"I Love My Neighborhood"

The past few weeks at the church that I attend we have been walking through a series called, “I love Cincinnati.” This initially spurred some negative thinking on my part because I began thinking about all the “places” I love more than Cincinnati. As we have been reading about how God through Paul’s teachings call us to be City lovers, I was not quite connecting. To understand where I am coming from, I have to share a part of myself which requires an uncomfortable form of authenticity.

I told myself early on after my daughter was born 16 years ago that I only live in Cincinnati because this is where my child is. I admittedly have at some points in my past bashed our City for their lack of open-mindedness, vision, ability to get things done and offering very little in return for my observations. This is my failure.

If I am honest, there are many things about Cincinnati which I love and have passed on to my own daughter. Early on, I began exposing her to our very culturally rich arts community. I have taken her several times to every museum and most of the art galleries in Cincinnati and each time we have discovered something new. Most recently, I took her to an early showing of Reggie Calloway at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club. My daughter is a wonderfully talented musical artist and I have always exposed her to different genres of music so she has a very eclectic collection and appreciation of music. Of course every summer, we hit the church festival circuit and enjoy running into friends and acquaintances there. When she was younger, she enjoyed indulging my love of basketball by going to the Devereux Summer League basketball games which brought out the most wonderful display of college and NBA players meeting in a hot gym at Purcell Marian High School for the simple love of the game. She has painted her face for Bengals games and chanted the UC and XU chants. To my dismay, she prefers XU over UC. Taylor and I have traveled to many different neighborhoods around the City over the years and enjoyed what they had to offer…Price Hill Chili, Mt. Adams Fish House, and The Echo for breakfast every Sunday where Stephanie knows exactly what we order. Although I like to switch it up every now and then to throw her off.

So now you know the many ways we have enjoyed Cincinnati, but I want to take it a step farther. I believe “my neighborhood” is not just where I live. My neighborhood or community are the people I do life with. My close friends, the people I work with, my family, the lady that lives next door to me, the homeless person that I take to lunch, the orphan child that sits on my lap in Mexico, or the widow that I read to in our senior village.

In the book of Ephesians Chapter 4 vs 29-32 it says, “Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

To me, this means if as a neighborhood as I have defined it, band together and serve the needs of each other and our City then we are in effect City lovers and there is no end to what we can accomplish in making our City and our world a better place. It doesn’t mean you have to take on a huge project like rebuilding a dilapidated city block although we should. It means performing an act of kindness, picking up a piece of trash when you see it, mowing your elderly neighbors lawn, volunteering to help a child learn to read, spending time building into a close friend. All of these things will help you “love your neighborhood.” Your neighborhood can be carried with you anywhere you live or travel.


Henry Wadworth Lonfellow said, “I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets. It sounds to me like Henry did his part and truly loved his neighborhood and his neighborhood loved him back.