The Riverside Innovation Hub is a learning community made of local congregations who gather together to learn how to be and become public church in their neighborhood contexts. We convene congregations over two years together, shaped by learning and practicing the artforms of the Public Church Framework in each congregation’s unique context.

Accompaniment is the first artform of the Public Church Framework. It is the movement out into the neighborhood to hear the neighbors’ stories. In this movement, we learn to engage and listen to the neighbor for the neighbor’s sake. We’ve simplified and categorized accompaniment into four different practices that help us hear our neighbors’ stories. This blog post dives into the last layer of accompaniment, one to ones.

You can also read more about the other three layers – Understanding Demographic Data, Prayer Walk in the Neighborhood, and Engaging Listening Posts.

Tools for Deep Conversations

Written by Brenna Zeimet 

The desire to know and be known is at the core of our being as humans. Our compassion, our actions, and our hearts are driven by the relationships and stories of the people around us. When we understand others deeply and connect their experience to our own, we are compelled to love them, it is how we are wired.

Most of us navigate the world as the star of our own story, we spend our days running our errands, chasing our goals and interacting with the friends and family that complete our story’s cast of characters. Every single day we pass dozens of other humans, on the road, in our schools, in the grocery store, even on our own block. Like extras on a movie set, those people wander through the scenes that make up our days and for the most part, we are oblivious to their existence.

What if we got curious about the characters that pass us everyday? What if when we thought about the people who we share space with we saw human beings with stories and dreams and value. What if we began to investigate the depth and beauty and friendships that we are missing out on each day?

Any good story hinges on character development, we connect with the characters when we understand their essence. We want to know their backstory, their motivation, their strengths, their goals, how they think, what they love, what breaks their heart. Knowing your neighbor involves getting to know their essence, moving beyond surface conversation about the weather and sports, and having real, deep, curious conversations – conversations that result in knowing and being known.

As you get to know your neighbors, this exercise will help you have deep and meaningful conversations. I want you to approach these interactions like a writer who is exploring a character for their story. I want you to treat these interactions like a mystery that you are solving. Ask the deep questions, listen past the words that are said to discover “the why” behind it all, seek to truly understand and fully appreciate the human you are interacting with.  

You can tell a lot about a person from what they love, what makes them mad, what intrigues and motivates them, what they find funny, how they approach conflict/obstacles, how they feel about people/crowds/ talking, what breaks their heart, the wins and losses in their story. 

As you listen to the story of the person you interact with, pay close attention to the things they reveal about themselves and begin to connect the details into a picture that you can paint for us in this exercise…

Exercise

The post One to Ones: Tool for Deep Conversations appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

Over lunch one day, Katie Clark was describing the process of becoming a certified foot care specialist. It was quite the feat! I was curious why she put so much work into that certification. Her response was, “Because most people who come into our Health Commons are coming in for foot care. They’re on their feet all day every day and their feet are in bad shape.” This epitomizes the compassion and commitment of Katie for her work and the people she serves. Katie’s commitment to approaching health care through accompaniment shapes her work as an ever changing response to what the neighbors need.

Dr. Katie Clark is a member of the nursing faculty and the Executive Director of Augsburg University’s Health Commons. The Health Commons are nursing-led drop-in centers that focus on radical hospitality and building trusting relationships with people in marginalized communities.  These Health Commons are located in downtown Minneapolis, the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, and Rochester, MN. 

Dr. Clark had extensive experience doing medical missions work overseas in Peru, Haiti, and Namibia. But those experiences never sat well with her. She would return home feeling as though she hadn’t learned enough about the culture or the larger situation and context in these countries. She wondered if she and her companions were simply promoting a monoculture of healthcare and wellness rather than learning how wellness, health, illness, and care were understood in the context of these cultures. 

This uneasy feeling drew Katie to the study of transcultural nursing, the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, and the importance of social justice in the practice of nursing. You can’t just treat the symptoms of a problem; you must work to end the problem. You can just waltz into someone’s life with your solutions, you have to do the work of accompaniment in order to understand who they are, how they suffer, how they heal, and what they might need from you. Katie had found the way she wanted to do her work.

Under the leadership of Dr. Clark, the Augsburg Health Commons sites accompany those who are experiencing homelessness, are marginally housed, or are new immigrants who have fled wars. Their work with these neighbors is constantly evolving because the Health Commons are committed to this practice of accompaniment and mutuality, working diligently to fully humanize these neighbors while offering care. Students in Augsburg University’s nursing program gain firsthand experience providing care for people through more humanizing and relational practices than what most experience in our country’s healthcare system.

Katie describes the Health Commons connection to Augsburg’s mission and a sense of call to approach healthcare differently.

“The health commons work is an example of what mission-driven work can look like as we show up and work with our neighbors on issues that impact people in deep ways. We focus on developing relationships grounded in mutual benefit with those we care for. We want to really accompany people on their journey, with a path they choose, to truly walk alongside one another as equals.”

“For example, the first health commons at Central Lutheran Church came out of concern for what was happening when homelessness increased over thirty years ago and included so many people who struggled with a mental illness, or as we often call mental injuries. We asked the community members what they wanted when we started and provided help and care based on their expressed felt needs, which we continue to do today. We try to center the community’s voice in all that we do.”

Neighbors who visit the Health Commons can receive massages, exercise classes, clothing, cooking classes, parenting classes, swimming lessons, gardening, fresh produce, and yes – footcare.

The Health Commons has been around for 30 years and is central to Augsburg University’s mission as we continuously learn how to approach complex situations while ensuring our neighbors are not dehumanized. The Commons have become one way Augsburg is rooted in the various neighborhoods where it is located. Daily life at the Commons reminds us all to deemphasize our expertise in order to meet our neighbors where they are at. It is modeling a way to change the medical field as well as higher education. 

When asked what advice she would give to an individual or an organization looking to become more meaningfully engaged in the lives of their neighbors, Katie Clark offered these tips.

1. Start by first just showing up and being part of what is happening. Get to know what is happening and be a familiar part of the community. If you are new to the community and you want to help out, write down what you think the issues or what problems certain neighborhoods face then throw that piece of paper away and forget about those ideas.
2. But also, be aware of how you show up. Acknowledge your positionality and privileges every time you enter a space. It is important to do so for many reasons, but most of all, you don’t know how your presence can appear to someone else. You don’t need to be perfect – you just need to be present.
3. No agendas — lean into learning from the community what is important to them, what they think needs to be done, and what role they think you could play in being involved. 
4. Keep it ambiguous – I think people are often uncomfortable when our work or roles are undefined, but to truly walk alongside one another, the work needs to be co-created if we want to forge a path in the future of solidarity.
5. Focus on the strengths of all those involved and all that has been accomplished. People are not told enough about their strengths and assets – this needs to be at the core of being involved – believing in one another and seeing everyone as having equal expertise.
6. Be ready to learn new things about yourself and grow. As you develop new relationships and discover new ideas – journal, reflect, meditate, whatever you need to do to keep centered on why you became involved and what you wanted to do that was different. Take on new challenges, and remember to reflect on what you learned along the way.
7. Use your power. When you learn about issues and are working with the community, you now have to think about the responsibilities that come with that. Advocate, organize, speak truth to power – whatever you need to do to take action when the time is right. 

As mentioned earlier, the work of Dr. Paul Farmer has impacted Katie’s approach. So it is fitting to end this story with one of Katie’s favorite quotes by Dr. Farmer. “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world” (From Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, by Tracy Kidder).

The post Accompaniment One Foot at a Time appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.

The Public Church Framework was described in an earlier blog post. This blog post shifts gears towards putting the art forms of the framework into practice, or into questions.

There is no one way to practice Accompaniment, Interpretation, Discernment, or Proclamation. Each faith community will determine the best way to put these art forms into practice given the specific limitations and assets of their community and neighborhood. Therefore, we use the language of “best questions” rather than best practices. By this we mean these are the questions your faith community can be continually exploring to guide your contextualized practices of accompaniment, interpretation, discernment, and proclamation. How you come to answer these questions will be unique to your setting. We believe time wrestling with these questions and their implications create space for God’s voice to stir, guide and challenge your faith community.

These are not questions for a leadership team of the select few, rather these are questions for the whole faith community to be pondering together. These are the questions we want members of faith communities to be pondering in their own daily lives. Therefore, it is important that we ponder them together as a faith community to learn how they feel and how to chase after their answers. This is not administrative work, it is the work of God’s people as we discern how God’s spirit it moving us to be a part of good news in our communities.

• What is our neighborhood or parish (geographical location)?

• Where are our listening posts?

• What are the places and spaces in our context we are in relationship with and have a history with?

• What are the places and spaces in our neighborhood we are curious to learn more about?

• Who are the neighborhood historians — people who know the history of this place?

• Who is our neighbor? What are the demographics of our neighborhood (race, socioeconomic, single family/rental units, age)? How do these compare to the demographics of our faith community?

• How are our neighbors experiencing hope & joy?

• How are our neighbors experiencing anxiety, fear and heartache?

• What are our neighbors’ hopes, dreams and desires for our shared neighborhood?

• Who cares about the things and people our faith community cares about?

Best Questions for INTERPRETATION

• What has been the story of our faith community? What are the significant events, changes, people, etc. that shape our identity for better or worse? Where did we experience high points, struggles and growth? How do these things move us forward? How do they hinder our innovation?

• What are the assets and anxieties that shape our faith community’s identity?

• How does our faith community interpret scripture and think about the authority of scripture?

• What are the core theological claims and beliefs of our faith community?

• What are some important biblical narratives in the life of our faith community? How have they functioned for us?

• Put God’s story and our neighbors’ stories in conversation with one another:

• How do these core theological beliefs and important biblical narratives help us understand the stories we have heard from our neighbors? How do they challenge them? Change them? Enhance them?

• How do the stories we heard from our neighbors help us understand these biblical texts and core beliefs? How do they challenge them? Change them? Enhance them?

• Explore these texts about transformation at the riverside together. Which one seems to provide our faith community the most insight into the work we think we might need to do moving forward? Are there other stories of transformation from scripture that would work better for your faith community?

• Where do we see the promises of God at work in our neighborhood, outside of the work of our faith community?

• As we do the work of interpretation, what questions about the Bible and our faith community’s core beliefs are emerging? How and with whom could we go about further exploring those questions?

• How can we engage our faith community in this interpretive work in order to deepen and expand it?

Best Questions for DISCERNMENT

• Where do we see death and resurrection in our neighborhood?

• Where are we hearing lamentation in our neighborhood?

• Have we been part of the problem? What do we need to confess? To whom? Where? How?

• Where and with whom do we sense the Holy Spirit pleading with us to linger, to pay more attention, to listen more closely?

• What questions do we still have? Where might we learn more about these questions or with whom do we need to visit?

• What are the passions and strengths of our faith community that seem to present themselves as assets in light of what we have seen and heard in our accompaniment and interpretation? (For example, space, people, finances, vision, relationships, etc.)

• If gospel is good news, what is the good news that needs to be proclaimed in our neighborhood in order to liberate people from the bad news we have heard in the neighborhood?

• How are we equipped to proclaim this good news? How are we not?

• Given what we have seen and heard in our neighbors’ stories, God’s stories, and our stories – who is God calling us to be? What is God calling us to do? What might God be calling us to sacrifice or risk? How is God calling us to show up in this community?

Best Questions for PROCLAMATION

• How will this new story we wish to tell bring life and human flourishing to the neighborhood?

• How is this good news already being proclaimed in the neighborhood?

• Does anything need to die in order for this new story to live?

• Where is the best place for this to happen? What is the best way to do this?

• How might Christ show up in this proclamation?

• What do we need to do to live into who God is calling us to be, what God is calling us to do, what God is calling us to sacrifice or risk, and how God is calling us to show up in this neighborhood?

• Who needs to be a part of proclaiming and creating this new story (individuals, organizations, existing partners, neighbors, etc.)? How do these people also become proclaimers of good news?

• Who are the stakeholders we need to engage to live into this new story? What strategies do we have to engage these folks?

• Take some time to be honest about the potential for failure. How might our proclamation of this good news fail at the levels of tactics, strategy and vision? What are the barriers? How is our perspective limited?

• How might these potentials for failure shape our plan for proclamation?

The post Best Questions to Ask in the Public Church Framework appeared first on Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation.