Care of People on the Margin

John and Peter were joined in their conversation on March 8, 2018 by Walter Brueggemann, co-author of their recently released new book An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture. Also joining them were special guests and friends Peter Pula and...

You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. — Matt. 16:3 The intent of An Other Kingdom is to interpret certain signs of the times. These signs have to do with...

Kettering Foundation president and CEO David Mathews explains how people and communities can get greater control over their collective future. One way to do this is to ask questions that will reveal new possibilities for acting together on shared...

An animated archetypal flood story that imagines how politics was first created. It counters the idea that public deliberation is some kind of new technique to be used on communities and encourages a notion of democracy that is citizen-centered.   The...

Excerpts and illustrations from For Communities to Work, by David Mathews, © the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, posted by permission. To download the complete work click here. Having spent studying communities, the Kettering Foundation, a nonpartisan research organization, has...

In his presentation, “Change the Conversation, Change the Culture,” at the International Institute for Restorative Practices 19th World Conference, Peter reviews the basis and protocols for the small group methodology of community engagement and talks about his views on...

What are Stone Soup Moments and how do you know that one has occurred? The soup created by Bev Webber, a Red Seal trained chef, and served at the Unitarian Church  community roundtable was corn chowder. But it was actually...

Cincinnati, Ohio, is among the fastest growing cities in the Midwest. It hosts corporate giants like Procter & Gamble and Kroger, and some of its close-in neighborhoods have become chic, with coffee shops and new condominiums. But prosperity is not...

Peter Block is the author of Community: The Structure of Belonging and one of the leading thinkers about community development. We were very excited when he became a member of New Scoop last winter and recently asked him why he joined...

It was a good night, all the food groups were covered in the potluck and in the conversation.  There was the delicious randomness of potlucks — vegetarian loaf, bruschetta, fresh bread, brie, samosas, salad, pecan pie, mini cream puffs and...