How are we to be a good neighbor and local person?
When we leave home, how do we travel well?
We asked our network of communities in neighborhoods for actual practices they engage in to be good locals or openhearted travelers. The questions deepen when we relocate to unfamiliar communities and are suddenly both pilgrim and rooted neighbor at once. We find them threaded into our days. Here you’ll find both our concrete gestures and our wonderings.
Throw a party.
“Once a month, instead of having our weekly, small-group Bible studies in different parts of town, we host a community-wide potluck game night with our common friends and neighbors (who at this point, aren’t interested in God or the Bible). Taking a break from our philosophizing and theologizing allows us to live out our faith by just loving the heck out of our neighborhood as we love the heck out of each other.” Dwell
Seek peace and pursue it.
“Inspired by the instructions of Jesus, whenever we move into a new neighborhood, we look for a man or woman of peace. The person may or may not know Jesus, but demonstrates the values of God’s kingdom, like hospitality and compassion.” Servants
Give and receive hospitality.
“Whenever we can, we stay in the homes of old or new friends rather than hotels. We are striving to see our ‘home’ as a place of radical hospitality to people who stop by for the afternoon or stay over for days. We find giving and receiving hospitality challenging, uncomfortable, and very beautiful.” Raising Micah
Become a regular.
“Every Saturday we frequent the same small family-owned diner called Pop’s for breakfast. We know the waitstaff by name, and they know what we want before we order.” The GAPS Community
Be local on the porch.
“We go to the local church in our neighborhood. All summer we sit on our porches and go to block parties. We started a mentor program for middle school-kids and we throw a fall festival. We petitioned city council for a new recreation center (and got it)!” Rutba House/School for Conversion
Walk, eat and shop locally.
“We do our best to spend warm days and evenings on our front porches. We walk and take public transit when possible to be an active part of the life of our neighborhood. One of our members only shops at the places she can walk to. We have become friends with several farmers in our area, and purchase food from them frequently.” Hyaets Community
Be involved in local schools.
“Our kids attend local schools, and because of that, we find ourselves working alongside our neighbors for the good of all our children.” Church of the Sojourners
Practice being open.
“A few years ago, we starting using the phrase ‘living off the hook’ to describe our shared practice of being fully present and aware of our surroundings wherever we might be. This means having an open heart towards any person with whom we cross paths, even when it means being sidetracked, inconvenienced, or interrupted. Although practicing radical openness and awareness might look different in the suburbs of L. A. than on the streets of Bagdad, it’s one manner in which we discover and respond to the many ways that poverty disguises itself.” Relational Tithe
Sharing space in our place.
“Along with another faith community, we have planted a garden on our shared property, and share our vegetables with the neighborhood. Some of us also participate in co-housing communities, living together and sharing resources. We have found that sharing space together creates opportunities for us to get more involved in local life together and become active in ways that matter to our neighbors. One of these is participation in a monthly event where artists and musicians show their work in local businesses and restaurants.” FLOOD Sacramento
Disperse and become a village.
“After a fire burned down our block a few years ago, we had to decide whether to build things back or to move into other abandoned spaces. We chose the latter, and now we are a bit more decentralized, but it feels like we are more a part of the fabric of our neighborhood. This, of course, requires us to be even more ‘intentional’ about community meals and prayer. Instead of an intentional community, it feels a little like an intentional village.” The Simple Way
(from Conspire - a conspiracy of love — plot goodness where you are!)
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