Our New Theme: Practice Community
Written by: Bryan Willkom
Introducing our new theme: Practice Community!
A little background
The background for Practice Community came from many conversations over the last year about being ENOUGH and how less is more and growth doesn't have to look like the usual metrics for success.
It came from the fact that many of us struggle with, or long for community, but don't know what to do about it. The word 'practice' has been so central to our Get Jesus Fit mission, we thought combining the words 'Practice Community' just felt right.
Practice Community has two meanings: Our churches are communities of practice AND we are practicing community.
With our world so isolated, lonely, distracted, polarized, etc. Practice Community is an invitation to gather - not just to attend events or sit back and hear speakers, but to work on our connection skills - build our curiosity muscles - increase our capacity to love and serve and build bridges with our neighbors.
In doing so, we get to experience the gift of belonging to a positive and supportive spiritual community. And in this world, that’s something.
Airball!!!!
🏀 Airball!! Why Practice Community? Because we all need practice. Culturally, we’re pretty good at attending events, but practicing community is a ‘whole nother ball game’. Our churches are an invitation to practice…
Practice curiosity
Practice conversation
Practice slowing down
Practice neighborly presence
Practice serving others
Practice loving alllllll humans
Practice being human together.
From our phones to political anxieties, there are SO MANY factors that can keep us stuck at home and isolated it’s exhausting to even think about! So let’s stiff arm those forces and step up to the spiritual free throw line and be communities of practice, practicing community.
How can we live out this theme?
Here’s a few ideas:
- Practice with us! Commit to attending / belonging to JF churches
- Practice on your own! Commit to personal spiritual practices
- Invite your neighbors to our churches to experience community
- Contemplate: What practices would you like to do in community with your neighbors? (Let us know!) What practices might we do collectively that would benefit the larger Eau Claire community? Like Serve Church, etc. etc.
Practice Communtiy is our invitation to you this year.
