Have you been wondering what this block party is
all about? In February 2012, a small
group from GPPC had lunch with a group from Union Presbyterian Seminary. We were meeting to discuss ways to be better
neighbors to our shared neighborhood. We
talked about good neighbors and what makes them good. We talked about how great neighbors take
responsibility for the health of their neighborhood, its safety, its
cleanliness, and the growth and welfare of each neighbor. We all agreed that we needed a way to build
relationships with our neighbors. The
idea of the block party was one that percolated to the surface.
As our
first block party approached last April, we decided that we would extend personal
invitations to our neighbors. In groups
of 2 or more, we would knock on apartment and house doors along Chamberlayne
and Seminary Avenues, between Laburnum and Rennie Avenues. Gulp.
As a Brownie and Girl Scout, I dreaded cookie sales. I dreaded knocking on neighbors’ doors (and I
actually knew most of those neighbors) and asking them to buy cookies. I dreaded asking them to buy my cookies,
dreaded them telling me no, so much so, that it was almost a relief when no one
answered. I didn’t care about the prizes
I could get for selling the most cookies.
This shy girl would just rather not knock on the doors of people she
knew, let alone strangers.
So fast forward to last spring when I was
going to be knocking on doors of absolute strangers…I was still that little
girl who just didn’t want to do it, but this endeavor was so much more
important to me than selling a couple of boxes of thin mints. If I was going to build relationships with
neighbors, I was going to have to put myself out there. Make myself vulnerable. Gulp.
I prayed. A lot.
Elders went out as part of our Session
meeting. Just 20 minutes. That’s all it took to cover a block. I prayed, nervously knocked on that first door,
blurted out the personal invitation, handed our neighbor the flier, and
waited. I’m not sure what I was waiting
for. Rejection? Anger for disturbing dinnertime? That
neighbor was so gracious and said, “What a great idea, I think I’ll come.” Whew.
I felt like I’d sold a box of thin mints. Not only had I sold it, but the neighbor had
shared its contents with me. It got
easier with each door. Some didn’t
answer. I prayed for them and left a
door hanger.
The day
of the first block party was overcast, but we carried on. We got the grills going, people crossed
Chamberlayne, we ate, we laughed, and we jumped in the bounce house. Whew.
All was going well. And then the
clouds burst. Buckets and buckets of
rain fell. Disappointed, I shrugged my
shoulders and thought, “Well, we tried.”
And then something wonderful happened.
Our guests didn’t go home. They
helped us carry all of the food, all of the tables and all of the chairs into
the Fellowship Hall. And they
STAYED. They stayed to eat, to talk, to
laugh. About 100 people attended that
day.
The
second block party was in September 2012. The day started out overcast. We weren’t worried. We’ve been here before. More people crossed Chamberlayne Avenue. We recognized neighbors from the last
party. We had about 200 guests this
time. A diverse group of people eating
together at tables, learning about one another, laughing with one another. Could this be what God’s kingdom looks
like? I sure hope so.
April
20, 2013 at noon is our next block party.
We plan to be more intentional about building relationships at this
party. We need lots of volunteers to
make it happen. There are numerous opportunities
in the days leading up to, before and after the block party. We especially need people to hand out fliers
and door hangers. If you can’t
volunteer, I really do hope you’ll come.
Come and see what the kingdom of God looks like.
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