‘It’s so important to get the questions right,’ says Carrie Brooks

Deep engagement sparked as people define their commitment to Memphis

Building community networks and connecting the passions of people working in various community development capacities is a key focus of Carrie Brooks and the organization she directs, Making a Difference in Memphis.

So, gathering with 300 community members to discuss a new Memphis narrative was familiar territory for the veteran scholar, but this truth and the fact that she was already deeply familiar with the works of the three facilitators — Peter Block, John McKnight and Walter Brueggemann — did nothing to lessen the impact of the day, however.

From the very beginning, when the first questions were posed by Peter asking people to define themselves in groups of three strangers not by their experience, but by their commitment, she was steadily intrigued.

Groups of three.
Carrie Brooks (right).

The follow-up asked people to consider what gifts they received from the other two people they met, and Carrie could see people instantly gleaning a deeper understanding of their role in the greater narrative, simply because of the nature of the questions they were answering.

“The questions (Peter) posed were so different for so many people than what they’re used to at a conference kind of setting,” Carrie explains.

“These are incredibly different questions and that’s my main takeaway. Their questions really changed the conversation, and it’s so important to get the questions right.”

The buzz and energy she felt throughout the day was a direct result of deep engagement sparked instantly through the prompting of all three facilitators, she adds.

Brooks is an expert in adult education and development who, through her work with Making a Difference in Memphis, has helped a plethora of people working in a wide variety of community development realms – from elder abuse to infant mortality to domestic violence – discover new understandings of who they are as learners, and what they can do to be more successful in their work.

People come to her program thinking, “ ‘I’m going to meet some people who are different from me, people I don’t know, and maybe I’ll have something in common with them,’ ” Carrie says, “but at the end it seems that they feel that they’re part of a learning community and they don’t feel that they’re working in isolation anymore.”

The people who attended the CTC event came bearing the gifts and commitment to transformation in ways large and small, yet many may have felt they, too, work in isolation at times. The new connections made there hold much promise.

The follow-up to the mid-November event as these various levels of commitment translate into on-the-ground action is something Carrie looks forward to, beginning with a meeting of some of the key organizers on Dec. 3.

“It’s definitely an exciting time,” Carrie says. “It’s a great time to be here.”

- Kristian Partington -

If you have a story to share, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Powerful conversations for Memphis’ Carl Awsumb

"I’m excited by what’s going on in this city"

One of the first questions posed to the gathering of 300 community members in Memphis on Nov. 14 urged attendees to consider the gifts they have to offer of themselves, and that introspective concept sits in Carl Awsumb’s mind as he looks back at what inspired him most during the event.

“I thought that was a very, very powerful way to bring you to the present moment,” Carl says.

“I’m as guilty as a lot of people are of thinking in terms of what I’ve done to help me define myself, and I think this conference helped me realize that there were lots of strings attached to that.”

A week later, he attended a meeting hosted by Latino Memphis, and though he knew nobody in the room he found he was able to instantly connect with people by using the same question of gifts to begin conversations.

Carl, a retired architect, spearheaded the creation of a community garden network in Binghampton, and through this work he has become entwined with community development and the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC).

Carl Awsumb (left) at Farmers Market

The CTC organized the Nov. 14 event and invited guests from across the Memphis area to hear from three community development thought leaders, and learn from each other.

People “maybe overlook the main gifts that they’ve got,” Carl says, but those gifts took center stage and the energy he felt, especially from within the young people in the room, was exciting.

“The thing that really knocked me off my comfort seat was the number of teenagers who were able to stand up and articulate so clearly,” he says.

“It was amazing to listen to these young people.”

It can be easy for people to become isolated, Carl adds, and the meeting was “the best forum that I can think of to allow people to really interact across age and ethnicity and income.”

It was a pleasant new conversation, far outside the traditional views of conventional Memphis media and the many citizens there who are all too eager to highlight the city’s shortcomings.

The crossroads the city is at today, and has been at for some time, is the choice of a new dialogue of possibility.

I left that conference thinking, ‘You know, I don’t have the financial support, but I’ve got the emotional support of all these people,” he says. “We came together and there was a collective force there that gave me the strength to carry on.

“I’m excited by what’s going on in this city.”

- Kristian Partington -

If you have questions, comments or a story to share, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.
Photo courtesy of www.focuseforthegood.org

Memphis Faith Community Inspires

At a crossroads between deep commitment and finding their voice, Peter Block observes

“I was inspired by a faith community, by mostly Christian churches, who’ve decided to extend their property line to include the neighborhood and their local community.”

That is how thought leader Peter Block says he left a gathering of about 300 Memphis residents who had come together to discover the resources and wisdom already existing in their neighborhoods and how those can be connected for greater productivity.

The gathering was facilitated by the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC), which has been working primarily with faith congregations to have similar conversations on a smaller scale across the city.

Peter Block

“The idea that the churches are forgetting about their certainties and instead asking the question, ‘How can we engage everyone in a neighborhood, regardless of their religion, regardless of their beliefs or their economic situation; how can we create a social fabric in this place?’ I think brings a Christian message into the world as strongly as all the preaching and broadcasting and missionary work in the world,” says Peter.

“Instead of saying we’re going to send missionaries out to expose people and bring them into the fold they’re saying, ‘We, as a church, are going to live out our beliefs or Christ’s message, since they’re mostly Christian, by embracing and just being connected and getting to know the people in our neighborhood’ — and that’s very inspiring.

“That creates space for every belief system and it creates space for the work of the faith community, I think, at its best.”

Peter was invited by the CTC to join the event, along with John McKnight and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann. Each brought a unique gift to the conversation: John’s lifetime of experience making sense of how community can care for itself, Walter’s years of work reinterpreting the Bible and Peter’s commitment to the idea that if there is a gathering then it is possible to create the future in that room.

In addition to being inspired, Peter says he learned a few things, including the power of connectors, such as Amy Moritz, executive director of CTC, who has now been part of eight neighborhoods across the city that have begun actively creating a new future for themselves together.

He also observed a phenomenon he has seen in second-tier cities across the U.S., which is a desire to “win the race for what’s wrong with us,” an observation he says he is still uncertain of what to do with, but it dawns on him that it reconfirms that a city is its narrative.

“It’s not so much its geography or its built environment or its historical development.

“Basically what’s decisive is the story a city tells itself, and every second-tier city in this country is competing to have the most problems, which tells me it’s not accurate. It’s just story.”

The CTC and its extended community are looking to help change that story, with these conversations being a key part in that.

Amongst the work — inviting people to identify four capacities they have, including their gifts, their skills, their passions and what they can teach.

The premise in this — never take labels seriously for people; discover what they have to contribute to their community, and people who seem useless or problematic will step up to make a difference.

“Our research indicates that what makes strong neighborhoods is when what people have to contribute is made visible — which is what we were doing that day — and then connected to become productive,” says John.

“It’s the identification of gifts and their connection for a better life.”

While connections were certainly sparked on that day and gifts made visible, and the commitment of the people shone through very clearly — nobody, for instance, was paid to be there — Peter says he sensed the crossroads the community now faces is finding its voice.

“What got me is that they had some very strong leadership from the community there and I just felt that their commitment to that place and caring for that place was bedrock.

“I just don’t know if they’ve found their voices or their energy yet to know that they can create an alternative future.”

- Michelle Strutzenberger -

Feel free to comment below or e-mail michelle@axiomnews.ca.

‘Deep satisfaction’ in planting the seeds of change, says Amy Moritz

CTC director soaks in possibility, reflects on memorable conversations

Amy Moritz describes the past six months as a period of deep preparation as she and a core of volunteers connected to the Center for Transforming Communities in Memphis prepared to plant seeds of change.

Through their many connections to people in the city working to strengthen local vitality, one neighborhood at a time, they have been cultivating the soil, so to speak. When 300 people gathered for a conversation about the possibilities last week, she could see these efforts paying off. 

Thought leaders Peter Block, John McKnight and Walter Brueggemann helped guide guests through a conversation about the creation of a new Memphis narrative that looks beyond problem-solving to one that honors the gifts and possibilities.

“On Nov. 14, perhaps some new seeds were planted in some very rich soil that will take root,” Moritz said the morning after the event.

“Today, I’m still wondering what that will look like. I know it will be something amazing but that’s kind of where I am — just knowing that the soil has been properly cultivated; there’s a deep satisfaction that that occurred and some great seeds were planted.”

She talks of energy in abundance and a deep sense of commitment in the room as people from all walks of life shared the hope that comes by relating to one another in new ways and cooperating to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

She recalls Peter Block at the end of the day offering his reflections and speaking of the same level of commitment. As an influential voice in community building, he is invited to speak at many events, he told the group, and he chooses which ones to attend carefully based on the level of commitment and energy he can feel in the community inviting him.

As he shared those words, Amy realized just how deep the dedication to the city is among so many community builders, and in the quiet morning after the event, she was still soaking in these reflections.

She is careful to not rush the next steps, she says, though she is eager to see what will sprout in the next few weeks from the seeds that were planted.

“I really want to just marinate in what this is and trust that it is going to be very apparent where this takes us,” Amy says.

It’s about being present in the moment and open to what will naturally emerge, and considering the feeling in the room during the event and the depth of conversation, Amy says exciting times are afoot in Memphis. 

- Kristian Partington -

If you have questions comments or a story to share about your experience with community transformation in Memphis, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.

An abundance of possibility as new Memphis narrative unfolds

300 people gather to shape vision for community transformation

There was a young man who joined around 300 community members and leaders from in and around Memphis on Nov. 14 for conversations about the creation of a new narrative — one of hope, possibility, connectivity and the aesthetics of interdependency. 

 



His mother had died of cancer the day before, yet there he was, with gifts of self to offer in a room filled with an abundance of generosity.

At the end of the day, one of the event organizers, Mary Jo Greil, carried a microphone to him, not knowing of the loss he had just experienced. She was eager to hear his description of what the day meant to him; what he might have gained.

“He said that he came in at a certain level and the day moved him up to a new level,” Mary Jo recalls.

This young man’s story took the collective breath out of the room, and speaks to the depth of commitment the walls of Rhodes College absorbed that day.

People from all walks of life gathered to be part of the conversation, facilitated by thought leaders Peter Block, John McKnight and Walter Brueggemann.

Walter Brueggemann, John McKnight and Peter Block

Rabbis and pastors shared insights while young people and elders alike gained new appreciation for each others’ commitment to their city.

The lines of racial difference were blurred in the collective purpose of the day.

Mary Jo sits on the board of directors with the Center for Transforming Communities, the connecting organization that invited guests to be part of the conversation.


She had the pleasure of keeping a broad perspective over the day’s events, and was struck by the cross-section of people so eager to tackle the deep questions posed by Peter, John and Walter.

“It was very heartwarming to see so many people . . . focusing on how to strengthen the narrative within Memphis, and to understand that more and to witness the energy that was being produced by people coming together to expand their thinking,” Mary Jo says.

But what made this different from other community building conferences? What gives Mary Jo hope that this expanded thinking will morph into collective action on the ground in neighborhoods across the city?

Her answer: the depth of purpose in the room.

“People had much deeper conversations than they’re used to having with people they don’t even know and were discovering new resources, new people that they can jointly do things with,” Mary Jo says, before listing friends — brand new and old — who all committed to taking these conversations to a new level.

The greatest hopes she had for the day were realized in the depth within the room, and the gifts of a young man who lost his mother will stay close to Mary Jo as she honors her commitments to the city she cares so much for.

By Kristian Partington
Photos courtesy of www.focusforthegood

Click here for more photos of the day.

If you have questions, comments or a story to share, please contact kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Timely conversations for a church at a crossroads

Jacob’s Well founder looks forward to new connections

at Nov. 14 event

Jacob’s Well is a church that today finds itself at a crossroads in its mission to serve the people of Memphis, and as its founder, Rev. Jamey Lee looks forward, he finds hope in the connections he might make during a gathering of community leaders hosted by the Center for Transforming Communities.

Jamey founded the church in Memphis back in 2010, and its heart is given to the service of God by offering reconciliation, rehabilitation and reciprocation — bridging the racial divides of the city, and offering hope for people struggling through the pangs of addiction and poverty.

“The city of Memphis is a city divided,” Jamey says, but Jacob’s Well is discovering people of all backgrounds coming together across racial and economic lines to worship and pour their faith into the betterment of their community.

“Every person has a gift to bring and every neighbor has value,” he says.

Since its founding, the Jacob’s Well congregation worshipped and met regularly at Highland Heights United Methodist Church at Summer and Highland, but this fall, they answered a calling and moved to work more closely with citizens in downtown Memphis.

The home of Jacob’s Well is now the Holy Community United Methodist Church and the streets around it; an area that is new to Jamey and to many of the core volunteers who work through the church in the service of God and their neighbors.

His hope is that in attending a gathering of 300 or so community members Nov. 14 he will discover new alliances and relationships that will carry his church through this transition.

“With us moving it really opens this new chapter of the Jacob’s Well story and as the leader, I’m at a crossroads,” Jamey says.

“I hope that this event will provide something — a spark, and new relationship, a new idea — that can help us in our journey forward.”

The day-long event is spearheaded by the Center for Transforming Communities and will focus specifically on asset-based community development under the guidance of author and community advocate Peter Block, thought leader John McKnight, and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann.

A conversation about what is possible in neighborhoods across Memphis is exciting, and considering the sheer number of nonprofits and ministries working towards change in Memphis, Jamey has great hope for the day.

- Kristian Partington -

To learn more about the Nov. 14 event, click here.

Feel free to comment on this story below, or e-mail kristian@axiomnews.ca.

Why could Nov. 14 be a good day for Memphis?

Pastor Marlon Foster shares his excitement

The countdown is on to what could be a turning-point for Memphis, Nov. 14, when more than 300 people will gather to think and talk and make plans around pulling their city to a new greatness.

If that sounds highly aspirational, that is just what it is, although there are “feet on the ground” behind this dreaming.

The people and ideas out of which this dream arises include the Center for Transforming Communities, which has been working in Memphis for more than 20 years, and is spearheading the Nov. 14 event.

The asset-based community development (ABCD) which will be integral to the gathering has been at the center of CTC’s work and is yielding the results it’s intended to. That is, people in neighborhoods are realizing their gifts, seeing new possibilities and taking ownership for the changes they want to see happen. These results have been documented in Memphis, as well as in many other places that have introduced ABCD.

In addition to bringing together people from across greater Memphis, the Nov. 14 event will see author and community advocate Peter Block, ABCD thought leader John McKnight, and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann join the conversation.

Marlon Foster is pastor of Christ Quest Community Church in Memphis, one of the many faith-based organizations participating in the event.

He says he is seeing great possibilities in the day for a number of reasons, amongst those the fact that there will be such a broad cross-section of the Memphis community participating.

He has also been privy to some of the specific plans for the day, and says those are getting him excited, too, knowing how carefully every part of it is being considered, even down to moments for reflection.

“I think the intentionality of the day is going to offer so many possibilities, it’s going to offer newness, it’s going to make room for creativity,” Marlon says.

Having Peter, John and Walter guiding the conversation will also be powerful, he foresees. He shares his vision of them essentially offering what he calls a “tap on the shoulder,” an invitation to consider this or that insight or piece of wisdom, and “then backing away to allow us to engage one another as a Memphis community.”

Marlon says the best that could happen through the event next week is that people make new commitments and see specific ways they can join in or start new efforts that shine a light on their own neighborhood’s gifts and help people in them see new possibilities. The ultimate result would be those same people then together taking ownership for whatever happens in their neighborhoods going forward.

- Michelle Strutzenberger -

To learn more about the Nov. 14 event, click here.

Feel free to comment on this story below, or e-mail michelle@axiomnews.ca.

Drawing spirits of change together in Memphis

CTC chair looks to transformative conversations on Nov. 14

That perspectives change and people will consider the meaning of community in a different light using the language of asset-based engagement rather than deficit: this is but a sampling of Wayne Puckett’s hope as the Engaging Community Narrating Change event draws near.

With little more than a week to go before the long-planned conversation gets underway at Memphis’ Rhodes College with thought-leaders Walter Brueggemann, John McKnight and Peter Block, Wayne is feeling excitement, expectation, and a little pressure as the final logistical details are worked out.

As chair of the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) board of directors, and member of the planning committee organizing the Nov. 14 event, Wayne has been involved since Day 1.

Her hope is that participants will act on a clearer understanding of the parts they can play in creating their ideal community, knowing that those parts need not be overwhelming or insurmountable.
“It’s like the individual thousands of drops that go into a bucket to fill it up,” Wayne says.

“I would like for people to walk away feeling inspired and connected through the conversations, through the possibilities.”

They might also find inspiration in knowing they are not alone in working to catalyze change in the neighborhoods where they live and the city they love.

Between full-time work, evening teaching commitments, volunteering, and raising two grandchildren, Wayne understands the propensity among busy people to zero in on their work and life, possibly missing what others are doing as a complement.

Holding a space for people of all walks of life to come together might offer new insights into just how expansive the dedication to this shift in community understanding really is.

“I think people might find it surprising that there is so much of an entrepreneurial spirit when it comes to people trying to be in-service and to do something that makes a difference,” Wayne says.

Drawing these sprits together in the service of each other is what the Nov. 14 event is all about, and making sure the momentum sparked there carries forward will be the ongoing mission of the CTC.

- Kristian Partington - 

To learn more about the Nov. 14 event, click here.

Feel free to comment on this story below, or e-mail kristian@axiomnews.ca.

The antidote to isolation in Memphis

‘There’s much more of a feeling of knowing your neighbors,’
says musician

There is something to be said for a community where neighbors know each other and wave from their front porches to passersby as twilight invites post-supper strolls.

It makes for a comfortable place to call home, and it is part of the reason why Anthony Gilbert was drawn to the Memphis neighborhood of Binghampton, where he’s lived for about a year now.



“In Binghampton, as opposed to other parts of the city, there’s much more of a feeling of knowing your neighbors,” Anthony says, pointing to the diversity of the neighborhood as part of its charm.

In the neighborhood where he grew up, “people have forgotten that cultural knowledge of what it means to be part of a community,” he adds. “It has disappeared over the last generation or two.”

Anthony is a classically-trained musician specializing in violin and viola who finds in Memphis the freedom to pursue his art within a well-established underground music scene where people aren’t looking for or expecting fame, just a place to explore their passion.

After moving to Binghampton, he entered The Commons on Merton with no knowledge of The Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) and its quest to foster connections among partners and their work building a stronger community.

He needed a space to work other than his house, which holds far too many distractions to tempt him away from focusing entirely on his music, and The Commons had space. He also supplements his income teaching eager music students, so it helps to be connected to the network The Commons offers.

Today, almost a year after joining The Commons, the sound of Anthony’s viola or violin is often heard echoing off the walls of the old church building — a sound he hopes is welcomed by his neighbors.

He teaches a steady stream of students, which pay on a sliding scale depending on what they can afford, and he’s part of the larger Commons, if only as one person amidst many adding to the mosaic of change in the neighborhood.

There’s a lot of work to do in a city where more than a quarter of the population live at the poverty line, but at The Commons and through the work of its partners, change is happening one step at a time.

“I’m not saying that Binghampton is a paradise,” Anthony says. “People are still suspicious of each other on some level, and I think that’s just an ingrained habit, but I think certainly what’s happening in Binghampton is the antidote; it’s the start of something.”

Anthony’s hope is that his contribution and the gift of his music is a welcomed part of the transformation taking place in Memphis.

By Kristian Partington, Axiom News