‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Mark 12:31
For the month of March we are stepping deeper into our vision statement as a community, ‘For The Good of Our City.’ What does ‘for the good of our neighbors and neighborhoods’ look like when put into practice? Are we invited by Jesus to love those who think and act like us, see the world like us, vote like us, or is there more to what Jesus is inviting us to step into as his students? We want to become the kinds of people who learn how to stay at the table longer than feels comfortable. You know what we mean right? When those conversations move into uncomfortable spaces and when we feel that urge to get up and run away because the volume is a little bit too loud and we are feeling tension in our bodies.
Neighboring is an active way to engage with those who live on our streets and the people we bump into in our workplaces. What does it look like to be the incarnational presence of Christ and show up with deep compassion and love pulling us into relationships?
PRACTICES
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Mapping out your neighborhood: Identify the names of those around you (households).
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What are some of the immediate needs of your neighbors?
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Discover ways in which you can be actively praying for your neighborhood.
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Develop a gratitude tree. Place cards with statements of gratitude on strings and tie them to a tree. Invite others in your neighborhood to participate. See what can happen in your neighborhood.
RESOURCES
Books:
Purchase on Amazon or pick up a copy at the Connection Center next time you are at Ascent!