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As humans, we have many versions of community- the couple, the family, the village, the club, the church, the sport’s team and others. I would like to remind us of the community made through interactions with strangers.

The world is being confronted by a politics of Authoritarianism that seeks to make us feel alienated and targets the stranger as ‘other’.  Thankfully, we have ways to strengthen our community through small acts of kindness and friendliness. And it’s good for us to do so!

Science confirms that it is through community and belonging that we find courage to face life’s challenges. Random kind interactions with strangers increases serotonin which is the ‘feel good’ hormone; not only does the sense of well being within in us increase, the person we are friendly to also feels better, and not only that, a person who witnesses that act of kindness receives a boost! As well, our oxytocin increases. Oxytocin is nicknamed the ‘love hormone’ because it produces a sense of bonding with others. 

In a time when we are being manipulated to make enemies, we can resist in simple but powerful actions. Gestures of neighbourliness are a manifestation of unconditional love nourishing our communitiy; we have little or no idea of someone’s politics, or much about who they are as a person or their life circumstances. We cannot underestimate the power of the small. Our bodies rely not only on arteries and veins, we need tiny capillaries to keep our bodies alive, and likewise it is the small gestures, the smiles, the chats, the kind looks amongst us that supply a sense of love, belonging and hope.

Scripture

And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:19 

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Photograph - Cornelia Van Voorst 2025