“Communities that know themselves, that know their assets, especially the gifts and talents of individuals and the neighborhood associations that they create, build powerful networks for promoting change."​ (Howard Rosing, Director, Steans Center at DePaul University) What might happen if...

Tim Schlak’s article grew out of a series of conversations with Peter, who advised on the content and structure of the paper and whose book Community: The Structure of Belonging provided the foundation of community building that Schlak adapts to a...

I am very lucky to live in place that is home to a large number of excellent public libraries. Going to the library is a regular family outing in my household. It is a place to get out of...

An Invitation to Belonging Conversation with Mike Butler ~ August 6, 2019 About every six weeks for the last five years, John and Peter have hosted online / dial-up conversations with community-building social innovators as their guests. For their August 6,...

Earlier this month, Shareable posted a short article about the Little Free Pantry in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Created by Jessica McClard, the Pantry is an easy way for people to share surplus food and household goods, and access items they may need. The response to the post...

Excerpts and illustrations from For Communities to Work, by David Mathews, © the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, posted by permission. To download the complete work click here. Having spent studying communities, the Kettering Foundation, a nonpartisan research organization, has...

My comments on the deeply touching and intensely relevant conversation on faith during the June 2, 2015 Abundant Community “on-line interchange”   What motivates our business behaviors?  Personal gain or higher purpose, greed or social conscience?  Or what percentage of each? ...

I’m afraid at any given time I flit from one book to another and between several from one week to the next, and typically there’s little that’s common across them. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a...

I started law school in 1987. I was 29 years old and married with a blended family of seven kids at home. We were politically and socially active, making a difference in our community. My husband was sometimes arrested...