Many who I have talked to in the last few weeks may get the impression that I think Valpo is a perfect community, without any flaws or weaknesses, issues or challenges, and that every person that you encounter as you go about your life here is a saint. Valpo is no different in some ways than any other community across the country, facing economic, environmental, political, social, educational, and community challenges. So whether they be related to taxes or tolerance, education or the environment, there will always be plenty of work to be done, so that we collectively can truly live up to meaning of the Valparaiso name – Vale of Paradise.
It is still important to reflect however, lest we forget or fail to appreciate, the strengths of this community and all of it’s parts and pieces, and how well so many of them work together. Diversity and tolerance of others has been a key subject of late, unfortunately due to the actions of a few, that at times can mask the dedication and quality of so many, and on this I had a couple interesting observations that I wanted to share.
Yesterday Kristel here at ValpoLife sent out an introductory letter to 50 houses of worship across a broad spectrum of faiths in Valpo, asking each to take part in ValpoLife and communicate the positive messages of their faith, the events and activities of their organization, and the good works they are doing in the community. For a town of this size to support so many different views and congregations as Patrick Lyp an attorney friend of mine in town noted to me a couple weeks ago, is pretty impressive. Many are new churches or denominations, and the majority of them are growing. Those are not only a sign of good character in the community, but also the open mindedness of all of those who are joining those groups, to new ideas and traditions.
Rebuilding Together will gather hundreds of people Saturday in town of all faiths, color, background, and skill set, to work together to help improve the situation for dozens of people, families, organizations, and facilities across Valparaiso. Every one of those people is giving of their time, without any knowledge up front of who they will be scheduled to help that day. They are an example not just because they care to give of their time and their talents, but also because they do not care who they give their time to, as long as they are investing their time, money, or skill set to the people of Valpo.
We have absolutely loved getting everyone’s notices about events this weekend whether they be soccer, softball, baseball, basketball, track, band, arts, theatre, music, religion, environment, civic, recreation, dining, or business focused. Again, for a town of this size, we have an almost unlimited number of choices to make with where we want to spend our time, what we want to spend our time doing, and who we are going to spend that time with. Do you want to see a play at VU, or bands perform at the Relay for life, or do you want to watch or participate in the Dollars for Scholars 3 on 3 basketball tournament at the high school, or the Taltree 10 mile run, or the clean up going on Saturday morning around the city to celebrate Earth Day, or the group getting together at the Harley Davidson dealer out on 30 celebrating the many years they have been in business and the diversity of all of those they have served.
Now do all of these examples mean that Valpo is perfect, and there is not more work to do and miles to travel to become the Vale of Paradise we aspire to? Nope. But I would have to say on this sunny Friday afternoon, that this is a pretty cool place to live, work, and go to school in, and that whatever you are doing this weekend, and whomever you are doing it with, probably also help to tell the story of the diversity that Valpo can and should celebrate. We have lot’s of different people, lot’s of different things to do, and plenty of different beliefs or interests, but we also share a lot in common, and let’s not forget to celebrate that when given the opportunity to do so.
Hope whatever you are doing this weekend, you have a great time, and if you feel like sharing it, you know where we are on the web.