RHYTHMS | PRAYER, PRACTICE, PLACE
Vol 3. Issue 9
This issue includes a Prayer for Holy Care, a story of a Neighborhood Garage Sale in Centennial as a Practice, and Habitat for Humanity ReStoreas a sacred Place.
We live in a beautiful world. Our hope is these simple rhythms cultivate love for our neighborhoods and care for all Creation.
PRAYER | Holy Care
Father in Heaven,
Creator of all that is.
May we reflect
Your love for Creation,
And care for the home we share
With all You have made.
May we reduce
Our wastefulness and carelessness.
May materials matter,
Every object as an intricate part
Of Your wonder filled world.
May we reuse and repair
Items and instruments,
Tools and technology,
With intentionality and creativity.
May we reconsider
Filling our garages with gear,
Our closest with clothing,
And the endless array of items
We are marketed to amass in our homes.
May we replace
Over-consumption with creative simplicity,
Relentnless greed with expansive generosity,
And our neglect, misuse, and exploitation of Your Creation
With wise stewardship and holy care.
May we remember—
We reduce and reuse,
Repair and recycle,
Restore and renew,
Because the neighborhood is Yours,
And everything in it.
Amen.
“The earth is Yours, and everything in it.”
PRACTICE | Neighborhood Garage Sale
“The best thing you can find at a garage sale isn’t a bargain—it’s community.”
Practice Coordinating a Neighborhood Garage Sale
Create an easy way to sign up.
Use an online form for neighbors to confirm they are participating.
Share the date.
Spread the word through email, Facebook, Nextdoor, yard signs, and HOA newsletter.
Advertise!
Find neighborhood businesses to be sponsors to pay for newspaper and online promotion.
Enjoy the day.
Pray for good weather. Walk the neighborhood. Find new (to you) treasures.
Each spring neighbors open their garages and cover their front lawns with tables full of treasures. Garage sales are commonplace events. But for The Knolls, Cherry Knolls, and Tiffany neighborhoods, located in Centennial, an annual Neighborhood Garage Sale has become a cornerstone of community life.
Jennifer Steller first coordinated a Neighborhood Garage Sale in 2008 by gathering a few households on her street to sell their unused items together to increase visibility. The next year her and her husband’s real estate company sponsored a sale for the entire neighborhood by providing maps, signage, and advertising. What began with 37 homes has grown into a beloved annual event with over 100 participating homes across multiple neighborhoods.
“Our communities share an elementary school, special events, and outdoor concerts at The Streets at SouthGlenn,” shared Jennifer. “Two compete in the same summer swim league. Sharing a garage sale is just one more way we come together as neighbors.” Jennifer shares how the garage sale has helped cultivate community. “There are so many connections: sellers who partner up to keep each other company, generous participants who practically (and literally) give their items away because they’re happy to see them find a new home, and the kids who get into the action with their own bake sales and lemonade stands.”
The Neighborhood Garage Sale has patiently turned the often-avoided spring-cleaning ritual into a valued community rhythm. “It’s one of the social events of the spring, as people emerge from their winter ‘hibernation,’ so excited to walk the neighborhood and reconnect with old friends and meet new neighbors.” Jennifer never expected how neighbors would arrange their calendar around this tradition. She starts receiving inquiries in February, with neighbors planning their spring cleaning and travel around the date. “People come back year after year because they enjoy the great deals and the community.”
In a cultural moment marked by over-consumption and isolation a Neighborhood Garage Sale can provide an important practice of repurposing and reconnecting. Your part may be as simple as opening your garage and putting out a table full of treasures. A Neighborhood Garage Sale is a creative and collaborative way to connect to your neighbors and neighborhood.
Thank you to Jennifer Steller for sharing her story and contribution to this article.
PLACE | Habitat Restore
“For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.”
The thrill of thrifting and the warmth of connection are palpable when you enter a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It is a sacred place where community and commerce converge.
Habitat ReStores are discount home goods and home improvement stores managed and operated by Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the country. The ReStores sell gently-used and wholesale home goods – furniture, cabinets, tools, lighting, and more. Every item has a story, and every purchase supports a greater cause. All the proceeds from sales at the ReStores support Habitat for Humanity, helping build and repair homes in the community.
The first Habitat ReStore opened in Austin, Texas in 1992. The first ReStore in Denver opened its doors in 2004. Today, there are more than 1,000 ReStores benefitting Habitat for Humanity in six countries. There are four Habitat ReStores located across Metro Denver in Arvada, Aurora, Denver, and Littleton.
When you walk into a ReStore, you are greeted with an ever-evolving, inviting maze of thrifted and liquidated items. Tools, couches, photo frames, paint—every item beckons customers to refresh or reimagine their living spaces, sparking creativity and inspiration for home improvement projects. The benefits to the community are many. When donors drop off their gently-used goods they no longer need, the stores help extend the lives of items that might otherwise be thrown away. Last year alone, the four Metro Denver ReStores diverted 4,750 tons of material from landfills and recycled over 33,000 pounds of metal.
Because the ReStores rely on donations, the stores rely on relationships. The ReStores have become community gathering places, where donating, volunteering, browsing, or buying, all contribute to the common good. Customers can purchase items at affordable prices, making home improvement accessible to all. Donors find satisfaction in knowing their items are given a second life. Staff and volunteers connect with each other and with customers throughout the day, building relationships that strengthen our community fabric.
The lack of affordable housing is a complex and urgent issue facing Metro Denver communities. Incomes have not kept pace with median home prices, meaning families spend more of their paychecks on housing. Because of low home supply, high building costs, and urgent demand, homeownership is increasingly inaccessible to many. The ReStores contribute to a solution. Every dollar spent at a ReStore tangibly benefits affordable homes in the community, making a real difference in the lives of families who face housing uncertainty.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores are more than just stores; they are places where neighbors gather, share stories, and support a common cause. Whether you are a shopper looking for a bargain, a donor wanting to make a difference, or a volunteer eager to give back, the ReStores open their doors to all, believing that every person and purchase helps build a better community. A Habitat ReStore is a sacred place.
Laura Willetto is the Director of Communications for Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, a role that combines her love of storytelling with her passion for community-building. She and her family live in a bungalow in Southwest Denver that has been the subject of numerous creative home improvement projects.
More rhythms to root your faith in place.
Sacred Place provides a beautiful bi-weekly publication to share the rhythms of a Prayer, Practice, and Place as simple ways to help cultivate love for our neighbors and neighborhoods.
