52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 2

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52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 2

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Participate in conflict transformation with a neighbor.

Hello friends!

We’re diving in headlong today and presenting a tip that’s perhaps on the more challenging end of the neighboring tip spectrum. The tip for today is this: Participate in conflict transformation with a neighbor.

Let’s start with the ideas of “conflict” and “transformation”. We would propose that conflict, in and of itself, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And actually, we would say that conflict can be a really good thing! Oddly enough, the fact that people have, or at least perceive themselves to have, different interests than other people, seems to be part of what makes our world such a diverse and beautiful place! The key to whether we experience positive or negative outcomes from conflict seems to lie within what we do when we experience the conflict itself, and that’s where transformation comes in. Can we take our conflicts and respond to them in a way that fosters healthier and more harmonious relationships, that brings about a greater sense of togetherness, of oneness? Adam, on our Neighboring Movement team, teaches all about the conflict and likes to say that “conflict is energy”. In other words, conflict is a force that can propel us forward, individually and collectively. As odd as it may seem, and as awkward and difficult it may be in the midst of the transformation, we believe that, together with our neighbors, we can transform the conflicts between us in order to foster healthier and more harmonious relationships and bring about a greater sense of togetherness and oneness on our blocks.

So, how do we do this? How do we start transforming conflict with our neighbors?…

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The Neighboring Snowball Effect

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The Neighboring Snowball Effect

Hello friends!

I hope this blog finds you all safe and warm. Cuddled in blankets. Holding hot cups of coffee. Well.

This morning, I experienced a fantastically simple way to neighbor in the midst of a pandemic and frigid, snowy weather. It’s called: The Neighboring Snowball Effect.

Not two hours ago, I was sitting outside with my house mate and another friend. Sitting far apart, in lawn chairs, holding cups of coffee, listening to music, chatting, in the 22 degrees Fahrenheit weather (which is balmy compared to most places, I know, and also balmy compared to how it’s been the last few days here in Wichita). But, you know, this is how friends hang out these days, and I’m thankful for it. As we were sitting and chatting,…

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Cormac Russell: Part 2

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Welcome to Part 2 of 5 of our Cormac Russell interview. Hosts Matt and Adam are joined by none other than Cormac Russell, the author of "Rekindling Democracy," a much sought-after international keynote speaker and Managing Director of Nurture Development, the leading Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) organization in Europe.

This week, you'll hear Cormac discuss the world as it is, a heightening of a sense of individualism and then asking the question, where do we go from here? What does the work look like when we re-center democracy within the neighborhood?

"Now the question might be, what's the scale in which we can do that work? We know city is too big, we certainly know state is too big, region is too big, so what's the scale? We know family is too small, the individual, that is really not helpful... I think there is a third unit of change and that is the neighborhood."- Cormac Russell

To learn more about Cormac Russell, visit https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/who-we-are/cormac-russell/ 

Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…

Welcome to Part 2 of 5 of our Cormac Russell interview. Hosts Matt and Adam are joined by none other than Cormac Russell, the author of "Rekindling Democracy," a much sought-after international keynote speaker and Managing Director of Nurture Development, the leading Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) organization in Europe.

52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 1

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52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 1

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Take a Valentine to each of the neighbors on your block or floor.

Welcome to Week 1 of Year 5 of the 52 Weeks of Neighboring, and…Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today, we encourage you to celebrate the holiday by taking a Valentine to each of the neighbors on your block or floor!

Of course, these Valentines may look however you wish. Whether they look like homemade Valentines, store-bought Valentines, or a plate of Valentines cookies, your neighbors will love them. This is also a very family friendly activity. Maybe your children can write each Valentine, and then you can deliver them together as a family? As always, we just ask that any delivery you make to your neighbors right now is done while practicing physical distancing!

Delivering Valentines is a simple way to promote neighborliness wherever you live. Each one helps to create a positive, welcoming spirit on your block or floor, and they are perfect conversation starters!

Happy neighboring!

P.S. Because this is Week 1,…

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Cormac Russell: Part 1

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This week, hosts Matt and Adam are joined by none other than Cormac Russell, the author of "Rekindling Democracy," a much sought-after international keynote speaker and Managing Director of Nurture Development, the leading Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) organization in Europe. There are so many golden egg quotes in this interview, you would think it was Easter already!

This week, hosts Matt and Adam are joined by none other than Cormac Russell, the author of "Rekindling Democracy," a much sought-after international keynote speaker and Managing Director of Nurture Development, the leading Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) organization in Europe. There are so many golden eggs in this interview, you would think it was Easter already! 

To paraphrase Matt and Adam, this interview is so rich it's like a deep fried peanut butter pie, so we will break it down into 5 segments so that you can fully digest all of the great quotes and incite this interview has to offer. Here are few quotes from this week:

"...at times the function of the state is to create a dome of protection around associational life and if there is a predatory force that's doing the community down, I think it's quite helpful for them to be big, to fan out, but when there's a whole set of things like for example in a little while I'll go and have a meal with my family, I don't want the state governing how the salt gets passed."- Cormac Russell speaking on institutions and how proportionality and context matters.

"...recognize that democracy at whatever level or scale we think of it is something that has to be an embodied act, otherwise it's just a concept."- Cormac Russell

"...so the neighborhood is the primary unit of change in a democracy, so you think about it, what is the atomic element of molecular democracy?  It's the neighborhood."- Cormac Russell

To learn more about Cormac Russell, visit https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/who-we-are/cormac-russell/ 

Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…

52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 52

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52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 52

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Happy Week 52! Let’s celebrate! Reflect on the neighboring experiments you’ve attempted in the past year, and share your stories on one of our 52 Weeks of Neighboring platforms (our website, email, or Facebook page).

We can hardly believe it has already been FOUR years since we embarked on this 52 Weeks of Neighboring journey, and we are delighted by the growing number of folks, like you, who are joining the Neighboring Movement...this is why we wish to celebrate!…

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Midland, Michigan Interview: Part 2

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This week is Part 2 of a conversation that Adam and Matt had with the Mayor of Midland, Michigan, Maureen Donker, as well as Alysia Christy from the Cultural Awareness Coalition in Midland. They share their stories of what intentional neighboring is doing for their community. In Part 1 last week, we heard from Maureen and this week in Part 2, we hear from Alysia.

"How do we reach those people to support the narrative that "You belong," that "You have a place here," and that isn't going to happen just simply because of where they live or who their neighbors are but is going to come in the micro-moments that people experience their community through."- Alysia Christy

This week is Part 2 of a conversation that Adam and Matt had with the Mayor of Midland, Michigan, Maureen Donker, as well as Alysia Christy from the Cultural Awareness Coalition in Midland. They share their stories of what intentional neighboring is doing for their community.

52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 51

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52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 51

Neighboring Tip of the Week - If you see a neighbor out walking, or if you bump into a neighbor while you’re out on a walk, ask them if you can walk along with them for a little while.

Hello friends! Happy Sunday to you all!

This week, we’re thinking about meaningful ways that we can safely interact with our neighbors, in-person, in the midst of this pandemic. We know the weather has been cooler for most of us, but hey, the warmer weather is coming, so we think it’s important to be thinking about how our in-person interactions might look. Again, we think these in-person interactions are so important and meaningful for our neighbors! So, this week, we propose this: If you see a neighbor out walking, or if you bump into a neighbor while you’re out on a walk, ask them if you can walk along with them for a little while.

It’s probably most ideal to experiment with this tip with….

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Reflections on the T4 Program and the Quality of Life Debate in America

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Reflections on the T4 Program and the Quality of Life Debate in America

Hi friends, and happy Tuesday! :)

In this video blog I reflect on the T4 program, taking place at the front of the holocaust with the killing of those with disabilities in Germany. Through these reflections I examine and oppose the ongoing quality of life debate in America and its seeming desire to determine which lives are worthy and not worthy of continuing.

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Midland, Michigan Interview: Part 1

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Matt and Adam are joined this week by the Mayor of Midland, Michigan, Maureen Donker, as well as Alysia Christy from the Cultural Awareness Coalition in Midland. They share their stories of what intentional neighboring is doing for their community. In Part 1, we hear from Mayor Donker and next week in Part 2, we will hear from Alysia.

"...if we are supposed to love our neighbor, we need to know who our neighbor is." And I thought, "Brilliant! How hard is that???""- Maureen Donker on how they got started.

"So we have deepened the conversation to where everyone could find a piece where they could fit in."- Maureen Donker on how the concept of getting involved with neighboring can be applied not only to church outreach but to schools and businesses, safety meetings, etc. How much safer is the community/school/business/church/etc when people know each other?

Matt and Adam are joined this week by the Mayor of Midland, Michigan, Maureen Donker, as well as Alysia Christy from the Cultural Awareness Coalition in Midland. They share their stories of what intentional neighboring is doing for their community. In Part 1, we hear from Maureen and next week in Part 2, we will hear from Alysia.

52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 50

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52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 50

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Check in again with your neighbors.

Happy Sunday, friends!

As you probably have noticed, we are in the routine of releasing this particular neighboring tip every seven weeks. Why? Because we think checking in with our neighbors regularly is one of the best ways we can neighbor in the midst of this pandemic. Every seven weeks, we want to give you the opportunity to ask yourself, “Have I checked in with my neighbors recently?”. This week, if your answer is “no”, that’s okay, and now is your opportunity to do so! If your answer is “yes”, that’s awesome, but because so much has changed, and continues to change rapidly, in the midst of this pandemic, we now encourage you to check in with them again!…

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Clair Gallegos: Introduction 2021

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Welcome to the first recorded episode of 2021! This week hosts Adam and Matt are joined by the Neighboring Movement's newest team member, Claire Gallegos who shares where she is from and what she will be doing this year.

Claire started working at the Neighboring Movement at the very end of 2020 and is the newest addition to our team. With a professional background of political fundraising and also legislative work, Claire brings a unique set of skills in the realm of organizing on a much larger scale. For the Neighboring Movement, Claire now works as a statewide organizer in order to recruit cohort members, network with similar organizations, and make connections on our behalf - all across Kansas! When possessing free time, Claire enjoys home remodeling and queso sampling.

Welcome to the first recorded episode of 2021! This week hosts Adam and Matt are joined by the Neighboring Movement's newest team member, Clair Gallegos who shares where she is from and what she will be doing this year.

52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 49

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52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 49

Neighboring Tip of the Week - Write down something positive you have noticed about each of your neighbors behind the 8 front doors closest to your own, and be prepared to share it with them the next time you talk to them.

Happy January 17th! It sure is a beautiful day….

This week, we encourage you to participate in a neighboring experiment that doesn’t even require you to leave your house! The tip is this: Write down something positive you have noticed about each of your neighbors behind the 8 front doors closest to your own, and be prepared to share it with them the next time you talk to them.

In essence, this tip consists of two separate parts. First,…

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The People's Inauguration

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Today, a little less than a week from the inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, I am reading about The People’s Inauguration. The website opens with the following statement:

Only we can bring our communities together, tend our wounds, and begin the labor of reckoning, reimagining and remaking our nation block-by-block, heart-to-heart.

“Block-by-block, heart-to-heart” sounds like neighboring to me.

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