All it took was an invitation.

We’ve lived in our house for 14 years. For as long as we’ve lived here, I’ve wanted to host some sort of social get-together for our neighbors. But I’ve never done it because I never managed to get over the inertia of the potential awkwardness of connecting with people we don’t really know.

There were so many reasons that I kept putting it off…

• We’re so busy. Like, all the time.
• The weather is crazy and unpredictable this time of year.
• I felt uncertain of the best way to invite strangers into our home.
• I had the fear of rejection.
• Then there’s the question of whether or not to serve alcohol.
• And what will we do? Without a plan there will inevitably be surface conversations and awkward silences.

And then of course, there’s my biggest fear … what if no one shows up?

At the beginning of last year, I read the book Start With Hello by Shannan Martin, and my heart was captured by this idea of inviting our neighbors into our lives in a more intentional way. I longed to live the way Shannan describes. I dreamed about starting a monthly taco night. But as with many January good intentions, my initial zeal faded as the demands of daily life boxed it out.

Then one Sunday this past May, we were sitting in church and they announced that our Mayor had launched the 1,000 Neighborhood Gatherings initiative, and they encouraged us to take part. Apparently, it was the kick in the pants I needed. I quickly signed up to host before I changed my mind.

All we had to do was choose a date and time and invite people. That’s it. So I created a simple flyer on Canva, and we spent an evening walking around our neighborhood knocking on doors.

Here’s the crazy thing. People said yes. Like pretty much all the people! And they asked what they could bring. And they asked if they could bring other people. All they needed was the invitation and they showed up. It kind of felt like our neighborhood was hungry for community and we’d found the secret door.

There was food and drinks. There was Queen playing on the audio system. There was cornhole in the street. But best of all, there were lots of people.

You guys, they came! It was so completely life giving. Here’s what I realized … inviting people is not that hard.

Without having to do anything other than invite people, community happened. It’s brilliant in its simplicity.

• People who’ve literally lived across from each other for years met each other for the first time and laughed that it took this long.
• I can’t tell you how many people told me some version of… “I’m so glad you did this. We’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time. I hope you do it again.”
• People exchanged numbers and websites and business cards.
• Parents made connections with other parents over kids who would be attending the same neighborhood school in a few weeks.
• I met a neighbor who works in the field in which I will be starting grad school in September and she told me if I needed any encouragement or advice to reach out to her.
• Two different couples who had just moved to our neighborhood within the past two months showed up hoping to meet people.
• People talked and laughed and ate and stayed for four hours. Just hanging out together.

One of my favorite moments was when I was running inside to grab something. As I passed through the garage, I heard one of the older ladies from up the street who was sitting with another older woman, look at a young father carrying his 6-month-old baby and standing at the food table. She said quite matter-of-factly, in the way only moms in their 70’s can, “She looks like she wants to be held” and held out her hands for the baby. The dad, who had never before met the woman, at once passed her his baby, intuitively knowing she was safe. I was smiling big as I went inside.

Lest it sound like I’m describing a Hallmark movie scene, let me be clear that it wasn’t perfect. A pack of random neighborhood kids were running around our backyard like banshees, pounding four Poppis in a row and then smushing the lemon bars into balls to chuck at our fence. One of them broke the borrowed ladderball set when he tried to use it as a hurdle.

But it was real and it was fun and it was a place to start building connection with our neighbors. I’ve already put it on the calendar for next year.

I actually feel a little sad that I spent 14 years putting off something that in reality was so simple. All it took was an invitation. It’s literally SO easy to create a space for something so vitally important like community with those we share a neighborhood with. As humans, we were made for community.

So now I have a question for you…

Would you consider hosting a gathering for your neighbors?

If you just need that extra little push, let me be that. Right now. Do it. If you do sign up, be sure you register your gathering here so it can count towards the goal of a 1,000.

It can be just a few people or every house in your neighborhood. It can look as simple as a few boxes of donuts and a box of coffee. Or some cold beverages and popsicles on a blazing hot evening. The actual details don’t matter – it’s the invitation to gather that matters.

If you choose to do it, I can almost guarantee you that you will be surprised at the response.