Author: ctfuqua

I see life as full of possibilities and the world full of beautiful people possessing unique and often untapped talents. I’m a learner and connector, seeking ways to leverage the abundance in this world through strong community.

“Nobody ever does that anymore…” Oh yes they do…


…and that’s why it’s important to keep telling the story!

Yesterday, something happened to me that reminded me of a neighbor’s story I had wanted to blog about…but never did. So, here I am telling both our stories.

Driving home yesterday, we found a wallet in the middle of our street.  It had a VISA card (unsigned!), card with their checking routing and account number listed, $125 in cash and several other store “customer cards.”  Using the man’s driver’s license and a bank teller card, we tracked the guy down through his local bank branch.  When we returned the wallet, he was thankful — and said something to the effect of, “Nobody these days would ever return a wallet – so thank you.”

Oh yes they do…and I can “raise you one.”

Our neighbor B. recently lost an envelope full of cash – about $200.  He was buying materials at Lowe’s, and set the envelope down while he was collecting his purchases.  (He had a valid reason for having cash in an envelope – I forget the details, but that’s not relevant.)

B. called around to each place he stopped along the way to see if anyone had found it.  He got a phone call from a man later that day, letting him know the envelope was safe.  B. arranged to pick the envelope from the man and his wife. B. was so excited to have found it – thinking there was no way anyone would ever return an envelope full of cash – that he planned on giving the man a reward for his actions.  He figured 20%, so was going to give the man $40 as a sign of gratitude.

When B. got to the man’s house, they exchanged pleasantries and laughed about the situation.  The man gave him the envelope – and told B. there was a little something in there for him.  This of course had B. intrigued – so he checked the envelope.  There was $240 in the envelope.  The man and his wife not only wanted to return the lost cash – but wanted to “go above and beyond” and pay it forward…literally.  So, they added $40 of their own to Bruce’s envelope.

B. was blown away. Here he was going to show his appreciation, and instead was met with generosity and hospitality.  When B. tried to return the cash, explaining that he was actually going to give a $40 reward, the man and his wife said “no, we want you to have this.  If you get a chance somewhere down the road, pay it forward and return the favor to someone else sometime.”

As I’m writing this story, I realize I could have slipped an extra $25 in the found wallet to be a part of B’s “paying it forward” network.  But, there’s always next time…

So next time you hear bad news in the media, or hear someone talking down on people “these days” as having no morals, ethics, or sense of community…tell B’s story and pay it forward…

What kind of disengagement would it require not to stay busy and not to stay tired all of the time?


“Abundance is the antithesis of accumulation.”

I was recently pulling together some material on Abundant Community for a friend.  As I was doing this, I came across the audio from a workshop held in 2014 at Broadway United Methodist Church on “Living Toward a Culture of Community and Abundance.”

John McKnight, Peter Block and Walter Brueggemann led us in a series of discussions around the topic of abundance – interwoven with poetry and thoughts from Mari Evans and others. It was an amazing experience. Ideas, action and changes from the ripples and waves created that day continue to be revealed in and around me.

Here’s a short excerpt from Walter, who does a powerful job of making themes and lessons from the Old Testament come to life and have meaning for our communities and families today…

The dominant gospel narrative, which is performed again in the New Testament, is to find the freedom and courage to depart from Pharaoh’s narrative.  It is not an adequate food narrative.

In the last 5-10 years, almost everyone now knows that Pharaoh’s narrative has failed.  But, it has such a grip on us that we continue to pretend that it is the only narrative in town. We bust our ass trying to make it work, and convince ourselves that it is still true.  If you go along with the system, somehow it will still work.

The sign of that is how incredibly busy and tired we stay all the time. Pharaoh wants his slave subjects to stay busy and tired all of the time.

The question for those who want to leave this narrative is: what kind of disengagement would it require not to stay busy and not to stay tired all of the time…because people who are not busy or tired have energy to think about alternatives.

Walter Brueggemann, August 2014

Walter then shares some insight into another narrative for us to consider.  It starts with this inexplicable bread called Manna.

It is the narrative of abundance.

#abundance #abundantcommunity

…

Click here for the full audio feed…

The audio from the entire conference is included below:

The Abundance Festival Audio
Living Toward a Culture of Community and Abundance

Welcome – Rev. Mike Mather and Deamon Harges
Opening Poems – Mari Evans
Creating Connections – Peter Block
Walter Brueggemann
John McKnight
Peter Block
Closing Statements
Closing Poems – Mari Evans

Read this story please… You’ll be amazed at who attended this man’s funeral.  


Days before he was to move into apartment, Indy man dies alone, under a bridge. Wes Cunningham had no place to call home, but he had a family.  Check out this story on IndyStar.com: http://indy.st/1RrJkOv 

  

Labels mask the fullness of a human’s spirit. Wes wasn’t homeless – with “no place to call home,” in my opinion. If home is where the heart is, then the city streets were his home and many were his neighbors. Regrettable as his passing is, he clearly lived his life with intention and passion. Though he died alone, his loss was felt by many. Isn’t that how most of want to be remembered in the end!?

Fortunately, someone chose to tell Wes’ story. He died on the same weekend that Denver Hutt lost her battle with cancer. Her life and impact on Indianapolis were also celebrated in the news. Gladly, the media allowed us to learn of and appreciate how both of these leaders were an “inspiring example of how people can change the community when they are willing to engage and get their hands dirty” (from the article about Denver Hutt)…labels or not.

When we label someone “homeless” just because they choose to have another type of home than the rest of us, we run the risk of missing their full beauty, potential and gifts (as the term often comes with much prejudice, stigma and/or shame). Even when some may not have as much direct say in their living conditions, it still doesn’t do them justice to label them “homeless.”  

So be honest – would you have imagined this funeral turnout for a “homeless person” (hate that term)? 

“Smile at strangers. Be kind. Judge less. And hold the door.”
~ Denver Hutt, 2016

Sounds like Denver and Wes would have been good friends…