Bring on the crowds…

Back in November, our home hosted a barbeque and movie night in our backyard.  We left a flyer with every home on our street and the surrounding streets inviting them to participate and contribute to the event.  We were blown away as each and every person that we spoke with expressed excitement at the idea of bringing together all of the neighbors for such an event.  The week before the big event, we eagerly prepared our home and reminded neighbors as we came in contact with them.  On the day of the event, we set out the tables, fired up the grill, put on the music, opened the gate, and waited for the crowds to arrive.  Well … although we had some of our neighbors show, the crowds never arrived.  The day wasn’t a waste but it was not what we expected.

Fast forward three months…

Over the Christmas holiday, I made door-to-door deliveries of homemade cookies to neighbors.  Although this activity was of a much smaller scale than our first attempt at connecting with neighbors, it proved to be effective.  In following weeks, there were many inquiries about the next batch of cookies and even offers to purchase ingredients to expedite the process.  I’ll never forget the day “Cliff” came up to the car as we drove by with excitement in his voice and said, “I got the chocolate chips!”  Who would have thought that young men hanging on the corner until the wee hours of the morning would be so interested in homemade cookies?

The cookies broke the ice leading to conversation among our neighbors about ways in which we could gather together as a community.  Although we were invited, Elaina and I were not going to hang on the corner drinking with the fellas every weekend; we needed a different venue that would be appropriate for all ages.  The solution… old school “Sunday Dinner” like grandma used to do.  We come together every week at our home to share a meal in which each neighbor has mutually contributed to the planning and preparation.

Sunday Dinners have carried on for about seven weeks now.  Each week, dinner looks a little different; one week it might be good conversation over plates of spaghetti, the next it might be an engaging movie with a helping of chili, and the next week might be intense card games with a side of tender ribs covered in barbeque sauce.  What I see at our dinners is that neighbors look after one another’s children, serve each other plates of food to ensure everyone has enough, and clean up after one another so the burden is not on a select few.  Not only are they examples of us caring for one another in the most basic ways, but every interaction from meal preparation to table set up to meal clean up has become an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversation about transformation of our community.

During our most recent dinner, we first filled our bellies then focused our attention on the task of planning the upcoming “Easter Sunday Dinner”.  Each neighbor expressed a desire to make this dinner extra special with a traditional meal and fun activities for the kids.  Facilitating this planning process was a lot of fun where I was able to see the gifts, talents, and interests of each neighbor come out as we discussed the roles they would play in making the dinner a success.  We got Cliff and “Nathan” on the kids’ games, “Kevin” and Cliff on the egg decorating, Elaina and Erika on the meats, Asquith on the mashed potatoes, and so forth.

In the midst of our planning, there was a side conversation being carried on which quickly became a loud debate.  Back and forth each party passionately made their point.  When the volume came down and the discussion was over, it was clear that the love remained.  Sunday Dinners have actually become a place of honest discussion, familial security, and unconditional love.  That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!

Posted on April 6th, 2010 by Michael
Filed under: Community Development, Family & Friends, Mentoring & Discipleship, News, Ujima Initative