Cultural Resolutions
With the New Year comes New Year's Resolutions. If you haven't done so already, go ahead and resolve to be a catalyst in culture this year! The Catalyst team and friends have compiled a few ideas to help you get connected to culture, create opportunities to engage and influence your community, and demonstrate a piece of the Kingdom of God in this world.
SERVE
- Anyone, anywhere
ART & ENTERTAINMENT
- Support local galleries with local artists or school exhibits
- Visit city museums
- Take an art class
- Support local bands, films and festivals
- Check out the local symphony or performing arts theater
- Join a community theater
SPORTS
- Invite your neighbors to attend a sporting event
- Volunteer to coach a youth sports team
- Join a recreational sports team
READING & EDUCATION
- Read all kinds of current books (not just by Christian authors)
- Start a neighborhood book club
- Read the classics
- Read popular culture magazines (like Paste, www.pastemagazine.com, or Risen, www.risenmagazine.com)
- Volunteer to read to children or the elderly
- Attend poetry readings
- Read the newspaper (local and national)
- Check out international news online
- Take a continuing education class at your local community college
CIVICS
- Attend your neighborhood or homeowner association meetings
- Run for a position on your city council
- Serve on your chamber of commerce
- Take time to read up on local political issues
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
- Serve on your local school board
- Write an encouraging letter to your mayor
- Find out who your congressman or senator is and schedule a visit with them (or write them a letter)
HOST EVENTS
- Sponsor an "open mic" night at a local coffee shop to showcase budding young singer/songwriters in your area
- Host a social justice event on or off your church campus that brings together some of the leading local social justice movements in your backyard
- Invite your neighbors to your house to watch a thought provoking movie, such as Crash or Hotel Rwanda, and then have a brief discussion afterwards
- Sponsor/host clinics or classes that are relevant, excellent, and feature experts in the field (ie: music, cooking, arts, etc.)
PERSONAL
- Get outside the "Christian bubble", work on seeing beyond "us vs. them"
- Learn a language
- Strike up a conversation with a stranger in line or at a restaurant
- Eat out at non-chain restaurants
- Encourage relevant petitions to be signed by your friends, such as the One campaign (www.one.org) or the Save Darfur campaign (www.savedarfur.org)
- Get behind a project that creates culture, either with your time, talent or money. For example: movies, documentaries, a new hang out for teens, coffee shops, or music that makes an impact
Do you have other ideas? If so, let us know on the Catablog.