I spend time reflecting on the uncertain and sometimes fearful process of being purified for service to the Lord. The picture painted in Isaiah 6 is not one of victory but one of a willing fear and trembling. May we be willing to do what God is calling us to do.
Read MoreThis week, Adam and Matt are joined on the podcast by Maddie Johnson. She is joining the Neighboring Movement team to be the new Good Neighbor Experiment coordinator! Listen in to meet Maddie and hear a little bit about her and why she is excited to join us!
Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…
iTunes: https://apple.co/2Tba3H1
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VBrUDT
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2NC744g
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2EoHTOE
We are excited to announce that Claire Gallegos, our Statewide Organizer, has accepted a position with The Kansas Values Institute. Claire’s time with The Neighboring Movement has been short but deeply impactful. When she began in January, we handed her the Kansas Animator Network (KAN) and asked her to cast a vision. She dreamed bigger than we could have imagined and followed that up with decisive action and planning. In the five months on our team, Claire recruited a cohort for KAN in Southwest Kansas which will start in June, helped secure a grant from the Movement Voter Project, laid the framework for 2-3 more cohorts launching this fall, and helped us implement several structural changes for our growing organization.
We are very sad to see Claire go, and cannot deny that this change is an affirmation of her gifts and skills. We know she will rise to the opportunity and continue to spread the Neighboring Movement everywhere she goes. In her new position, Claire will serve as the Finance Director for the Kansas Values Institute. There she will help raise money to support voter education around education, fair tax policy, good roads, and equality issues.
As we adjust staffing to accommodate this change we will be sharing new staff and opportunities soon.
Neighboring Tip of the Week - Help develop your love for your neighborhood by writing down 3 things each day that you like about your neighborhood.
Greetings friends! Can you believe June is almost upon us?
After reading this week’s tip, you may be asking yourself, “How does practicing this experiment help us to become better neighbors?”
Well, at The Neighboring Movement, we believe one first step to becoming a better neighbor is simply to love your neighborhood.
And we have a secret for you:…
Read MoreComing into the season of pentecost I am struck by how the tongues of fire opened new pathways of understanding for the disciples. In this blog I reflect on what do I need to understand better. What new languages of the heart and mind do I need to be exposed to. and how do I invite others to open themselves up as well.
Read MoreThis week Matt and Adam are joined by Dee Brooks, ABCD Asia Pacific Trainer and Facilitator for the Jeder Institute and ABCD Asia Pacific Network. She is a world-wide connector for Asset Based Community Development and we are thrilled to have her on the podcast!
Dee shares inspirational stories and ideas that will make you want to get up and go out to interact your neighbors- just get out and "let the the dog go." We are encouraged to turn what may be seen as a challenge into an opportunity for growth and development.
Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…
iTunes: https://apple.co/2Tba3H1
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VBrUDT
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2NC744g
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2EoHTOE
Neighboring Tip of the Week - Check in again with your neighbors.
Greetings on this fine Sunday, friend!
As you probably have noticed, we are in the routine of releasing this particular neighboring tip every eight 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 eight 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!…
Read MoreIn the midst of a very busy and full week, I am compelled to take a minute and reflect on the flexibility and capacity of ministry I am able to do because I have friends who pray for and believe in the work of The Julian Way, and I just want to say thank you.
Read MoreThis May Day the Barlow-Thompsons hosted a Wishtree in their yard. Learn how the Wishtree can help you have meaningful connections with your neighbors.
Read MoreThis week, Matt and Adam are joined by David Burton from Springfield, Missouri who works for the University of Missouri Extension in community development. David shares his experiences with neighboring, what caused him to begin advocating for neighboring, as well as the pilot program they launched in March and what lessons they are already learning from that.
Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…
iTunes: https://apple.co/2Tba3H1
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VBrUDT
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2NC744g
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2EoHTOE
Neighboring Tip of the Week - Borrow something, like a tool or a cake pan, from a neighbor.
Good day, friend!
In the last couple months, we’ve presented a few neighboring tips on spring projects. If you get in the middle of one of these projects and discover you need something you don’t already have, don’t head to the nearest store…head to a neighbor’s front door! (Yes, we realize that rhymed…)
The idea for this tip originated from one of our founder’s, Catherine’s, neighboring experiments….
Read MoreReflecting on my week, I realized all of the connections I made because I was able to walk to work most days. Walking and observing each day allowed me to take note of especially beautiful gardens or people just enjoying a moment in the sun. I even had an impromptu meeting on the way to work one afternoon when I bumped into a colleague who works at another non-profit. I had sent her a long email the previous day. When she saw me she walking by, she said, “You know, if you can remember the list of items in your email, maybe I can answer them right now.” Chatting in the shade was much more pleasant than having to make plans via email or over a zoom conversation.
Read MoreThis week we have a JOYFUL celebration of an episode because Matt and Adam are back on an actual front porch! We've got birdsong, we've got trains in the distance, we've got the creak of the porch swing AND we've got Adam and Matt doing what they do best- playing live music and talking about taking the time to enjoy the little things that mean the most to us as we come out of the season of Covid.
Editors note: I left this episode pretty raw! I want to invite you to take a minute and image yourself pulling up a chair onto Adam's porch to listen in on this conversation. I invite you to share in the laughter and joy of this episode!
Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…
iTunes: https://apple.co/2Tba3H1
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VBrUDT
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2NC744g
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2EoHTOE
This week we take a brief break from the easter theme so I can share with you a little bit about what is next for my wife and I, and the joy and struggle of waiting on God to reveal the next part of our journey.
Read MoreNeighboring Tip of the Week - If you see one of your neighbors outside, intentionally strike up a conversation with them.
Happy May, friend! We hope this neighboring tip finds you full of joy!
This week, we’re proposing a tip that may seem somewhat obvious for neighboring: If you see one of your neighbors outside, intentionally strike up a conversation with them.
Again, this tip may seem fairly obvious for neighboring; doesn’t neighboring imply having conversations with my neighbors? It does, but again, because so many of us have fallen out of touch with these neighboring practices, we often have to start with the basics, and these basics can be hard! There’s no denying that experimenting with this tip could feel really awkward. If you haven’t really intentionally struck up a conversation like this with your neighbors before, and/or you and your neighbors have lived on the block for a while, this could feel quite awkward indeed. But this kind of simple conversation is so human, and it’s so neighboring! And, we guarantee you, it’s also so worth it!…
Read MoreHello friends!
kristopher here. I hope this blog finds you all well!
This week, I’ve been thinking about how much I love the asset-based approach and how transformative the asset-based mindset really is.
In one of my school classes this week, my professor referenced an absolutely fascinating study that was conducted in 2008. You can read the full story here, but essentially,…
Read MoreHi there! For those who I haven’t met yet, I’m Claire Gallegos, the Lead Organizer here at The Neighboring Movement. I work with our Kansas Animator Program, and I am so excited to announce the big news we just found out!
*drumroll please*….
Read MoreThis week, Adam and Matt are joined by John McKnight to discuss the six (possibly even seven) attributes of a culture of contribution, how these characteristics in a community could foster peace, and then continues with the roles that we play within our neighborhood.
The six attributes discussed: Cooperation, Hospitality, Generosity, Kindness, Accepting Fallibility, Forgiveness, (and the seventh, Spirituality.)
What would you do to make these manifest?
The people who love you, which of these attributes would they say YOU have?
And look at your neighbors. What attributes do you see them living into? We want to hear your stories.
How do we tell these stories in our neighborhoods?
The roles that people perform in a community: Healers, Conscience, Artists, Conveners, Bridgers, Connectors, Voices, Visionaries, Executors, Tuck Pointers. We would welcome your thoughts on this list.
Which of these do you feel like is a role that gives you joy?
Is there a role that you would add?
And think about your neighbors. Do you see them embodying a role listed here? If so, what does that look like?
Are there missing roles you would add to this list?
You can learn more about John McKnight HERE and a link for The Learnings of John McKnight can be found HERE.
Listen on any podcast platform! Here are links to the most popular ones…
iTunes: https://apple.co/2Tba3H1
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2VBrUDT
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2NC744g
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2EoHTOE
As a part of my Easter series I simply want to reflect on one of my favorite post-resurrection stories so that we might slow down and let Christ reassure us of his love and provision.
Read MoreNeighboring Tip of the Week - Reflect on the neighboring experiments you’ve attempted in the last few months.
Every few months, we like to stop and reflect upon our neighboring experiments. Doing so helps us celebrate and grieve these experiences, and it also helps us move forward in a way that allows our past experiments to shape our future ones. Have you attempted any neighboring experiments in the last few months? If not, we understand, and now you have the opportunity to reflect upon if you feel energized to experiment with any in the next few months! If so, that’s awesome, and now you have the opportunity to reflect upon what those experiences were like! Remember, even if any of your experiments feel like failures, you can still learn so much from them! “The greatest teacher, failure is.” - Jedi Master Yoda
Here are some of our tips for neighboring experiments from the last few months:…
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