One of The Other Half's family holiday traditions has been to redecorate their entire houses in Early, Middle, and Modern Christmas. Everything from the knicknacks on the end tables to the rug and hand towels in the guest bathroom is redone in red, green, snowmen, and old-fashioned Santa Clauses. The centerpiece of it all is the Christmas Village.

While some folk pride themselves on collecting all the pieces in a particular name-brand collection, most of these villages are odd collections of pieces purchased from sale racks here and there, or made by friends and family.

The one piece common to all of their villages is a church, made by a particularly feisty member of the family. The church's base is about 9" x 12", and the steeple stands about 18" high. It has "stained glass" windows which throw off an inviting glow when the light in the base is turned on.

For years, who had a church was a subject of friendly teasing. Because of the amount of work that went into it, only one church was given each year. When younger family members asked when they would get "their" churches,  "When you get married," or "When you start going to church," were the usual answers.

In many towns, the house of worship -- whether church, mosque, synagogue, or temple -- is both spiritually and geographically at its center. Our houses of worship are where our births are announced, where we come of age, where we are married, and where we are mourned and buried. They are more than just a place for daily (or weekly) prayers: the brotherhoods and sisterhoods provide fraternal support, and the Sunday Schools (and their equivalents) give us the tools we need to become fully-integrated adult members of our congregations. We have support groups to help those having trouble with substance abuse or with difficult relationships, and the clergy are usually available for psychological and spiritual counseling. Religious congregations are often the prime movers behind food banks, homeless shelters, and aid to the destitute.

It can be said that this collection of services is what turns a group of people into a cohesive community, a collection of houses into a village.

It is also this "village" that is, or can be, most effective in reaching out to people with diabetes. In some traditions, the church is considered the Ultimate Authority On Everything In Life. ("Diabetes won't hurt you unless The Church says it will.") This peculiar relationship makes the church a particularly interesting pulpit for discussing the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic-but-deadly conditions; it also makes it a place to promote and support those changes to one's diet and lifestyle that may reduce those risks, improve one's temporal life, and make one more physically able to follow the Deity's (Deities') Commands. 

Conversely, many cohesive communities have the hallmarks associated with "religion" -- a common culture or cultural background, a common lifestyle, common needs and common difficulties, and places where members can convene to be inspired by speakers, prayers, writings, and conversations. My fellow fen have made observations about the "religion" of STAR TREK, both serious and mocking (see: Temple of Trek). The same could be said for any lifestyle that requires obsessive dedication to rites and rituals not part of the secular mainstream -- such as diabetes management.

In many denominations, orthodoxy is associated with obsessively observing the tradition's behaviors and rituals. A person with diabetes advocating for "tight control" may be considered more "orthodox" than someone who suggests that "Testing once a day is always OK". Then again, the differences in managing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes might suggest two separate denominations, with a bit of analogous evangelism thrown in where someone with LADA "converts" from Type 2 to Type 1. Or perhaps the "denomination" issue would be better described by theories of diabetes progression and diabetes management: consider how animated Dr. Bernstein's followers or Dr. Faustman's supporters can be.

Yet just as Lutherans, Presbyterians, Christian Scientists, and Mormons are all Christians, so too are Type 1s, Type 2s, LADAs, and MODYs all "diabetic". And while we have different interests in the support groups (forums) a community such as dLife supports, we are all part of that same virtual village. We laugh together, cry together, pray together, test together, bolus together...

If it takes a church to make a village, then our diabetes online communities and social networks are the churches of our dLives.