​Something pretty special is happening in and through our community. Last night, we shared a meal with our neighbors as we do every Wednesday and what goodness is found around the table! Our neighborhood meals are poppin' -- with more neighbors joining in and inviting more friends and neighbors. The last couple of weeks, we've been bursting at the seams with a count of 25!

And what a beautiful picture it is. From the tots to the white haired, from the immigrant to the 30-year residents to those just moving in, from engineers and teachers to artists, the one thing we share is this place. We are neighbors.

On Tuesday, I was in the office where we run our nonprofit, Turning Point, that brings neighbors and students together to provide after school tutoring and summer STEM camps to kids who are facing challenges. And as usual, a Turning Point parent came by and we shared heart to heart. Because Turning Point is far more than a program. It is a community. And again and again, we hear from parents, "You are our community." "You are our family." "I don't know what I would do without you."

And we are so privileged to be invited into their lives. I have been invited to Christmas celebrations and coffee ceremonies. Lynn, our director, has been invited for tea, coffee, injera, baby baptisms, and community events. We celebrate the wins together and grieve the losses. Lynn is a pastor at heart and loves on our parents, tutors and students indiscriminately. And just this past month Lynn, on behalf of Turning Point, was awarded Community Partner of the Year at Parkwood Elementary! It is so beautiful to see what God is doing as we continue to be faithful to love our neighbor.

Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our being (heart, mind, soul and strength) and to love our neighbor as ourself. And there was a time in my life when the "love your neighbor" was a bit theoretical for me. Yes, sure, love everyone but what did that look like in my everyday life? Of course, there were occasional opportunities to connect with a neighbor or another parent or someone in need, but most of my relational energy was spent inside my Christian cloister of church friends and my own family.

Today, after investing in the Shoreline community through Turning Point over the past 7 years; after rooting in this community as we moved into the neighborhood 5 years ago; and after living intentionally with others in the neighborhood for the past 3 years, I can tell you this. I don't want to live any other way! And neither would my family. We all shed big, crocodile tears saying goodbye to our housemates, Ryan, Cecelia and Ammie this week. One of my daughters said, "Can't we all just live together forever?"

And our neighbors felt the loss too. We care about one another. We are community. We are family. From the social justice book club, to community story nights, to Turning Point community meals and neighborhood dinners, a fabric of care is being woven here. And "loving our neighbor" is no longer theoretical. It is real. It is gritty, and it is beautiful.

My challenge for The Practicing Church this summer is to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. In summer the Seattle freeze thaws a bit and people are out in their yards and in their neighborhoods. So now is the time to practice loving your neighbor. Below, you will find some simple ways to begin and I hope all of you will join in the fun!

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

WALK YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Get out of the isolation of your car and walk your neighborhood. You might actually encounter your neighbors! And bonus points if you walk your neighborhood with your dog! People cannot resist a dog! Here's a wonderful article about the practice of walking your 'hood. 
Loving Your Actual Neighbor By Walking Your 'Hood
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SUMMER [PERPETUAL] PARTY
Host a party in your backyard this summer and invite your neighbors. It's easy as 1-2-3. 

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
August 7th is a night dedicated to getting to know your neighbors. There are parties going on in most neighborhoods and you can even choose to host one on your street. Such an easy way to meet your neighbors! 

CASUAL GET TOGETHER
If a party sounds like too much, invite a few neighbors over for drinks on the deck or a fire pit or game night. Make it casual!

SUMMER COMMUNITY EVENTS
There are always lots of events in summer, so get out there and attend some. Invite a neighbor to go with you! Summer concerts in the park, farmer's markets, festivals - spend time frolicking in your neighborhood!

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​by Jessica Ketola

Last Sunday was so rich as we joined our voices together to celebrate Pentecost and the Spirit now poured out on all flesh.

In the last days, God says, 
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. 
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, 
your young men will see visions, 
your old men will dream dreams. 
Even on my servants, both men and women, 
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, 
and they will prophesy. - Acts 2:17-18

We are the people our ancestors dreamed about. We are the church and a part of the grand sweeping story of God on the earth. All of us, every gender, young and old, privileged and oppressed, we have been given the Spirit.

And so now we dream dreams of renewal for our communities and our neighborhoods. We see visions of shalom in our places of work and school. And we prophesy. We speak the words of life, words of hope, words of divine purpose. Over ourselves. Over our neighbors. Over our community.

For out of our union with our triune God, as we are enfolded in love, immersed in God's presence with us and empowered by the Spirit, we become conduits of divine love and healing in the world around us.

For love is not theory. Transformation is not osmosis. The kingdom of God must root deeply in our lives and be tested and proven in the places that we live, work and play. For our bodies are temples. Our everyday lives are sacramental. Our places are holy. And our land is sacred. These earthen shrines in all of creation are the contexts  in which the Spirit dwells.


by Jessica Ketola

This Sunday, the Christian Church celebrates and remembers one of its most significant events: Pentecost. The day of Pentecost, recounted in Acts 2, is an odd event in the life of the Church. It is our birth story. And it is a story filled with a variety of emotions, a diversity of people, and a multitude of implications.

A rushing wind, like the very breath (pneuma) of God fills the first followers of Jesus in a stunning act of new creation just as the Spirit first breathed life into Adam. Tongues of fire rest on their heads harkening back to Mt. Sinai when God descended as fire establishing a covenant with God's people to bring them out of slavery into the Edenic Promised Land. Their spiritual eyes are illumined, their hearts are converted, and their souls are filled with power. They finally know exactly Who Jesus Christ truly is, and their words reveal this new knowledge when they boldly begin to preach the gospel.

But this isn't just an ordinary sermon. For the crowds gathered that day celebrating the Jewish Festival of Shavu'ot from all different cultures and ethnicities, heard it in their own language! The Spirit of God now unfurled in the world in humankind. Christ burning in their hearts. An outpouring of gifts of the Spirit. And the stunning movement toward all people and all cultures in the beautiful diversity of creation.
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Pentecost means we have been given this breath of God, this Spirit of new creation. We have been inspired—a word that literally means “breathed into.” The mighty rushing wind has blown the Spirit into us. And if we are filled with the Spirit, if we are inspired, that means the mission of the redemption of Jesus Christ is at work in us. Every part of us is being bought back from exile, set free from slavery.
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This is the stunning news of the gospel and the culmination of the Easter season. Now, new creation is unfolding in and through us, awakening us to Life, freeing us from the malformed addictions of our false selves, liberating us from fear and cultural captivity, and empowering us to step into our God-given vocations to be a part of the Spirit's work of renewal and reconciliation on the earth.


by Jessica Ketola