3. "connecting ourselves and our resources to the people of South Lake Union"

Joshua's perspective on "connecting ourselves and our resources to the people of South Lake Union"

It's easy to miss the people in news coverage of South Lake Union. It's mostly about new buildings, transportation projects, and how many thousands of jobs the mayor can claim. In the past couple of years, we have been drawn into connection with South Lake Union despite ourselves. We got connected to Union Church through a friend, and made more friends. We walked around the neighborhood. I started working in SLU with UW. We attended events, met friends at parks, and played away the summer. It's been good to get to know our way around the neighborhood, but it's only the first step. Step two will be the geographic proximity.


Molly's perspective on "connecting ourselves and our resources to the people of South Lake Union"

Of course, this one depends heavily on being in close geographical proximity and being rooted in who we are. Really, it's an extension. An important one. We're not interested in the sort of intentional community that is removed from the rest of the world. We want to be intentional about community for the sake of being in the world meaningfully. It's critical to our understanding of the Gospel.

We only know a little bit about what this will look like. For example, we know that we want to support neighborhood businesses when we need things. We know we're going to be spending a lot of time with people at Cascade and Denny parks, and probably the Cascade People's Center and 415 Westlake. But really this only scratches the surface.

Soon after we move to South Lake Union (we're working on it!), we'd like to set aside 7 weeks or so to scope things out. I imagine going into every nook and cranny that I can (no, not in any sort of rude or inappropriate ways) and saying, "Hi, I'm Molly and I just moved here. How's it going for you? What's it like to do what you're doing in the neighborhood?" I just want to engage with the people of South Lake Union--the construction workers, the lady who's always yellin' on that certain corner, the folks who will be working at Amazon, the guys hanging around the People's Center, the CEO of Tommy Bahamas, children at the playground, the people who run the food bank--everyone. It won't be our job to fix everything. At all. But listening and engaging with the people of South Lake Union will help us see where God is at work and how we can be a part of it.

It's exciting, and scary, to really think about connecting ourselves and our resources to something we don't yet know.

(We are heading up a South Lake Union based group seeking to be intentional about: 1. moving into close geographical proximity to one another 2. supporting one another through daily community practices that help us follow Jesus 3. connecting ourselves and our resources to the people of South Lake Union 4. maintaining "one foot in, one foot out" of Union Church)