Fellowship in Rotary

Posted by Roberto Fabbri on Jul 06, 2023
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Why is it so important?
We all have friends. School and childhood friends, friends who serve with us in the army or in any other organizations, and friends at work. The level of confidence, trust and sharing may be different as each relationship was formed and grew under different circumstances. Yet, these are our friends, a group distinct from all the people we meet daily.
 
 
Friendship and fellowship are different concepts. Friendship is the condition of being friends while fellowship is a company of people that share the same interest or aim.
 
Of course, fellows can also be or become friends but the “same interest or aim” makes all the difference.
 
In Rotary we have a purpose, fellowship is what allows us to deliver and fulfill our purpose.
 
It is not about intimacy or understanding, it is first and foremost about service. We have come from different backgrounds, countries, we are of different age, gender, and we lived through different circumstances. We do different jobs, we have different creeds and political views but, at a certain point in our life we decided to become Rotarians, we decided to put service above our self-interest.
 
Fellowship in Rotary goes hand in hand with Vocation. Together with our “fellows” we put our skills (vocations) together to fulfill our mission, to accomplish what we set to do. And when our specific vocation is not required, we put other resources to support our Club, we may put our time or our network to see our project through.
 
With fellowship is no longer about me, it is about us. Our strength and impact are scaled up, we can do more and make everyone feel and be part of our collective success. We are part of an eco-system where everyone is important and everyone matters. This is Rotary."
 
Best regards,
Roberto