Tag: neighborhood

Obama creates Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership Council

“Instead of driving us apart, our very beliefs can bring us together,” President Obama said yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast.

E pluribus unum, in other words.

From the Whitehouse.gov blog ::

The President named Joshua DuBois to lead the office, and also announced the creation of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships — a group of 25 religious and secular leaders.

“Whether it’s connecting groups that are training people to do new jobs, or figuring out the role of faith-based organizations in combating global climate change, this office creates those partnerships in a way that’s responsible, constitutional, and — bottom line — helps those in need,” DuBois said.

It will be interesting to see what comes from this council.

In my neighborhood

long exposures

I saw this on a random church website describing their community groups…

Hopefully over the course of the year, our neighborhoods will be blessed by our coming together.

Could we say this about our own individual community groups/families?

Could we make that our goal this year?

Daniel’s Den, Waxahachie Cares, Austin Street, Goodwill etc. etc. etc. are ALL great causes. And I love the stories I hear about folks getting involved and wanting to get involved with each of them.

But what about YOUR neighborhood? Will it be blessed by your family and your group coming together this year? How will your group – no matter what size it may be – how will it bless your neighborhood?

Some ideas ::

  • Host a BBQ for your neighbors
  • Host a party for the big game and invite your neighbors
  • Deliver cookies or small bags of candies to your neighbors
  • Plant a community garden
  • Work to keep your house and landscaping in top notch condition and help encourage others to do the same — offer to help when they may not be able
  • Organize a neighborhood watch
  • Stock your freezer with heat and serve lasagnas or soups for when a neighbor gets sick or out of work
  • Invite neighbors over for coffee or tea or whatever
  • Get involved in the HOA – be a voice for positive change – not complaining about the wrongs others are doing
  • Walk the neighbor’s dogs
  • Pick up the mail for a neighbor going on vacation

I think the key to remember, no matter what it is – don’t do it because you have an agenda. If they ask why you’re doing it, just say “I want to be a better neighbor.”

What other ideas do you have?

What do you wish your neighbor would do for you? Now go and do likewise.

And while you’re at it – say a prayer for me and our group. Pray that we also can begin living this idea out.

Flowers make all the difference

Originally published as Church Flowers in The Belton Journal

A pastor in St. Paul, Minn. blogged this week about a flower garden planted in front of his church.

First of all, I love pastors that blog regularly. It gives a lot of insight into the ministry and what they go through and see throughout the week.

Some even give insight into how their weekly sermon progresses.

Fellowship Church in Dallas has a blog set up for their entire church staff to post notes and journals on. (UPDATE: While Pastor Ed Young still blogs, I can’t find the blogs for the entire staff anymore.)

It gives you a connection with the staff that you might not otherwise have.

But I digress…

Pastor Pat Kahnke of St. Paul Fellowship Church writes that he noticed a bunch of kids bustling around in the church parking lot earlier this week.

As he walked closer he realized that a number of his church members had taken the initiative to plow up a weedy section of their church lot and plant a flower bed in its place.

While planting the flower bed, one of the church members knocked on a neighboring house door to ask to borrow a water hose.

The church neighbor said they could borrow the hose that day and year-round to keep the flower bed looking healthy.

And as a result, another member volunteered to plow the man’s backyard for him.

What a great sign of ministry on so many levels.

They took the care of the church upon themselves

No one sat around and waited for a church beautification committee to tell them what needed to be done. No building committee hired out work that church members could easily do.

People took responsibility for their church and went the extra mile to be sure their place of worship was taken care of.

What if each of us looked for areas in our own churches or work places where we could go the extra mile without being asked?

What if we quit shrugging responsibility for things in our offices or church and stepped up and said, “This needs to be done — and I’m going to do it. Even if it’s not in my job description and even if I may not be an expert on the subject.–

They involved outsiders

One of the things I love about this story is that it involved people in the neighborhood.

Now granted, with a little planning they could have brought their own water hose, but think of the ministry opportunity they would have missed. In the process, they made sure that a neighbor of the church knew what was going on at the church and then found a way to meet him at his need.

Wasn’t that Jesus’ entire ministry was about? He met people at their need.

If we are passionate about what we do, or wherever we do it, it can be contagious – people will want to be a part of it.

A business cannot grow without new customers and a church cannot grow without new members. We must rid ourselves of being exclusive or selective in who we reach out to. We must bring outsiders in.

A few months ago I wrote about George Masters who was so passionate about Apple’s iPod, that he spent several hours designing a complete television commercial based on his favorite toy.

“Why would a school teacher spend a good chunk of his free time, for five months, crafting a really slick ad for no money? For no real recognition other than a, ‘Hey, that’s cool,’ from a few friends? Because he really, really likes his iPod,– wrote blogger Andy Havens. “Masters frankly admits that he partly worked on the project as a way of teaching himself some computer animation basics, and to be part of a portfolio. That being said, why pick the iPod mini as his subject? Because he’s a huge fan. And let’s remember that ‘fan’ is short for ‘fanatic.’–

If we can get people passionate about our product or message, people will become a part of the message and share it with them where ever they go.

Little efforts can go a long way

Third, as Pastor Kahnke wrote in his blog that he was blessed and ministered to by seeing their effort and the beautiful flowers left by their effort.

A pastor who was worn down was encouraged and blessed by a small effort by members of his congregation.

I can’t imagine that this group of church goers would have realized the impact their thoughtfulness had on their pastor, or the impact it would have on a newspaper editor some 1,113 miles away.

You never know what impact your willingness to serve will have on others.