By the time you all receive this August Journal, the St. John’s Block Party will be history and we will have more first hand experience with the idea. I want to share with you a few thoughts concerning why it is that I am in favor of ideas like this. I believe that St. Johns needs to be very intentional about becoming a positive presence in our neighborhood. We do that, I believe, by offering ourselves in as many ways as we can to the families in the blocks around us. As we gradually get to know our neighbors, we will be better equipped to more precisely meet concrete needs that fit their needs and our capacities. All along the way, we need to be asking ourselves: “What is the most loving thing we can do for those within our reach?”
All of this will cause us to enlarge our family. As all of us offer our support and participation in this kind of event, we will develop friendships and acquaintances and will understand more deeply what it means to love our neighbors. Slowly, we will become better givers and better receivers. This is the beginning of love that heals in the name and spirit of Jesus. I hope that many of us will find some way to participate in this Block Party. It will be fun, but if we stay alert, it will be much more than that.
Pastor Don
