[This blog is about bringing people together around good things. In your life, in my life, and in the world we share. But people won’t come together around good things unless they first find a reason to meet each other. Along these lines, this weekly post provides one fun, simple idea for meeting and getting to know the people around you.]

No. 2 Start a Community Website.

I’ll be honest. The community where we live is a step removed from the 1950’s era cookie-cutter neighborhoods I always see depicted on TV.

The Smallville, Truman-Show type where people sip fresh-squeezed lemonade on porch swings and invite each other to barbecues over freshly-painted picket fences.

It’s not that my neighborhood is unfriendly.Don’t get me wrong. Truth be told, I’ve never had a bad interaction here.

People are all quick to smile, say hello, and wave. A few walk their dogs. Kids walk back and forth to school. But because of structure and geography (it is not entirely connected via sidewalks and our street is not an access road to any commercial areas), I’ve found the comfortable norm is less about hanging out on each others’ porches and more about offering polite greetings on the way to garages and mailboxes.

This, as well as the increased number of people leaving town and selling their houses, combined with my own devotion to whatever busyness passes as important on any given day, is why I’ve only met a handful of people in the neighborhood. Immediate neighbors and a handful of others.

It’s why I struggle for names.

Prior to this, my husband and I spent five years living in a hopping urban neighborhood where people blared music, picked fights, and strolled the streets at all times of day and night. Residents hooted and hollered at you as they approached from 50 feet away. I ate fried chicken, watched little kids get their hair braided and found myself glued to the front porch much more often. I even have a picture of our old neighbors from across the street on my refrigerator to this day. In that setting, then, it was nearly impossible NOT to get to know our neighbors.

People often find it funny that I miss that scene, which to them sounds too chaotic or noisy, but in the silence and separateness, I find I do. I don’t want to let go of the concept of neighborhood–of knowing the people who share this plot of land, of working together for the common good of our street, of looking out for the children of our community, or of just saying hello by name.

But wanting and doing are not always easy. Everyone is busy with their own lives and to do lists, trying to keep up with their own chores and extra-curricular activities. There are yards that, outside of an occasional car exiting the driveway, I’ve never seen a person in.

So as cheesy as it sounds, I was eventually prompted to start a Facebook page for our neighborhood. Not because I think technology is always the answer (sometimes it’s part of what takes us away from our neighbors), but because Facebook is a relatively accepted forum for interacting with acquaintances. People feel free to participate or not participate at their own preference. It’s non-threatening.

As I created the page, I tried to keep natural boundaries to make sure not to exclude anyone, so I identified all the streets between a sprawling, city park/forest area and a commercial zone. Then I picked out a couple people I knew well enough to send Facebook messages to and invited them to join me in helping connect anyone in our neighborhood who wanted to be connected.

I intend to pass out flyers soon. And I’m guessing the concept will get a variety of responses … or maybe hardly any at all. Even though the page clearly asks people not to identify their street addresses for safety sake, there are other potential stranger-dangers (both real and exaggerated) that could prevent some great people from participating.

And it’s a little awkward. After all, it’s not an official Neighborhood Watch program and the purpose isn’t specifically to increase public safety (although I imagine that could be part of what happens).

The idea is much more simple than that. It is to open up communication lines and give permission for people to identify themselves as “neighbors who want to know each other”.

It is to create the possibility of a neighborhood viewing of the parade or fireworks.

To create the possibility of a block party or street-wide barbecue.

To create the possibility of play dates at the park, community garage sales or information about nearby events.

It was to put a flag in the ground outside our house to indicate, clearly and visibly, that someone who cares and wants to know you, lives here. And if there’s one or two other people or families willing to plant a flag in their yard and reach back, well then, we just might give those 1950’s neighborhoods a run for their money.

**What is your neighborhood like? Is it different than the neighborhood of your childhood? I’d love to hear about your experience. Please comment! Also, do you have an idea or suggestion for getting to know your neighbors or other community members in your town? I’d love to hear it in the comment section.**

If you’re looking to get to know your community, as a church or a faith group, I’m developing a book you might want to stay in the loop on. Just leave your name here.