• We are a focus group endeavoring to serve God and our neighborhood by building relationships across cultural and demographic groups. We seek to respond to neighborhood needs with our capabilities.

• We will communicate and advertise, both within and beyond the parish, opportunities to enhance our cultural knowledge and worldview. Some of these opportunities might be book groups, movies, museums, ethnic fairs, restaurants, programs and guest speakers or events related to current affairs.

• We will attempt to look, with other ministries, at the parish from an outsider?s point of view so we can improve how we present ourselves to the neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Connections committee organizes or facilitates a variety of programs and events to learn, enjoy and build relationships with others in our multicultural community. The committee meets at 6:00 PM on the 4^th Thursday of each month in the Cambridge Court Cabana. The meeting is open to all.

Activities and programs have included:

• Games Night at Crossroads Mall.
• Picnic with Hosanna Asamblea de Dios, a Spanish-speaking congregation, and Holy Apostles, a Chinese Episcopal congregation.
• The Holy Apostles' fund raising dinner. Resurrection hosted a table at the dinner.
• Sudanese dinner and drums of peace celebration held at Resurrection.
• Dismantling racism training hosted at Resurrection. A couple of people also went to a training focusing on Internalized Racism/Internalized White Privilege. Both of these have helped us be more aware of our own attitudes, words and intentions toward others.
• Martin Luther King Day program at Crossroads attended by a group from Resurrection, followed by conversation at Resurrection.
• Field trip to the Northwest African American Museum by a group from Resurrection and All Saints, Seattle.
• Jubilee Reach tours and presentation exploring ways to partner in serving our diverse community.
• Women's Cross-Cultural Conversations at Crossroads, a diverse gathering of women sponsored by the mini-City Hall office to build local relationships. Several women from Resurrection have attended these conversations.
• Tending Adam's Garden, a monthly program of study and dialogue sessions that are interfaith, intergenerational, and intercultural. Several people from Resurrection attend this.
• Retirement celebration for The Rev. Jerry Shigaki, which featured a wonderful ethnic potluck dinner and presentations from the diocesan ethnic ministries.

Crossroads Games Night is one of the primary activities of Neighborhood Connections. On the first Wednesday of each month, a group of parish members gather together for fun and games at Crossroads Mall. The purpose is to increase the awareness of Church of the Resurrection in the community.

Everyone associated with Resurrection is invited to take part in this ministry and to understand it as integral to all aspects of our ministry together.

For more information about Neighborhood Connections, please contact:

Betsy Teays & Becky Owens
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