I got a COVID booster shot last week, and it has me thinking about community.

I know very little about how vaccinations work. I’m not that kind of doctor. What I do know is that they activate the body’s immune system. Which is another way of saying, they help the body set healthy boundaries.

When they’re working well, the white blood cells in my body differentiate between what’s me and what’s not me. They try to remove the part that’s not me, so that the part that is me can be happy and healthy. Vaccines help the white blood cells recognize some of those specific things that are “not me.”  

That’s an oversimplification, but it’s exactly what boundaries do in our lives and in our communities. Boundaries define who we are. Or at least who we aspire to be. And behaviors that are outside of those boundaries are not who we aspire to be. (Remember, boundaries are about behaviors, not about individuals.)

So, setting clear boundaries is like vaccinating a community. Clear boundaries help everyone see what behaviors reflect who we are, and what behaviors don’t fit with that community identity.

When a community can agree on a set of mutual boundaries that apply consistently to everyone, that might even be a covenant. A single boundary might be like a well-defined shoulder. But a covenant is like a whole well-defined organism.

So, what’s the immune system in this metaphor? If clear boundaries and covenants are like vaccinations that help define who we are (or at least who we aspire to be), then what preserves the well-being of that well-defined community?

I think that would be us. We are the immune system of the community.

If we make wise mutual promises that define the community we aspire to be, we know which behaviors are “us” and which behaviors are “not us.” When we humbly and vulnerably course correct when we catch ourselves behaving outside of those boundaries, we act as the immune system for the whole community. When we gently and compassionately refuse to accept the behaviors that are outside those boundaries, we act as the immune system of our community. When we say, “That behavior is not us. This other behavior is us,” we keep the well-defined organism healthy.

Sure, some communities do that without bothering to be gentle and compassionate about it. But I’m imagining that we can define who we want to be and remain grounded and centered as we hold that vision with integrity.

Does that require a bit of work? Absolutely. It might just be the essential work of beloved community. Learning to be the immune system of a well-defined organism.

Rev. Randy Partain

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