{"id":45,"date":"2025-09-08T13:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T13:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/?page_id=45"},"modified":"2025-10-06T00:56:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T00:56:43","slug":"story-15","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/story-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Community\u2026 Is Chosen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places\/ Third Place Stories<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As a girl from the biggest city in California who has spent part of each year living at my grandmother\u2019s tiny apartment in Beirut, it may not seem like I had much to fear transitioning to my new life in Boston, Massachusetts. What I failed to realize was that Boston lacked something I had inherited in both California and Lebanon: community. And this time, it wasn\u2019t going to be handed to me, I would have to build that community for myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major avenue through which I found my place at BC is Christian Life Community (CLC). I joined my small group as a freshman alongside my roommate. At first, it was just one more weekly commitment. But over time, that circle became something sacred: a quiet space where faith was shared honestly, where people showed up for each other, and where I felt deeply seen. We lived on Newton Campus, but still made the trip to main campus each week, not out of obligation, but because something about those evenings felt anchoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Step by step, my role within CLC deepened. By sophomore year, I felt called to lead a group of my own. In CLC, we call the students we lead our \u201ckids\u201d, a name that speaks to the tenderness and responsibility we carry. You stay with them through graduation, walking with them as they grow not only in faith, but into potential leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior year, I joined Council, a team of eight students entrusted with the heart of the organization. While small group leaders tend to the roots, Council weaves it all together through retreats, Taiz\u00e9 prayer, formation nights, and Wednesday dinners served at the Paulist Center, a downtown Catholic community where we help feed Boston\u2019s unhoused population. This year, I\u2019ll serve as Co-President, carrying forward the same care I once received. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLC became my third place, the space that taught me community isn\u2019t stumbled upon. It\u2019s chosen. It\u2019s built. And it\u2019s sacred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Mia Maaloof<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
Third place Stories List<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Home<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Churches and Faith Communities as Third Places\/ Third Place Stories As a girl from the biggest city in California who has spent part of each year living at my grandmother\u2019s tiny apartment in Beirut, it may not seem like I had much to fear transitioning to my new life in Boston, Massachusetts. What I failed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-45","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/45\/revisions\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flourishingtogether.bc.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}