a sense of community

1. A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
PRESENTED BY: JESSA AUTOR AND PRINCESS RANIDO

2. That is the part of the beauty of all literature.
You discover that the longings are universal
longings, that you’re not lonely and
Isolated from anyone. You belong.
- F.Scott Fritzgerd

3. By the end of this report you will be
able to understand how each
community works and the four
contributory factors and how it is
important to a community and how
each contributory factor affects the
community.

4. A. UNDERSTANDING HOW COMMUNITIES WORK
Communities do not just sprout up for no reason. Quoting the German
philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’ second principle, “there must be a
sufficient reason for its existence.” Checking the different researchers conducted
to justify the existence of communities’ one theory stands up against the test of
time.
Social psychologists McMillan and Chavis (1976) called this phenomenon the
“sense of community.” The theory was described in one sentence: “Sense of
community is a feeling that the members have of belonging, a feeling that
members matter to one another and to the group, and a share faith that
member’s needs will be met through their commitment to be together.”
(McMillan, 1976)

5. B. THE FOUR FACTORS
McMillan and Chavis (1976) expounded on
their theory by providing us with four
contributory factors. As you read them,
think about your community that you are a
part of. Are the four factors present in your
community.

6. MEMBERSHIP
This is the feeling of belonging or of sharing a sense of personal
relatedness. This concept includes the following:
Boundaries: How do people become members and what
are the boundaries keeping others out. Requirements are usually
proof of residence and payment of the corresponding
membership fee. For example, I am an active member of the
Untied Moonwalk Homeowners Village Association, Incorporated
(UMHVAI), Las Piñas City.

7. Emotional safety: By building boundaries and including the right people, we
create trust and a feeling of safety. Security guards are regularly manning the three
entrances and exits to my village; we also have barangay tanods and police outpost.
A sense of belonging and identification: Members feel that they are welcome,
they fit in, and that this is “our community.” Moonwalk Village is my community; I have
been residing here for almost 30 years now. This is a peaceful and caring community.
Personal community: Members contributions and sacrifices to the community
enhance their sense of community. We supported our priest financially in rebuilding the
church when it was gutted by the fire due to the firecrackers during the New Year’s Eve
Celebration. We have regular schedules for outreach programs.
A common symbol system: For Catholics, our parish symbol is the image of Mary
as The Immaculate Conception. Las Piñas City is represented with the logo of the Bamboo
Organ.

8. INFLUENCE
This is also understood as a sense of mattering. Its basis
is that is to work both ways, with members feeling that
they are influencing the community and the community
having influence over its members.
To sustain this factor, the community must create an
environment where members would feel that they have a
say in what happens. Having a regular meeting with the
majority of residents and involving them in planning and
implementation of things to be done to improve the
community is an excellent step to maintain influence. The
community needs simply to become a place that members
care. It has to improve them with values/vision that they
do not want to lose.

9. INTEGRATION AND FULFILLMENT OF NEEDS
In essence, this means that by becoming a member of a community, that the
member gets what he/she hoped to get by joining.
This reinforces the idea hat one’s community, like any other product, needs to
solve a problem/concern for its members to make it worth their time and
contribution.
The community must strive to attain/sustain something which is more tangible
like a sense of belonging, a support network that provides care and security, even
being there for casual conversation, or for providing inspiration. Members need to
feel “rewarded” in some ways for their active participation to continue to reside and
contribute to their community. Hence, it is really of prime importance that leaders
need to talk to their members to get a excellent idea of who they are. Then, you can
understand their needs and plan on how the community can best serve them.

10. SHARED EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
All communities, being made up of persons, have their unique story. Members
will have a history of experiences together while they are in a community – they
will talk about weddings, baptism, birthday celebrations, school and sports
activities that they shared together. Also, they would develop the belief that there
are more meaningful experiences together in the future. It is nice to stay in this
community, I belong here.
These experiences from a long lasting, emotional connection among members.
I remembered meeting some of my friends during the seminary days at Mount
Carmel Seminary (Sariaya, Quezon) and St. Francis Major Seminary (Marauoy, Lipa
City) after 35 years and for about 4 hours we were talking about our seminary life
as if it happened only yesterday. Experiencing a deep shared emotional connection
is amazing. Maybe because of this “special connection” that sociologist would
claim that this factor is the “definitive element for true community.”