I have been struck over the past year over the power of an invitation. Invitations can come in many different forms. The invitation does not have to be to some type of formal event, which we often correlate with an invitation such as to my niece’s First Comm...

Magical….. is word that comes to mind after spending time at the Children’s Garden in Sarasota. It is very much off the beaten path but filled with a pirate ship, performance stage, dragons, fort, pond and so much more. What are the magical places ...

Our Friends Deamon Harges and Anne Mitchell are hosting a conversation in Indianapolis.   We are happy to share their invitation with you: Please join us for an exciting two days learning how to use Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), Theory U and other...

From our friends Jack and Lynda ….

Conversations are very different now from anything I have ever done before. Once in my work, I had answers for people. Now I have only questions. I have learned people and neighborhoods have the answers. My conversations are much more ordinary, usually about e...

Each of us has many gifts.  Discover them! Look for gifts with the intentionality and intensity. Spend your time with people and in neighbourhoods. Build relationships. Be open to possibilities. Suspend control. We do not need to fix or correct people. Acknow...

My friend Matt had just moved to Cincinnati and I learned he really cared about baseball. He loves following major league teams and loves to play softball. We were exploring his neighborhood and saw a group getting ready to play baseball and went over to find ...

Everyone has gifts, usually many. Sometimes they are easily discovered. Sometimes it takes time and more importantly a relationship before gifts can become visible. Simple questions can help us learn about a person’s gifts: ·      Tell me about your fa...

Written by:  Mark Buttelwerth A vague idea many years ago remains a clear and shining beacon in the community of Westwood today. The Westwood United Methodist Church sponsored “My Neighbors Place (MNP)” began as a murky dream of then Pastor Steve Benett w...

Almost 5 years ago, we started telling the story about Brother Al Mascia. Brother Al could often be found on the corner of Liberty and Vine Street speaking with neighbors of St. Francis Seraph Church. He, along with Jim Murphy, cofounded the Canticle Café at ...