Neighborhood

Web of Connections

Like the weaving of an intricate tapestry, our lives and relationships create a web of connections that start to affect our lives together. When we eat regularly at Baja Burrito, or pick up trash together on Glenrose Avenue we form the relational bonds that both provide opportunity to go deeper into relationships and live deeper into our local community. The divisions facing our society are large, looming, and loud… but we can start to break down barriers when we know our neighbors and can dialogue about important issues and share life over the good times and hard times. We don’t all have to agree; but we can all come together to care for our neighbors and neighborhoods.

Local

“Local” is one of our core values as a church community and is a posture for how we choose to live life together. Valuing the neighbor’s skill in producing chicken coops over an Amazon purchase or taking piano lessons from the neighbor, a street over, keeps money within the local community, builds trust, and just makes sense! If it’s within 3 miles of your home, great! If it’s within 3 blocks, even better. Micro-economies have a compounded effect of strengthening our communal resiliency against poverty of relationships, resources, and opportunities. 

Life Together

We practice the sharing of life together in an organizational way by offering opportunities to connect through weekly Life Together Groups. These groups can be about just about anything. Book discussions, dinner clubs, game nights or sharing and prayer groups have all been a part of different offerings over the years. We encourage Life Together Group leaders to coordinate a meal which is a practice itself – eating together. Any reason for gathering is a good one when you are practicing being present, open, and available for new relationships and good food. These groups are a foundation for what we want community life to be about: deeply open, authentic relational connections.