Society's growing larger, but we're not necessarily growing closer. Individualism has led people to gather together, but somehow lose touch as a community.   It's just so easy to text or twitter, yet we pass someone on the street without saying a simple "hello".  You can be alone in a crowd, because the media tells us that it's safer not to talk to strangers.

But a community is not just a collection of individuals. It's you & I & that person over there & your neighbour & the deli owner & your bus driver & your old friend you haven't spoken to for years.

Uniting People celebrates the community formula which hinges on ampersands [&]. Without '&', we're just a bunch of individuals living alongside each other. The Uniting Church believes in the power of '&'. We live and breathe '&' through our welfare agencies & our schools & our community services & our congregations.

&. It's one little squiggly mark that can bring us all together.