For more than a decade Josh Haynes has been inviting men to the practice of sharing a drink and sharing a conversation about life and faith. Josh shared the origin, “We would pick a Thursday night once a month, everyone would show up on their bike, and we'd ride to a local brewery.”

Our family first joined a community garden when our kids were in elementary school. At the time, we didn’t know much about growing food, and we lived in a townhome with a small shady yard that had yielded two seasons of disappointment. We quickly discovered that gardening in the company of others gave us access to a wealth of knowledge and opportunity. Alongside neighbors—many of whom we might not have met otherwise—we dug, planted, watered, and weeded, and slowly learned the rhythm of life in the garden.

My mother, Marilyn Mackey, called her mother every Saturday morning for 30 years. “We would call to stay connected and know what was going on in each other's lives.” My mother reminds me, “That was when we paid for long-distance calls too.” But the practice of staying connected begins a generation before her. “My mother’s relationship with her mother, Grandma Miller, was that we saw them every weekend. We would go to their house on the farm and have a meal and play games.”

“The best thing you can find at a garage sale isn’t a bargain—it’s community.”

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.

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!

Cycling is a practice rooted in the joy of exploration and spans across cultures and generations. The invention of the bicycle in the early 19th century revolutionized personal transportation and leisure. Bike riding has evolved from a means of transportation to a recreational activity and sport for cyclists of all ages. Cycling is emblematic of Colorado culture as it is a practice that expresses freedom, adventure, and well-being.

Role-playing, commonly associated with acting and theater, can be a powerful tool for cultivating connection and understanding with our neighbors. Through the practice of creatively entering an imaginary situation, we can begin to build the necessary skills to respond to challenging interactions. 

A labyrinth is an ancient and embodied prayer practice. It is a way for your body to help restore your focus and attention on God. Labyrinths have been created by Christians across the centuries and countless civilizations. The lessons from the practice of walking a labyrinth are essential to our time that is marked by distraction and hurry.

Tutoring is a tangible way to invest in your neighborhood's future. Whiz Kids was founded as a tutoring nonprofit organization in 1990 when business leaders, church leaders, and school officials came together to address a growing academic gap among elementary age students in Denver. Their longevity and intentionality have made an impact in the lives of thousands of students in our city.

In the chill of the winter months, it is instinctive to retreat into the warmth of our homes. But winter also presents unique opportunities to love our neighbors in tangible and practical ways. Checking in on neighbors is a practice that can foster meaningful connection and offer important physical, emotional, and relational care.

The MLK Marade is a practice of loving your neighbor. It invites individuals to step out of their silos, to walk together in solidarity, and to reflect on the principles of justice, peace, and empathy. As we march from the MLK Memorial in City Park to Dever’s Civic Center, our steps reverberate as a powerful reminder of what is possible when communities unite in love.

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.