BUILDING TOGETHER: LESSONS FROM THE CATHEDRAL AT MILAN

“….for each one of us travelling alone, the aloneness draws closer like an overcoat being buttoned one button at a time.” — Bill Shore

About eight weeks ago, my friends and I gathered on a misty Sunday evening somewhere in Sinkor. For the first time, I arrived promptly; and then like raindrops falling one after the next, others trooped in. At 4 pm, eleven of us sat in a living room with dimmed light and snacks spread across the table under an ambience of warmth, humour, therapy, and strength within, while it stormed outside.

The group is no organisation; it is just a network of Liberians leading social change through community-based actions. We meet once a month to have conversations on a range of issues and things we read. We talk about our passions and challenges alike while exploring solutions through shared experiences. The gathering affords us a unique chance for networking and mental and emotional support. It further stimulates efforts in the work we all do and offers a platform for learning and growth.

We had been reading one of my most treasured works of art for the previous two months and met to talk about it primarily, among other things — “A Letter from the Cathedral at Milan” by Bill Shore. Within the two months, I talked about, I had read the four-page letter (over twenty times)…