I commented in this post about a reflection I had around being connected within a community, most especially in my role as an Elder at Northfield.

Last night, at our monthly Elder’s meeting I shared this reflection and facilitated a Towing the Line exercise as an illustration.

It’s a simple exercise. Stand in a circle. One person holds one end of a ball of string, and depending on the answer to a question, throws the ball to another person in the circle. Last night’s question was: who in this group do you feel most connected to? And so, a tangible network diagram emerges as people throw the ball of string to one another.

Here’s what it looks like from another group:

There was one comment made during the reflection of what the diagram mean to us as a group that stuck out for me. Brian said that he could “feel” his connections, and not only see them. He was struck by how the string allowed him to feel the movements of those connected to him.

I think this is powerful. Being connected is also about feeling each others movements, state of being, etc.

The challenge I guess is keeping that level of connectedness when you’re not physically present with a person.

This was the biggest reflection for us last night! As we sit down to talk about our church, town and community … how do we stay connected to them when they’re not even in the room and cannot “feel” their connectedness?