Neighborhood Blessers
There is a wonderful opportunity for you to be part of a wave of peace, calm and love in neighborhoods all over the world. It is a chance to listen to what God has in store for each neighborhood, to pray for the neighborhood and to bless it.
This is a prayer form developed by Venite Ministries and taught to me by Nancy Blansky. It's not complicated but your intention in doing it and the prayerful way you do it makes a difference.
So here's a short description of how to bless your neighborhood. Of course, you can do it any way you want to, so be creative!
1. Find out about your neighborhood from your city web site or from neighbors. Find out who lives there, what languages they speak, where they work, what the contours of the neighborhood are, what the history is, and what place your neighborhood plays in the city. Write the key facts about your neighborhood on a sheet of paper. For Mpls the link is www.minneapolismn.gov/neighborhood/index.htm
My neighborhood, Nicollet Island/East Bank, is right in the middle of Minneapolis, and is among the oldest neighborhoods, named after a French explorer, Joseph Nicollet. It rests on the east bank of the Mississippi and includes an island which has some of the oldest city homes, dating from 1864-1898. It also includes a lot of retail stores and restaurants. The age range of residents varies from college age through retired people since we are close to the University of Minnesota campus. And two important facts: one is that we have a peace sculpture shaped like a 2,000 year old terra cotta mold for bronze bells, given as a gift from the people of Ibaraki, Japan, our sister city. The second one is that my neighborhood, when seen on paper, looks like an ice cream cone.
2. Find a blessing or a scripture that fits for your neighborhood. Here are some examples:
Gracious God, we bless this (area, street, homes, families) with your deep, rich and abiding love. May your love heal wounds, enliven conversations, grant wisdom, being freedom...in Jesus' name.
Beautiful Savior, may your perseverance give courage and strength to those who need it here in any way--to make decisions, to stay the course or to make a change, to hope, to dream...in your precious name. Amen.
Psalm 121: I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, or the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.
Jeremiah 29:7 But seek the welfare of the city...and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
I chose the Jeremiah verse because I live in the heart of the city and I do believe that we are all in this together, to help one another and to be in support of each other.
3. Take a walk around parts of your neighborhood you want to bless. Just walk and see what comes up, what things you see and hear and observe. Stop when you want to, to look or listen further. Pray when it seems appropriate. Bless whatever seems in need of blessing.
I started with the floor I live on in my condo. I blessed each door, and all the people within each unit. I asked God to help them heal anything that is unfinished, and to feel internal well-being and peace. Then I asked that we could be a blessing in our building and in the neighborhood. Next I went to the elevator and gently brushed my hands over the buttons for all the floors, praying the same blessing on all the floors. I was headed out for walk and as I did, I noticed and blessed the stories of all the people walking around in my neighborhood.
4. Reflect on your experience. Notice what you learned and how you feel differently about your neighborhood. Talk about the experience with others. Do the blessing whenever you feel the need or whenever you think the neighborhood is in need of a blessing. Do drive-by blessings as you travel in your car around the neighborhood. I send you blessings on your neighborhood blessings.
One thing really surprised me as I walked in my neighborhood. It was that my neighborhood is one of the most visited neighborhoods in the city and that we bless people all the time, just by who we are. We, as a neighborhood, host most of the walks, runs and marathons in the city because we are on the river, and we have several beautiful bridges in our area. We are also the destination of weddings or wedding photography in the city, hosting at least two or three weddings each weekend all summer. We are one of the festival capitals, with multi-ethnic festivals and art fairs. My favorite is the Kielbasa Sausage Festival put on by our Polish meat market each September.
We are a place people come to relax, to walk the river, to see the history of the city, to be in nature (in the middle of the city--go figure). We may not be the exact heart of the city but we are quite possibly the soul of the city since we are the place where it all began. So I am now much more aware of the host role we play and am aware of my part in making people, including homeless guests, feel welcome and comfortable in our neighborhood. It makes me smile to think that my symbol for my neighborhood is an ice cream cone and that our big symbol is a peace bell. NICE. Now I try to pray for my neighborhood each time I enter and leave.
5. Write me about your neighborhood blessing experiences and I'll add your name to the neighborhood blesser list! Here it is, Nancy Blansky, Bill Blansky, Janet Hagberg, Jean Leih, Georgia Becker.
This is a prayer form developed by Venite Ministries and taught to me by Nancy Blansky. It's not complicated but your intention in doing it and the prayerful way you do it makes a difference.
So here's a short description of how to bless your neighborhood. Of course, you can do it any way you want to, so be creative!
1. Find out about your neighborhood from your city web site or from neighbors. Find out who lives there, what languages they speak, where they work, what the contours of the neighborhood are, what the history is, and what place your neighborhood plays in the city. Write the key facts about your neighborhood on a sheet of paper. For Mpls the link is www.minneapolismn.gov/neighborhood/index.htm
My neighborhood, Nicollet Island/East Bank, is right in the middle of Minneapolis, and is among the oldest neighborhoods, named after a French explorer, Joseph Nicollet. It rests on the east bank of the Mississippi and includes an island which has some of the oldest city homes, dating from 1864-1898. It also includes a lot of retail stores and restaurants. The age range of residents varies from college age through retired people since we are close to the University of Minnesota campus. And two important facts: one is that we have a peace sculpture shaped like a 2,000 year old terra cotta mold for bronze bells, given as a gift from the people of Ibaraki, Japan, our sister city. The second one is that my neighborhood, when seen on paper, looks like an ice cream cone.
2. Find a blessing or a scripture that fits for your neighborhood. Here are some examples:
Gracious God, we bless this (area, street, homes, families) with your deep, rich and abiding love. May your love heal wounds, enliven conversations, grant wisdom, being freedom...in Jesus' name.
Beautiful Savior, may your perseverance give courage and strength to those who need it here in any way--to make decisions, to stay the course or to make a change, to hope, to dream...in your precious name. Amen.
Psalm 121: I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, or the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.
Jeremiah 29:7 But seek the welfare of the city...and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
I chose the Jeremiah verse because I live in the heart of the city and I do believe that we are all in this together, to help one another and to be in support of each other.
3. Take a walk around parts of your neighborhood you want to bless. Just walk and see what comes up, what things you see and hear and observe. Stop when you want to, to look or listen further. Pray when it seems appropriate. Bless whatever seems in need of blessing.
I started with the floor I live on in my condo. I blessed each door, and all the people within each unit. I asked God to help them heal anything that is unfinished, and to feel internal well-being and peace. Then I asked that we could be a blessing in our building and in the neighborhood. Next I went to the elevator and gently brushed my hands over the buttons for all the floors, praying the same blessing on all the floors. I was headed out for walk and as I did, I noticed and blessed the stories of all the people walking around in my neighborhood.
4. Reflect on your experience. Notice what you learned and how you feel differently about your neighborhood. Talk about the experience with others. Do the blessing whenever you feel the need or whenever you think the neighborhood is in need of a blessing. Do drive-by blessings as you travel in your car around the neighborhood. I send you blessings on your neighborhood blessings.
One thing really surprised me as I walked in my neighborhood. It was that my neighborhood is one of the most visited neighborhoods in the city and that we bless people all the time, just by who we are. We, as a neighborhood, host most of the walks, runs and marathons in the city because we are on the river, and we have several beautiful bridges in our area. We are also the destination of weddings or wedding photography in the city, hosting at least two or three weddings each weekend all summer. We are one of the festival capitals, with multi-ethnic festivals and art fairs. My favorite is the Kielbasa Sausage Festival put on by our Polish meat market each September.
We are a place people come to relax, to walk the river, to see the history of the city, to be in nature (in the middle of the city--go figure). We may not be the exact heart of the city but we are quite possibly the soul of the city since we are the place where it all began. So I am now much more aware of the host role we play and am aware of my part in making people, including homeless guests, feel welcome and comfortable in our neighborhood. It makes me smile to think that my symbol for my neighborhood is an ice cream cone and that our big symbol is a peace bell. NICE. Now I try to pray for my neighborhood each time I enter and leave.
5. Write me about your neighborhood blessing experiences and I'll add your name to the neighborhood blesser list! Here it is, Nancy Blansky, Bill Blansky, Janet Hagberg, Jean Leih, Georgia Becker.