Keeping in Touch - October 14
Good morning, James Bay United Church,
In a few hours from now, the mysteries associated with our Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Event will be solved. Thanks to Marg and Doug for arranging our dinner parties; and to our hosts for welcoming unknown guests at your table; and to our guests for boldly showing up to the doors of unknown hosts. For those not involved this year, listen out for the laughter, and know that we'll likely play it again come the Spring.
Last Sunday marked the beginning of the Season of Creation, that 6 week stretch between Thanksgiving and Advent when we give particular attention to the wonder and gift of God's creation. We're approaching the season this year through the theme "now is the moment to learn hope" taken from an address of that title by John Holloway. You may wish to watch the video of that address. And then there was this line in an article about gratitude that jumped out at the Worship Team in our planning: "Practicing contentment is a radical act in a consumer driven soceity." Thanks to Cheryl Macpherson, each week of this season we are being offered a guide to practicing contentment. Along with making those guides available on Sunday mornings, we'll be sure to post them. I'm already sensing a rich season in store for us.
A few weeks ago a number of us were part of a large neighbourhood gathering to hear about the Resilient Streets initiative in James Bay. It was heartening to feel the enthusiasm among people for how we might take some further steps to strengthen the quality of care and connection in our neighbourhood. Before we left the event that evening, we were encouraged to imagine some real possibilities for bringing people together. Not only that, we were told about grant money available to support our endeavours. Thanks to Bev we are applying for a grant in aid of the redevelopment of the front yard of the church to create a "parklet"... patio, seating, garden area. And in the meantime, in a follow-up communication from the initiative facilitatiors, we are being reminded and enthusiastically encouraged to draw on funds made available for small, simple one-off initiatives or larger, longer term events or projects -- all designed with fostering relationships and resilience in mind. Here's a brief description of the 2 types of easy-to-access grants:
1) A $50 micro grant to support a Neighbour “Pre-Planning” Gathering (think “Party with a Purpose!”) ... bring neighbours together to build relationships and identify what type of projects neighbours are interested in undertaking together. Some examples of how people have previously used these grants include living room conversations, pancake breakfasts, street/building BBQ, block parties, and potlucks to name a few.
2) Up to $200 for a Resilient Streets Project micro-grant to support already connected neighbours who want to do a project together in their building or on their street. Some examples of how people have previously used these grants include building little free libraries, street murals, benches to facilitate socializing between neighbours, materials for skills sharing between neighbours, and hosting a "party with a purpose" where immediate neighbours learn together about topics such as emergency preparedness or energy efficiency.
Find out more and apply HERE for either of them. Application deadline: October 31. There's still time ... Start scheming!
Grace and Peace, Karen