Another year in the rear-view mirror. A chance to reflect and consider: What did we do best in 2019? What did we learn? How is our community changing and what will we do in 2020 to respond to those changes?

Our plans for 2020 exceed our capacity, but isn’t stretching/reaching living the best kind of life? So, we’ll shoot for the moon. What we won’t change is our commitment, always, to our neighbors. It is our raison d’etre. The lens through which every decision is considered.

So, you may ask: “Who is my neighbor? Who is your neighbor?”

One way we’ve come into a deeper understanding of “neighbor” is with this turn of phrase: “I am neighbor. You are neighbor. We are neighbor.” Read that two times. And then read it again. What does that say? What does it mean?

This is a declaration of unity! As neighbors, we are glued together. My success is my neighbor’s success. When my neighbor wins, I win. We are not living in a zero-sum game. I believe that this is a new reality that Jesus invites us into—the reality of the “Beloved Community.” And this is not some other-worldly, after-death kind of experience. Rather, we are called to participate NOW in this new reality. We get to help build it! The Beloved Community is a reality in which people are not only fed and healthy, housed and safe, but also in which people are living into their giftedness. Community enCompass is about creating a community in which each and every neighbor has a chance to sing the gift that lives within them. We want each person to find and know their gift so that the community can benefit from what the Creator made possible in them.

Step into these pages, and let yourself steep in these stories and numbers. Sink into the reality that you are making this stuff possible. You help us create a place where restoration, reconciliation, and redemption happens within individuals (our neighbors!) and within a community (our neighborhoods!).

Thank you for your gift of being neighbor. Together, seeking SHALOM in the City!