If we’re not in community with other people, it’s much easier to throw rocks at each other.” - John Crowley, Aqus Community Foundation.
Perhaps you’ve had the opportunity to travel to England or Ireland and experienced it first hand. You step inside a darkly lit room, hard wood paneling defines the space. You step up to the bar, littered with glasses, beer taps and warm bodies waiting to be served. The walls are filled with dozens of yellowing photographs, framed football kits and requisite Guinness signs. Around you, a couple dozen unfamiliar friendly faces, but. strangers, the saying goes, are just friends you haven’t met yet. The match is on, conversation reverberates in the air, and before you know it, people start singing.
“I worked in my father’s pub when I was a kid, “ says John Crowley, a native of Dublin, Ireland. “I really fell in love with it —with the community aspect of it, and I missed it when I got here.” When he emigrated to the United States, it was one of the things he longed for, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t seem to find. Sure, there were great bars and restaurants —he was in the San Francisco Bay Area after all, but he couldn’t find the sense of community reminiscent of his formative years.
Twenty five years ago, Crowley read Bowling Alone, and it changed his life. The book was about the power of social connection, asking the question, Where is our social capital? Where are the networks in community that bind it together and make is stronger? Unable to find it in his new home, he went about trying to create it. He invited people to join him in conversation at a local restaurant. The topic? What was the last postcard you received?
That night, he waited to see what would happen. A couple of new acquaintances arrived. As they sat and chatted, a few others joined. And then a few more. A social quorum emerged., and as they sat and chatted, the threads of community began to emerge. The rest, as they say, is history.
“What happens to society when we withdraw into our own homes and we’re not a part of clubs, churches, organizations? One thing,” says John Crowley, “Is we get really lonely and loneliness can lead to some really strange places. [In his film Join or Die, Robert Putnam] draws the connection between loneliness and fascism —[that’s where you find] a great source of people who are disgruntled and unhappy with the system. this is what is happening right before our eyes right now.”
From the seeds of those early conversations, to a lifetime of dedication to building social connection, John Crowley has dedicated his life to expanding social capital. Along with British American business partner Lesley McCullaugh, he is the the owner of Aqus Cafe and founder of Aqus Community Foundation, a nonprofit focused on building a community connection that provides a sense of belonging and encourages people to invest in where they live.
As you listen, consider:
Where are the places of connection in your community?
What clubs, organization, churches or other social networks do you belong to? How do they impact your sense of community?
What is one step you can take today to expand your connection to your community? Who is one person you can invite to join you?