City Council
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Practice Knowing Your City Council
Personal | Know the names of your City Council Members. Follow them on social or subscribe to their newsletter.
Prayerful | Pray for them personally and collectively. Pray with others in your neighborhood.
Pastoral | Be someone who shows care for them as a person, not just their position.
Present | Attend a City Council meeting. Show up in person to participate in their work.
Partner | Become a co-laborer in the city for the common good. Look for ways to collaborate.
Insight from Englewood City Councilwoman Chelsea Nunnenkamp
A practice to cultivate responsibility for your geography is to know your City Council. City Council is a legislative body, responsible for passing and amending local laws. City Council members may have varying degrees of authority based on the city’s governance, but all City Council members hold the responsibility of discernment and direction. The bills, laws, and budgets a City Council passes in any year influence the daily life of citizens more often than bills, laws, and budgets at a national level.
Citizens serving on City Council are term-limited, most serving between 8-12 years. In smaller cities, and towns City Council is a limited, part-time occupation where the demands significantly outweigh the compensation. City Council members have other work endeavors and interests, rarely viewing politics as a life-long occupational pursuit. They are citizens who are invested in taking responsibility for the outcomes of the communities where they live and represent.
A place to begin the practice of knowing your City Council is to know their name. They are likely your neighbors, living with their families in your neighborhood. Begin a practice of praying for them, individually and collectively. If you have influence in the prayers said at the worship gatherings in your congregation, suggest regularly praying for your City Council person by name.
A next step in the practice would be to meet your City Council person. Inquire if they have open office hours or availability to meet for coffee or lunch. Meet to listen and ask good questions. “Why are you serving on City Council?”, “What is your perspective on the biggest needs of the city?”, or “What would a win look like for you this term?”
Attending and observing City Council meetings is an investment into learning the work they lead in the city. Citizens rarely contact their City Council or attend meetings to offer words of encouragement. What could the outcome be if people who follow the Way of Jesus made a regular practice of public encouragement of local leaders? A practical way to deepen the rootedness of your faith in your place is to practice knowing your City Council.
