The barbershop -one of the earliest expressions of a "third space!" Social theory proposes that people collect in 3 main spaces/places in the rhythm of their lives: the first is home, second work or school and third a variety of settings in which they enjoy life with their "tribe" of people. Picture the barbershop with its regular crowd, some cutting hair and shaving, some sitting around the shop listening or holding forth on the subject of the day, whatever that might be! Or think of the coffee shop of our times, perhaps usurping the place of the corner pub of times gone by, or perhaps not! These are places where people do life with the "usual suspects," where they feel at home, where they are accepted and loved. These are places that are on the maps of our lives. Think of a week in your life and draw an imaginary map of the week. Where did you go? Where did you stop? What are your 3rd spaces? It could very well be that you have put church on your map. It could very well be that for many of us the church (or its programs) has been our 3rd space for the past many years. But think of the majority of people who live near us. For how many of them is the church a 3rd space anymore?
In order to live into our desire to invite others to experience the reality of God's Kingdom in their lives it is obvious that we need to be present with and to them in real time and space. Where can we do this- do life together with others in such a way that they can begin to experience God's future in their present? Can we do it best in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd spaces? Arguably in all 3, right? We need to talk about the hows of all 3. But for now, we have questions about the church facility. As part of the answer, what vision is God stirring about the Southside building and how it could be a 3rd place for people in the Milton community? This question is about one of the "restarts" we are deliberating on. Restarting small groups, restarting soccer camp, restarting elder mentoring and restarting our facility opportunities. With the departure of Milton Christian School into their new digs we have a fresh opportunity to consider the use of the building.
We are on the edge, literally, of a rapidly growing new development with thousands of homes. Our study of the demographics of this community gives us a clear picture of who our neighbours are. They are, almost exclusively, young families. And the more the population grows the more ethnically diverse it becomes. Young families, parented by new Canadians, moving to Milton to settle and raise their families after their first arrival point somewhere else in the GTA. Both parents are commuting to work away from Milton early in the morning, returning tired in the evening with divided responsibility to drop off and pick up the children. Weekends? Soccer, gymnastics, hockey, karate, music lessons.. you name it! And with the time left over a commute to the grandparents in Brampton or Mississauga. Get the picture? Southside is not on their map.
So here's the conversation we need to have. What would a Southside 3rd space look like for these folks? Would it look more like a church? a nursery school? a serving kitchen? a community centre? an arts studio, a computer cafe? a counselling centre? a family life resource centre, or?
free drive through breakfasts so kids don't go to school hungry followed by a meal for the family members after the kids are in school
ReplyDeletehave a look at what this church in Vancouver is doing: Interesting concept for bringing God’s future into the present – note how many ‘community’ things Grandview is involved in.
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So funny, that church in vancouver is carrying out the general idea of what's been on my heart to do. of course i've been thinking on a much smaller scale, and no where near legal, but giving opportunities to those who can't be employed a chance to get on their feet again and move on.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I think for youth, southside has become a third space for them. third spaces shape youth. pun intended :D Youth LOOK for third spaces ...very easy to see with the youth that go to the deck too. The thing that made church a third space for me growing up was relationships. Not just my church friends, but relationships with adults. They cared about us and we're there for us. I'm all for P.Mike's movement with the youth room revamp. It'll help create a stronger feel of third space for them.
I think for milton adults you need more tact to make it a third space. It's like you need to have a 'family night' where there is a nursery, something for the kids AND something for the adults all in one night. Nights like that make for a huge volunteer committment though. One thing I've though about is that in suburban canadian culture, there aren't many hours where the parent and children are actually doing things together besides eating and bedtime. Something involving the parents and kids to participate together sounds interesting, but for the busy parents, they are looking for a restful time as well. The clock has passed midnight, so i better shut my mind off and sleep.
As I look through Oldenberg's characteristics of a third place (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place#Virtual_Third_Places_and_Spaces ) I wonder how many telecommuters there are in the town that are missing the water cooler conversations. We would obviously need to put in some solid Wi-Fi (Any ideas Rob?) and identify some regulars to form the base group, some comfy chairs, and some technology to play with. Hmmmm. Could be interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnother facet of our community that comes to mind, as I occasionaly see them walking in groups, are young mums, who might enjoy some adult conversations and a pause in their day.
It would be great to see the youth room used for only youth activities. That way the youth could really feel that it is their third space. They could drop in at any time ie for lunch, to study during a free class, after school for foosball, bring friends from school just to hang out. Staffing could become an issue because Mike can't do it all. but that's a good problem.
ReplyDeletemy next idea has been talked about a lot... but I can still see it. A cafe... Surprised? A place where moms come after dropp[ing their children at school.. for a latte to chat with friends. A place for students to come and study when it is too noisy at home. a place with wifi. a place for tutoring and perhaps ESL classes??? Do musicians still call it jamming?? they could do that in the evening. Perhaps live music some evenings.... many uses if the space allows.
Another idea I have toyed with, is a weekly Summer family movie, in the parking lot by the outside wall of the gym. Drive in style. Free popcorn and water or juice. Disney, Pixar movies are good to get community people to start thinking of "Southside as a possible third place. Fix up the play area so that it is safe for the children to play while they wait for the movie to start. Sit in your car or in a lawn chair. Sound can run through the car radio... I'm sure the techies can figure that out using ipods and video projectors etc. I know we would have to get permission to show movies, but if we are not charging for it that should be easier.
I have more but I'll let you think about these first.
love these ideas Anne! I think there is already a coalescing facilities vision in the brewing!
DeleteGreat thoughts Rob and John- it's back to the question of how we find our way into the rhythms of people's lives, how we become a stop along the way of their daily/weekly routines.
ReplyDeleteThere is much in life that school and many peoples’ upbringing doesn’t prepare them for. Basic needed life living skills such as household finances, parenting, boundaries in relationships, managing stress, and more. How life skills like these are managed can make or break people, homes and families.
ReplyDeleteMake available day-time and night courses in these areas and combine it with Anne’s cafe suggestion for before & after class. It would be a platform for encouraging a healthier foundation for individuals, happier families and better homes to grow up in. Add in others' suggestions for feeding hungry kids, family movie nights, and you have a pretty good de-stressing zone .....now, add Alpha to the mix.
It would be great to have a cafe available during the friday evening kids club. We have children who don't come to Southside on a sunday & although some parents enjoy a child free evening, lots return early to collect their children. I'm sure it would be a great time to get to know the parents and show that we care for the family not just the children.
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