For us at Many Rooms Church Community (MRCC), living in the neighbourhood is a core part of our church’s DNA. We are a network of house churches in the Spence and Daniel McIntyre neighbourhoods in Winnipeg’s core area. We worship and fellowship in our homes and enjoy living within a short walk or drive from each other.

FOMO. I keep hearing that word, which stands for fear of missing out. It reminds me of another word loneliness. As Sheldon and I work in our member care role, people often tell us how lonely they are and how much they long for deeper friendships. I think FOMO and loneliness are pretty common. To be honest, I have struggled with them too.

In an era of loneliness and isolation, one of the gifts we can give is to listen well to others, asking follow-up questions and giving them even more opportunity to be heard.

Trudy wasn’t hired as a cross-cultural trainer to explain work orders and million-dollar test equipment to people who don’t understand English, but she’s good at it. It cuts into her own productivity, but she is endlessly patient—well, nearly.

Most of us don’t think of peacemaking as an endeavour we would call “fun.” It is hard, messy and difficult work. There is, however, a strategic element of peacemaking that includes an intentional focus on shared recreational activities.

“We can go here because somebody has gone here before.” These were the words from my Cree friend and mentor as we made our way into the woods of northern Saskatchewan in search of moose.