Community at the Cross

Confession: I had never belonged to a church small group before City Church. I didn’t see the need, really. I had always been surrounded by peers my age and community seemed easy enough to find.

Fast forward to a warm Tuesday night in 2015. We were in Houston, tackling my first ‘real’ job, as well as that most daunting of tasks—making friends as an adult.

My husband, Andrew, and I both come from large, Mediterranean families (think “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”). But living far from family has necessitated a reliance on friendships that, in turn, has shown us the beauty of community. We have found just such a loving community through our City Group! 

I love basketball. I love to watch, coach, and referee basketball. Last century, I actually played basketball.


But there’s one part of college basketball that I just don’t understand: the whistle huddle. Whenever a whistle is blown, the team rushes together, links arms, and starts talking over each other. I don’t understand. What are they talking about? They’ve watched tapes, read the scouting reports, and made a detailed plan. Why are they still talking?

In Cast Away (2000), the Tom Hanks-carried film that adapts the deserted island storyline to a modern age, something strange happens the moment our lead character (Chuck Noland) finds himself stranded on a shore in the South Pacific. The remarkable musical score, written by Alan Silvestri, is stripped away. For Chuck’s entire time on the island, you won’t hear so much as a piano key struck in the distance. His survival is marked not only by chalk lines cut into a cave wall, but also by intense, emotional silence.