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Septmeber 2006
Pulling Together
Dear Friends,
Small rural towns are known for a lot of things. There is a perception on the outside that small towns are typically more friendly.
There is a perception from outsiders that we live in an isolated, idyllic, slow, pastoral society that is somehow removed from the fast-paced, round-the-clock real world out there somewhere.
There is the perception that we who reside in rural areas and in small towns have a deep faith in God and a unique respect for a moral life, that there is less crime and less trouble in a small town than in other places.
These are just a few perceptions I’ve heard from folks who live elsewhere. They look at what we have in our open skies, far-reaching horizons, rolling hills and hometown folksiness and wish they could have part of that in their lives.
But we all know that some of these perceptions are not entirely true all the time. I agree that we are a faith-filled people and that we are centered upon priorities set up by the Almighty.
But with Internet, satellite TV and quick car travel about anywhere, we are no longer all that isolated from the real world. Our lives in rural areas, because we often have to wear many hats in one community, are sometimes downright hectic. On the other hand, to survive and produce a special quality of life, most folks have made volunteerism a keystone of their lives.
While we are probably more friendly than folks living in some other places, we have been known as a group to sometimes be a little suspicious of outsiders and perhaps not as welcoming to others as we probably would like folks to think.
If someone new sits in "our" pew in church or someone from a neighboring community stands in front of us in line at the grocery store, we might give them what they might interpret as a cold stare instead of a warm smile.
I’ve heard more than one newcomer complain that they received a less than "open arms" welcome when they first moved into one rural community or another in our region.
While we might be a little slow to change and may not always be as welcoming as we probably could be, I think as a rural people we do often pull together when things get tough.
When tragedy strikes a family in our church or community, people often pull together and rally around them, wrapping the afflicted up in a comfortable protective blanket of community.
When a neighboring farmer is ill or has passed away, how often we see his friends, family and other farmers around come to the rescue to help harvest the crops.
So when it is really important, in matters of life and death, faith and family, for all of our imperfections, we pull together, work together and protect one another in the true sense of community spirit. And that my friends is not a perception, but a known fact.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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