Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

I watched a lot of Sesame Street when I was young. I still find the show endearing. I've been reminded lately of a song I heard on the show week after week asking viewers, Who are the people in your neighborhood? As we spend day after day in our homes–restlessly for some–it could be easy to forget that there remains a world outside the walls of our homes. And God is at work out there. What is required of us is a curiosity about what God is up to in the lives of those around us. We might need such a reminder in this moment; reminded to pay attention to who is around us ...

What are the stories of those that live and work around us?

Who might have something we need?

Who might need something we have?

Here's a clip of Sesame Street's cast guest appearance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series last year. It's like the perfect merging of my childhood and adult access to public media. I don't care how old I get, these characters and songs will charm me. I hope their neighborhood jingle might get stuck in your head and be a kind of prayer as you look towards your surrounding community.



If you need some tips on how you might prayer walk through your community–asking such a question as this, the Church of England created a great template that can be found here.

By the way, I have the pleasure of working with a number of congregations that are doing a fantastic job of asking this question, seeking out answers and responding to God's prompting faithfully in ways that are safe for all involved. You know who you are. Thank you for your faithfulness.

And here's what this segment looked like when I watched as a kid: