Still Redefining Community (Nii Addy)

Photo by Jeff Brown

I recently attended a work gathering, where I knew most of the people in the room. There was one person, a woman in her mid-50s, that I didn’t recognize. So I thought I’d be polite and introduce myself. Her response caught me off guard. “Oh, we’ve met before! We were on a group Zoom meeting together a few years ago.” I initially felt embarrassed that I didn’t remember her. Then I immediately thought, did we actually interact in that Zoom meeting? Does that even count as having met before?

This story represents just one small aspect of how community interactions have changed since the COVID pandemic. I wrote my “Redefining Community” blog post in March of 2020, when many schools, churches, businesses and other institutions were shutting down and avoiding in person gatherings. Everything felt like it was moving so quickly. As I wrote, 

“Group gatherings in university classrooms, offices, coffee shops, restaurants, concert halls, and churches have been replaced by Zoom and Skype meetings, online lectures, online church services, and even online dance parties.”

Now in 2025, it’s helpful to reflect on 2020 and consider what has changed. Looking back, what would I say to myself or to you in 2020? I’d start with two words. “Brace yourself.” Why? Because even while we were redefining community in March of 2020, that redefining would continue well beyond that moment. I’d tell myself to prepare for the unexpected ways community would change. 

Some of the ways we redefined community in 2020 were beneficial. We started using virtual platforms more effectively, whether text messaging, Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp or other resources. In the weeks and months after writing my blog, I noticed I was using these platforms more often, so I could stay connected with family, friends, work colleagues, and even new acquaintances. There were new, virtual social groups and small groups that formed. Church services were no longer limited to those who were in the same geographical location. As Christians, many of us were more frequently fellowshipping with people from across the country or from across the world. 

It was a creative way to live out Hebrews 10:25, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”

We unfortunately also found new ways to be divided—both in the church and in society. Division arose around a new set of issues. There were questions about how seriously we should consider the COVID pandemic? Should we get vaccinated or not? Should vaccination be mandated or not? Should we mask or not? Should we be allowed to gather in person or not? There was a racial reckoning that erupted, after the unjust killing of George Floyd and so many other people of color. And yet that reckoning also eventually shifted into an issue of divisiveness. Beyond that, the political divisiveness in the US has only grown and become more caustic in the 5 years since my original blog post. 

Where does that leave us now? Community has not fully returned to the way it was before the pandemic, and it likely never will. What has emerged in many places is a hybrid combination of virtual and in-person connections. There are still church small groups that meet virtually, with in-person gatherings sprinkled in. There are virtual support groups that have emerged and grown in popularity. Virtual therapy sessions have continued, which has been especially helpful amidst the increased mental health challenges that have continued beyond the pandemic. More and more people have taken on remote jobs, allowing them to relocate to areas where they are closer to family and other support systems. 

We’re still called to be in community, especially as Christians. So what do we do, as we’re still redefining community? No matter where we find ourselves in community (online, in-person, individually, in large group or small group settings), the question is still how do we engage? Do we engage with judgment, divisiveness, contention, and frustration? Or do we engage with grace, authenticity, vulnerability, and accountability?

As you ponder these questions, I’ll close the same way I closed my 2020 blog. We still need to heed the words in Hebrews—we must not neglect meeting together, but encourage one another as we are called. 

Nii Addy, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Carver Project.

Read Nii’s previous article from 2020: “Redefining Community”