What matters in life are not great deeds,

but great love. St Therese of Lisieux

Neighbourhood gestation...

The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full belief that something hidden will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb. HNouwen

Is your neighbourhood frigid?

Are you helping to 'change the atmosphere'?

Nurture a giving heart in your neighbourhood.

The word community has many connotations, some positive, some negative. Community can make us think of a safe togetherness, shared meals, common goals, and joyful celebrations. It also can call forth images of sectarian exclusivity, in-group language, self-satisfied isolation, and romantic naiveté. However, community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another. 

Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others more important than our own (see Philippians 2:4-11). The question, therefore, is not "How can we make community?" but "How can we develop and nurture giving hearts?" HNouwen

Stop wasting your time & energy running after the perfect neighbourhood.

Live fully in your current neighbourhood today.

Matthew 10
Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighbourhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

The passage below explains how God feels about your neighbours.

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the world through him.

How should this shape the way we view our neighbours today?

Your neighbourhood can be lifted up by positive action.

Any neighbourhood can!

Our world will bring us many neighbours.

The best evidence of our adoration of Jesus is our emulation of Him. RMNelson

Don't cop out!

It's just a thought...

Mike Breen's Character Matrix

Meet your neighbour. In a city it can make a big difference...

A little Merton

Do not depend on the hope of results. .. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationship that saves everything.

What's your neighbourhood like?

For the people across the street

Neighbour (Clea Roddick)

I am your neighbour, I live just next door
I know you move the snow and park your car
I’ve never seen the inside of your walls
And I don’t think of you that much at all

‘Cause I’ve been taught not to speak to strangers
And you’ve been told to watch your back
How will we make it through the ages
When we don’t even know the neighbours?

I inhabit orange, you reside in green
I have a mountain, you have just one bean
I’ve never seen the inside of your walls
And I don’t think of you enough at all

‘Cause I’ve been taught not to speak to strangers
And you’ve been told to watch your back
How will we make it through the ages
When we don’t even know the neighbours?

Articulate, you’re full of it, have you ever been outside?

‘Cause you’ve been taught not to speak to strangers
You’ve been told to watch your back
How will we make it through the ages
When we don’t even know the neighbours?

We’ve been taught not to speak to strangers
And we’ve been told to watch our backs
How will we make it through the ages
When we don’t even know the neighbours?

Go ahead, walk across the hall or down the street & meet your neighbours...

There is only one way for us to get it together - together. The one & only way for us to get it together - is together.

The neighbourhood you want starts at your front door.

What is the ideal place to grow older?

Your neighbourhood.

Jesus said “YOU are the light of the world.”

If you and I are NOT the light where we are then where we are there will be no light.

God has a dream for the world.

And it's not just bigger & nicer church buildings that seat a lot of people.

Isaiah 65
“See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
    nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
I will rejoice over Jerusalem
    and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
    will be heard in it no more.
“Never again will there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
 They will build houses and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
    so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
They will not labor in vain,
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
    they and their descendants with them.
 Before they call I will answer;
    while they are still speaking I will hear.
 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
    and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

What is God's dream for your parish?

What will you do to support it?

What distracts you from playing your part in God’s dream for the neighbourhood?

What is God's dream for your community?

What could you do to discern it?

What is God's dream for your neighbourhood?

The dream involves you!

It's not really that scary.

Your first Church is your family.

Yes, love those neighbours!

Yes you can...

You can learn to love your neighbourhood the way that Jesus loves it.

Everyday we wake up into something that's already going on.

 

Romans 12:1-2 MSG

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. 

Why not try walking your neighborhood?

Strike up a conversation. Meet some people.

When I was young, I set out to change the world. When I grew older, I perceived that this was too ambitious so I set out to change my state. This, too, I realized as I grew older was too ambitious, so I set out to change my town. When I realized I could not even do this, I tried to change my family. Now as an old man, I know that I should have started by changing myself. If I had started with myself, maybe then I would have succeeded in changing my family, the town, or even the state—and who knows, maybe even the world! (older Hasidic rabbi)

Become a community theologian.

Local life together matters to God.

Love does no wrong to a neighbour.

Do You Care Enough to Act?

Small acts done with great love can have huge consequences.

Covet your neighbour's humility.

A bad neighbour is a misfortune, as much as a good one is a great blessing. (Hesiod)

Light the Fire of Relationships

Don't get too busy that the life leaves your friendships.

Take time to really connect.

Does your church have a ‘Neighbouring 101’ course?

You can observe a lot by watching.

Take some to notice what is actually happening in your neighbourhood.

Become aware.

Are you cultivating a culture of hope where you live?

What we know is far less than the great hope we feel. JMArguedas

Help make your neighbourhood an Abundant Community! (HLawrence)

I grew up in a small town, where my mom knew everyone and everyone knew my mom. It wasn’t until several years ago however that I realized that, in this abundance of “knowing,” my mom had a very important job in our town.

It was hard to see her job because she wasn’t paid for it and no one really commented on it. Most people like me, hadn’t even realized that there was a job category for what she did. That is, until I read a book by Malcolm Gladwell, called The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference.

According to Gladwell, there are people with a special gift for the world together, people he calls “connectors.” “They are the kinds of people who know everyone. All of us know someone like this. But I don‘t think that we spend a lot of time thinking about the importance of these kinds of people,” says Gladwell.

Connectors usually know people across an array of social, cultural, professional and economic circles, and make a habit of introducing people who work or live in different circles. They are people who “link us up” with each other, with our neighbours and with our community. Gladwell characterizes them as, “People with a truly extraordinary knack… (for) making friends and acquaintances.” He attributes the social success of connectors to the fact that “their ability to span many different worlds is a function of something intrinsic to their personality, some combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy.”

We all understand the concept of networking when it comes to business, but we don’t equate the same concept with our personal or neighbourhood lives. I know my mom didn’t, and she truly was, one of these people who just knew who to connect with who. More than just a connector She had no agenda to advance her social or economic standing, in fact, her role as a “connecter” often took her to both ends of society, and it was always amusing to see her introduce people of vastly different social worlds to each other.

Of course, at the time, I didn’t understand the importance of what she did for the various people, or for our small town. I don’t think she did either, she just knew they had some passion or interest in common.

Long before Gladwell defined and valued the Connector, a sociologist named John McKnight, who, while working among struggling neighbourhoods, observed the way in which neighbourhoods were transformed when certain people who he called “Community Connectors” were set free to do their work.

After reading this, I realized that my mom was much more than a connector. She was a community connector! McKnight believes that such community connectors are “gift-centered” people. They see the “full half” in everyone. They are connected themselves, active in social and civic life. And, they know the ways of the neighbourhood. They believe in the people in the community. They are not cynical, doubting observers of local residents. They know that the community is rich in people resources. And they are people who get joy from connecting and inviting people to come together. They are not seeking to lead people; they just understand the good that comes by bringing the right people together. They are hospitable and willing contributors to their neighbours and the neighbourhood.

This was so my mom!

Sitting at a small coffee shop in another community the other day, I couldn’t help but overhear two young women speaking. It appeared that they had just moved to the city and had just met each other. One of the girls exclaimed to the other, “It’s great. We have so much in common.”

The other went on to say, “It’s hard to meet people here in Edmonton; in Vermillion, it was easy.”

As I listened to what they were saying, I couldn’t help thinking about my mom or about the many people right here in the ‘Hood, who would have been that welcomed passport to their community that these girls needed.

ARE YOU WILLING TO BE A CONNECTOR IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBOURHOOD?!

An 'uncommon way' of life...

We have redefined "neighbour" to mean anyone except my actual neighbour.

Who is your neighbour?

Church of the neighbourhood

Where families flourish and God’s shalom is present.

Always there...

The church in the neighbourhood.

Don't buy the house, buy the neighbourhood.

Knowing someone's story changes everything.

Share Commonalities: Create opportunities to share commonalities. 

Hobbies such as golf, book club, poker night, or a running/fitness group can all bring people together. 

Socialize and Make Holidays Special: Enjoy your neighbourhood recreational areas. Participate in garage sales and barbeques. Attend or host neighbourhood holiday parties.

You were sent not to be served but TO SERVE.

Serve While You’re Outside: Turn lawn chores into opportunities to serve: Mow lawns, water yards, etc. 

Serve In Times of Need: Visit when a neighbour passes away or has a baby. Deliver flowers or a gift. Coordinate meals with other neighbours.

BLESS: Eat

Enjoy a Meal Together | Invite a neighbour (or two) for a BBQ, order in Pizza, or have everyone bring a dessert to share. 

Celebrate Special Occasions and Holidays | Bake cupcakes for birthdays. Send a casserole to new parents. Deliver Christmas cookies.

Listen to your neighbours.

Listen to your neighbours.

Ask open-ended questions: How long have you lived in ___? What line of work are you in? What do you like to do for fun?

Ask Follow-up Questions: How did that test go? Are you feeling better? How was your holiday?

Pray for & with your neighbours.

Pray with your Family  | Remember your neighbours by name during mealtime and bedtime prayers. 

Prayer Walk | Walk by yourself or with family, roommates, and other neighbours who are believers. Pray over each home by name as you pass and ask God to provide opportunities with your neighbours.

BLESS your neighbours.

A

Just as God blessed Abraham and called him to be a blessing to to others, we too are called as followers of Christ to be a blessing to our neighbours.

Neighbourhood Life

You show wisdom by trusting people;
You handle leadership by serving;
You handle offenders by forgiving;
You handle money by sharing;
You handle enemies by loving;
You handle violence by suffering;
You have a new attitude towards everything, everybody, nature, the State, all and every single thing.
And in a Jesus society you repent not by feeling bad but by thinking differently. (Bishop Peter Price)

Are you open to learning how to be a (good) neighbour?

There is no way you will be able to grow spiritually apart from a deep involvement in a community of other believers. You can’t lead the Christian life without a band of Christian friends, without a family of believers in which you find a place. Only if you are a part of a community of believers seeking to resemble, serve, and love Jesus will you ever get to know him and grow into his likeness. TKeller

Grace changes everything. God created us not to get joy but to give it.

Mercy is not optional.

Care for people. Period.

You can learn to live peacefully with anyone who doesn’t believe what you believe.