Leading Abundant Communities

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2011


Who is leading who?

I wish... that Leadership Thunder Bay could have invited John McKnight* to speak to us! 

How do we rebuild the capacity and the neighbourhoods in our City?  How do we create the "Infinite Possibilities?

Instead... here is what John McKnight,  said in Nova Scotia:

There is a new worldwide movement developing, made up of people with a different vision for their local communities. They know that movements are not organizations, institutions or systems. Movements have no CEO, central office, or plan. Instead, they happen when thousands of people discover together new possibilities for their lives.
They have a calling. They are called. And together they call upon themselves.

Fortunately, at the heart of our movement are three universal and abundant powers.The three basics of our calling are:

•The giving of gifts: The gifts of the people in our neighborhood are boundless. Our movement calls forth those gifts.


•The power of association: In association, we join our gifts together and they become amplified, magnified, productive and celebrated.


•Hospitality: We welcome strangers because we value their gifts and need to share our own. Our doors are open. There are no strangers here. Just friends we haven’t met.

 Ours is the movement of abundance. There is no limit to our gifts, our associations, and our hospitality.

 We have a calling. We are the people who know what we need. What we need surrounds us. What we need is each other. And when, we act together, we will find Our Way. The citizen’s way. The community way. The democratic way. We are called to nothing less. And it is not so wild a dream.

http://www.abundantcommunity.com/home/getting_started/community_capacities_and_community_neecessities.html “From Clients to Citizens Forum,” Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, July 8, 2009
 






April LLD:  The Charitable Sector
Location: The Learning Cafe

We will be exploring how leaders mobilize community assets...and how to connect one neighbourhood to another through key strategies. 

In preparation, please go to the Abundant Community Blog here:
http://www.abundantcommunity.com/home/getting_started.html

Happy Spring!!

More next week about John McKnight!