The Kallander family attended their first Flower Street block party before they closed on the sale of their home in the Lakewood neighborhood. That first block party began to build a foundation of community and connection with their neighbors. The next summer, the neighbors who had lived on the block since 1956, passed the baton to Karin Kallander and two other families to organize the party. For the last 16 years, at the end of every August, there is a beautiful block party on Flower Street.

On Thursday nights every summer, something remarkable happens in Dan and Stephanie Lagerborg’s backyard—people show up. They bring something to grill, a side dish to share, and an openness to relax and connect. There’s no formal invitation, no sign-up. Just a grill, beverages, a beautiful backyard, and a rhythm of weekly welcome.

I co-lead a church that meets in our home. We decided a practical and joyful way we could serve our neighborhood was to sponsor the Easter Egg Hunt. Last year, we chose to hand-deliver an invitation to the egg hunt to every house in the neighborhood. We asked the families in our church to contribute eggs, create a cookie decorating station, and hide over 800 hundred eggs!

A Rule of Life is ancient Christian language for practices to organize your life around what you love. We all have, consciously or unconsciously, created rhythms for our life to protect what we value. Regardless of our age, gender, or personality, we all have a Rule of Life. We all have practices that shape us and form us.

It was a bright and chilly Sunday morning in December when my daughter and I waited silently with coffee and mimosas ready on the kitchen counter. We were uncertain if anyone would walk through our door for the first Holly Street Holiday Brunch.

“Halloween is a boo-tiful day to get to know your neighbors.” says Kristin Schell, founder of The Turquoise Table. There is no other day of the year when more neighbors knock on each other’s door. Halloween is a unique opportunity to show hospitality to your neighbors and neighborhood.

Providing meals is a nourishing way to love your neighbors. It may be for a family welcoming home a new child or welcoming a new neighbor to the neighborhood.

Hundreds of pancakes are served at the Gilley house every other Tuesday morning before students leave for Arapahoe High School. It began for Jill Gilley with a simple question, “What if?”

Ice cream is an almost guaranteed way to gather people. There’s a magical connection when people come together to enjoy the endless variations of frozen cream, milk, and sugar. An ice cream social is a sweet, and simple, way to spend time with your neighbors

Wandering is a counter script to the often overly scheduled lives centered around efficiency and productivity. Wandering is a practice that cultivates curiosity, looking to be interrupted by the world around you. When we are willing to wander, we have the possibility of being present to what is around us.

By walking hand in hand with the past, may we all journey forward together, writing new chapters into the richness of our shared history.

Gratitude for delivery drivers cultivates hospitality for all those who serve us in unseen ways.

Chalk is ordinary material of the earth. This practice takes common elements and makes them holy. Chalk does not make a permanent mark. It fades with time, but each time we enter our home and see the inscription, we are reminded of our desire for our homes to be places of hospitality, welcome, and peace.

A book club is a practice that cultivates curiosity and community. Book reading is usually considered a solitary activity. A book club invites a reader into a shared activity. A neighborhood book club is a unique collective experience of hospitality, listening, and learning.

Street Dinners is an everyday practice. It has a low entry barrier to connect with your neighbors. We’re grateful to Jocelyn for sharing this practice with us. We want to learn from your practices too. Please share them with us! We look forward to sharing them with you.

Being a regular is an ordinary, but intentional, practice to love your neighbors and neighborhood. It is arranging everyday activities with consistency. Being a regular provides a rhythm to build relationships.

Clearing a neighbor’s sidewalk this winter is remembered throughout the year. It provides a foundation when the seasons change. A summer backyard BBQ invitation arrives with gratitude when it comes with the gift of a clear sidewalk that winter.