Eyes to See, Ears to Hear: Animators Hone Their Connection-Spotting Skills
Another batch of Faith-Based Animators has finished our cohort strong! Once again, our Animators were asked to take intentional (and sometimes awkward) steps to build relationships on their blocks in a time when being so intentional feels more counter-cultural than ever. They overcame their anxieties and a variety of challenges, and they each honed their vision to see a whole bunch of neighborhood gifts and connections that were right under the surface! They paid attention to the possibilities on their blocks, and then they created space to bring those possibilities to life.
Neighborhood Gatherings
All six of our graduates brought their neighbors together for a gathering, each with their own flair and creativity. Nick, a Wesleyan from Hutchinson, KS drew on his experience feeding people as a “dinner church”pastor to throw together a National Good Neighbor Day cookout with just 10 days notice. Almost two dozen neighbors showed up! He had each neighbor share about something they know so well they could teach someone else, and in just a few minutes, it was clear just how many untapped connections had been there all along. Nick learned there that two of his neighbors like to compete in the Swedish lawn game, kubb, so he decided to drive up to Lindsborg, KS to watch them play! The gathering also spawned plans for a neighborhood kubb game day, a garage sale, and the idea of creating a small tool library for the block.
On a drizzly Wichita evening, Meghan and Preston, members of the multi-ethnic Redeemer Church, gathered neighbors together around a fire pit with s’mores. They were able to surface outdoor cooking connections that set the stage for getting together to smoke meats sometime next year.
Jessica, a United Methodist pastor from the DFW metroplex in Texas, organized a popsicle party in her driveway. Her family spent really quality time with some other couples on the street they didn’t know as well. Noting that she and her family had been talking about which neighbors her oldest son could go to in an emergency, Jessica said that, after the gathering, her son “now knows more people and has a feeling of safety.”
Michael, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, took advantage of a neighborhood institution and invited a group of neighbors to join him at a local Pittsburgh eatery for conversation! This was just 5 days after inviting neighbors to give out Halloween candy with him. Michael started the cohort with a lot of anxiety around putting himself out there with his neighbors, and he ended it with two gatherings. He also had a one-on-one hangout, and he even knocked on a neighbor’s door to give them a surprise gift to mark a work transition!
Roberta, an ecumenical Christian and recent seminary graduate in North Carolina, came into the cohort with the goal of building a physical gathering space for her neighbors in her rural backyard! Though the space is unfinished, she was able to gather a huge group of neighbors under her awning. The neighbors played our “head, hands, heart” gift discovery game to unearth a plethora of connections fit for rural life: farm skills, cottage industries, and earthy hobbies! At the very end of the cohort, Roberta ran into a neighbor who attended a Presbyterian (PCUSA) church. Not only did she start going to church with her neighbor, but now she and her neighbor are partnering to form a youth group! This group will help kids from different churches and denominations share their gifts and grow together in a place where there just aren’t as many options for young people.
In addition to creating space for connection, the gatherings helped neighbors change the way they thought about their neighborhoods. One Animator said: “I was convinced one of my neighbors hated us, but he came to the gathering and said we were the kindest people he ever met. [He ended up] inviting us over and apologized [for not being as warm in the past].”
Discovering Neighborhood Assets
At the beginning of November, our Animators presented their asset maps to the rest of the group. Asset maps showcase their whole journeys from knowing one or two neighbors to creating a host of new relationships. They are a living record of the talents, passions, interests, and dreams they learned about along the way! Through the last 7 weeks, the Animators sat down with 41 different neighbors for Holy Listening Conversations (HLCs) which uncovered at least 140 gifts that were previously hidden. I am reminded just how sacred it is when this God-given abundance is brought to light because only when gifts are made visible can they be woven together for the common good. This group truly built up their metaphorical weaving skills over the course of the cohort. Each exercise and mini-experiment on their block sharpened their “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” the possibilities that come from connecting neighbors together based on their gifts.
Each Animator shows no signs of slowing down. I mentioned that Nick is planning several neighborhood events and a tool library. Michael is currently doing the 8 Front Door challenge all over again, finding an ally to help him plan another gathering in January. He and a neighbor even chipped in to buy a shared snow shovel and salt for their sidewalks!
At Roberta’s gathering, several pairs of neighbors exchanged numbers around common interests in beekeeping, mental health care, and music. In addition to her youth group plans, she will invite those neighbors to go on walks so that she can follow-up and get to know some of them more deeply. She is also laying plans for a spring get-together.
Meghan and Preston plan to meet with a couple of neighbors for cozy activities like chess and quilt-making while they wait for better grilling weather! And Jessica, in addition to her own neighborhood plans, is going to co-facilitate a FAN cohort with me in Denton, TX, next Fall!
It is abundantly clear that this cohort found too much life and potential in their neighborhoods to let their neighboring energy be contained in just 14 weeks. The Spirit never stops moving, never stops connecting, never stops animating the people, places, and ecology of our neighborhoods towards God’s good purposes of right relationship. Our Animators, with eyes and ears wide open to this weaving work, continue to do their part wholeheartedly!
