Walking Alongside Neighbors with Coté Soerens

The third of five muscles the church needs to strengthen in order to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now is Walking Alongside or Neighboring. Coté Soerens is the owner and midwife of Resistencia Coffee shop in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. She is also the co-founder of Cultivate South Park, a non-profit that lends infrastructure to neighborhood community development projects such as the Urban Fresh Food Collective, Reconnect South Park, and the South Park Arts and Culture Collective. 

In this conversation, Coté beautifully and powerfully offers a picture of what it means to walk alongside and build trust with our neighbors, to let go of who we think we are, to believe we have everything we need, and to find power in vulnerability, friendship and joy. Her passion is infectious. We can’t wait for you to hear her!

 

QUOTES

• “We have to recognize that the work in the neighborhood is very messy. It sounds beautiful because it is, but it’s also very messy.” -Coté Soerens [15:55]
• “Being able to make myself vulnerable became a practice, an everyday practice. Giving up control is a way for me to become vulnerable. Taking how in my wanting to keep control everyday in the work in the neighborhood is a way that I keep myself accountable.” -Coté Soerens [28:33]

 

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:01] Intro
• [01:00] How the muscles are connected
• [05:11] Meet Coté
• [08:17] What stood out to the hosts about this conversation
• [10:21] What is Cultivate South Park?
• [13:18] How to build trust and relationships
• [17:15] From soup nights to coffee shop
• [24:58] Navigating all the things in the neighborhood
• [30:54] Some of the visions that the neighborhood experiences
• [42:17] Outro

 

RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS

Cultivate South Park is “Connecting Neighbors and their Gifts to Co Create a thriving and equitable South Park.” Find out more on their website.

Learn more about Resistencia Coffee in Seattle, Washington at their website.

Mark Elsdon’s book that is referenced in the interview is We Aren't Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry.

Read more about the Five Muscles on our website and download a PowerPoint presentation to share with your leadership.

“God Has Work for Us To Do” music and lyrics by Mark Miller. Visit Mark’s website at markamillermusic.com or find him on YouTube at youtube.com/c/markismusic67.

This podcast is brought to you by the Leadership Ministry team at TMF and Wesleyan Investive. Leadership Ministry connects diverse, high capacity leaders in conversations and environments that create a network of courage, learning, and innovation in order to help the church lean into its God-appointed mission. For more information and to support Leadership Ministry, visit tmf-fdn.org/leadership-ministry.