Faces
Meet thy neighbor—and make new friends L
utherans give up a variety of things for Lent, but Sue Garcia chose instead to go the opposite
way. She added friends. For the 40-day season, Garcia,
a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Tacoma, Wash., decided to visit a neighbor she didn’t know and introduce herself. Sue’s husband Ramon works nights, so he couldn’t accompany her, but her children— 3-year-old Mia and 8-year-old Nito—came along on the visits. “I’ve been encouraged by clergy to not simply give up something for Lent for the sake of giving it up,” said Garcia, about 30 days—and 30 neighbors—into her new ministry. “I was told to either give up something for my health or do something that is positive.” Garcia doesn’t consider her neighborhood to be the safest in the city, and that strangers could make her nervous. Still, she believes the neighbor bond is important. “This year we have had a lot of folks expressing animosity toward other neighbors,” she said. “I knew one person who was having trouble with someone, and they actually had never met. So the person baked a plate of cookies, went over and said hi. They aren’t the best of friends now, but the lines of communication
100 plus
Sue Garcia and her children, Nito and Mia, head out into their Tacoma, Wash., com- munity to meet their neighbors. She sees these visits as a way to express her faith.
are open.” Sometimes it took a few doors before someone would open and speak to
her. At first a few neighbors thought she was trying to sell something, but once she explained her reason for being there the experiences were positive. Only one person was upset that she came, but that neighbor invited her back the next day at an earlier time and they had a pleasant conversation. “Some people don’t want to do more than say hello and exchange names,
and that’s fine,” Garcia said. “Other people have invited me in and offered us food. And my kids are really happy because they are finding out about all of these kids in the neighborhood that they didn’t know about.” Garcia didn’t talk religion during her visits, but she considers her new
routine a way to express her faith. “I am living the word from my perspective,” she said. “I am loving my
neighbor, which sometimes is as simple as saying that I’m here for you and to call me if you need anything. And I’m teaching my children about the importance of loving your neighbor.”
Jeff Favre Favre is a contributing editor of The Lutheran.
103: Nora Braun, Martin Luther, Carmine, Texas; Marguerite Wold Schmidt, Trinity, Stillwater, Minn. 102: Addie Ketner, St. John, Salisbury, N.C.; Lucille Nelson, Messiah, Washburn, Wis. 101: Ava Samuelson, St. Mark, Rockford, Ill.; Lila Strand, Kviteseid, Milan, Minn.; Annabelle Ryberg, Swedlanda, Hector, Minn. 100: Mela Trevino Alanis, St. John, San Juan, Texas; Hazel Cassell, Trin- ity, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Viola Fraunfelter, Prince of Peace, Johnsonville, Pa.; Martha Grimm, Christ, Columbus, Ohio; Minnie Grove, Nordland, Paynesville, Minn.; Orrin Hilgengerg, Mount Olive, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.; May Jones, Memorial, Glendale, Wis.; Esther Haack, St. Paul, Dixon, Ill.; Ester Burroughs, Trinity, Princeton, Minn.; Martha Wissman, St. Paul, East Lansing, Mich.
Share your 100+ members in “Faces.” Send
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May 2013 43
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