In a time of violence and discord, division and chaos in our world, I often find myself wondering if there is any peace and true community left. People simply are not as kind as they used to be. Neighbors used to care about each other, people used to help each other, and, at one time, people had a far greater respect for each other, regardless of petty differences of opinion, political views, religious beliefs, or anything else. Those days seem long gone, but, in rare moments, they show themselves in the most uncanny ways.
Since my birth, I have belonged to Saint Mary's Catholic Church in my hometown of New York Mills, now called Sacred Heart-Saint Mary's after combining with another church. I was baptized there, I attended church there almost every weekend as a child, and to this day, I still go to mass there when I am home and need peace of mind and a simple escape from everyday life. However, it is not the church itself or mass which I wish to write about. Rather, every year we have a church festival with food, music, games, beer and all kinds of raffles and prizes to be had. All of the proceeds go to the church, and through this festival, we are able to keep the church afloat financially.
The true magic of this festival, however, is how it brings people together. I am writing this article on a Friday night, and earlier today I attended the festival. Whilst there, I danced, ate food, and had a great fun time. However, the most important thing, and the most beautiful thing I saw today at that festival, is how people, when not thrust into the hectic and chaotic everyday life and society which we all exist in, can simply be kind and caring to one another. Strangers danced with strangers, people sat down to enjoy a Polish meal with others whom they do not know the names of, but simply enjoyed sitting down and talking to. And as I stood and listened to the music, enjoying my time, I could not help but smile at the beauty of a true community. This experience opened my eyes to the fact that, deep down, most people are not inherently bad. When not faced with everyday issues, and when simply interacting with friends and neighbors, people still have the ability to care and enjoy one another.
I do not write this article to push religion on anybody, because religion has nothing to do with this. People of various faiths come and enjoy the festival. I write to urge people to once again adopt such practices, as to care about one another and be kind to one another. While I do not write to preach, Jesus himself in the Bible states, "As I have loved you, so should you love each other." This I take to heart: The only way for us to truly be able to grow and reform our world the way it should be, is to fight back against injustice and intolerance by showing love and compassion to all peoples. We are all simply humans who identify ourselves differently. No one man is naturally better than another, and we need to shed our preconceived notions of superiority over one another. The world can be great again if we make it so. The future is in our hands.
P.S. (That is not a picture of the church festival, I was unable to find one).
