Summer Speedos | Field Note: Porch Pause
What if one of the most neighbourly things we can do is simply be available?
In this short Summer Speedos field note, Johan takes us outside for a walk in Winnipeg and notices something surprisingly rare: two people sitting on a front porch, doing absolutely nothing.
No phones.
No yard project.
No frantic productivity.
Just two people watching the street, taking in the ordinary life around them.
And somehow, that small scene opens up a bigger question: have we become unavailable without even realizing it?
This episode reflects on the quiet power of porch presence — not as a program, outreach strategy, or five-step plan, but as a simple posture of openness. A front porch says, “I’m here, but I’m not closed.” It creates space for nods to become waves, waves to become hellos, and hellos to slowly become care.
Johan also reflects on the way Jesus often met people in ordinary places: roads, tables, wells, homes, and shorelines. Not always through organized events, but through presence, attention, and a willingness to notice the person in front of him.
The invitation this week is small: create one little pocket of availability.
Sit outside for ten minutes.
Wave first.
Ask a neighbour’s name.
Stay in one ordinary place long enough that someone could interrupt you.
You don’t need a porch to practise presence. But if you have one, it might already be doing more ministry than you think.
In This Episode
Why neighbourly care often begins before anyone asks for help
How familiarity grows slowly through ordinary repeated moments
Why being interruptible matters more than we might think
How busyness, headphones, phones, and hurry can quietly close us off
What Jesus’ ordinary encounters can teach us about presence
One small way to become more available this week
Reflection Question
Where have you become unavailable without realizing it?
Maybe it’s after church, on your street, during your walk, or in the small everyday spaces where connection could happen if you slowed down long enough to notice.
Summer Speedos is a short in-between-season series from Neighbourly while Shannon takes a break from regular interviews. Some episodes are field notes recorded outside in ordinary places where care actually happens. Others are story field notes that begin with history, memory, or real life.
Either way, we’re paying attention to the small, ordinary ways care, faith, courage, and community show up around us.
Listen and Learn More
For more field notes and stories, visit neighbourlypodcast.ca.
To learn more about CarePortal and practical ways to care for families in your community, visit careimpact.ca.
About Neighbourly
Neighbourly is a CareImpact podcast about ordinary people showing extraordinary care. Through honest stories, reflective conversations, and practical takeaways, each episode invites listeners to notice the people around them and take one simple step toward neighbourly care.
Neighbourly is produced in partnership with CareCreatives Company, helping organizations clarify their message through branding, design, websites, and audio production for social good.
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Episode transcript Read the full transcript
Welcome to Summer Speedos from Neighbourly
Johan Heinrichs: Welcome to Summer Speedos from Neighbourly, our short in-between-season series while Shannon takes a break from her regular interviews. I'm Johan, the producer of the show.
Johan Heinrichs: Some episodes are field notes recorded outside in ordinary places where care actually happens. Others are story field notes, more cinematic reflections that start with a story from history or real life. Either way, we're paying attention to the small, ordinary ways care, faith, courage, and community show up around us.
Johan Heinrichs: So grab a cold drink, or head out on that bike ride, walk, or hike. Enjoy this year’s edition of Summer Speedos from Neighbourly.
A Walk Outside in Winnipeg
Johan Heinrichs: Hey everyone, Johan here. Another Summer Speedos episode. While we are in between seasons and interviews with guests, let’s just be outside and enjoy the weather, make some observations, and learn to love our neighbours a little bit better.
Johan Heinrichs: And, you know, I want to get out of my basement again. It’s just dark and dingy down there. No windows. So here I am out on a walk, the birds are chirping, traffic’s going, people are riding their bikes on this non-rainy day in Winnipeg.
Two People Sitting on a Porch
Johan Heinrichs: Anyway, on my walk today, there were two people sitting on a front porch and they were doing absolutely nothing.
Johan Heinrichs: And I mean that as a compliment. It actually looked quite nice, and I was a little envious. They had no phones that I could see. There was no yard project in front of them. No frantic, “We’re just outside because the inside of our house is somehow worse.”
Johan Heinrichs: Just two people sitting there, watching the street move. A car rolling by. A squirrel chasing another squirrel up a tree with a lot of energy. And whatever else happens on the street: kids, bikes, all that stuff. Just life.
Johan Heinrichs: Just two people taking it all in, sitting on a porch, doing nothing.
Where Can We Be Interrupted?
Johan Heinrichs: At first I thought, that must be nice. And then I thought, actually, maybe that is quite rare. Because most of us don’t sit where we can be interrupted anymore.
Johan Heinrichs: We’re inside. We’re in the backyard. We’re in the car. We’re moving from one thing to the next. Even when we’re technically outside, we often have headphones in, a podcast on—hopefully this one—a phone in hand, or a facial expression that says, “Please don’t perceive me,” which, to be fair, is also my resting grocery store face.
Johan Heinrichs: But a front porch is different. It says, “I’m here, but I’m not closed.”
Availability with a Chair
Johan Heinrichs: And that’s what caught me. A porch is not an event. It’s not a strategy. It’s not a five-step outreach plan with a logo that took six meetings to approve.
Johan Heinrichs: It’s just availability with a chair. And maybe that’s more powerful than we think.
Johan Heinrichs: A lot of neighbourly care starts before anyone asks for help. It starts when people become familiar with each other. You may see the same person enough times that a nod becomes a wave, and a wave becomes a hello, and eventually someone says, “I noticed you were away last week. Everything okay?”
Johan Heinrichs: That kind of care can’t be rushed. It grows in the soil of ordinary presence.
Jesus in Ordinary Places
Johan Heinrichs: I think about how often Jesus met people in ordinary places: roads, tables, wells, homes, and shorelines. And he wasn’t launching a program. Sometimes he was simply present enough to notice the person in front of him.
Johan Heinrichs: And that challenges me, because I like care that can be scheduled. I like things with titles and timelines, and preferably a Google Doc. A Google Doc gives me the illusion of control, which is one of my favourite illusions.
Johan Heinrichs: But some forms of care can’t be organized into a spreadsheet. They happen because someone stayed outside, unhurried and available.
One Small Pocket of Availability
Johan Heinrichs: So maybe the question this week isn’t, “How do I become more impressive at caring?” Maybe it’s, “Where have I become unavailable without realizing it?”
Johan Heinrichs: Maybe it’s after church, when we do the post-service escape walk while pretending to look for our keys. Maybe it’s on our streets, where we know the houses better than we actually know the people. Or maybe it’s on a walk, like what I’m doing now, where I’m more connected to my headphones than the neighbourhood around me. And frankly, I’m looking a little weird talking to a microphone.
Johan Heinrichs: The invitation is small. Create one little pocket of availability. Just one.
Johan Heinrichs: Sit outside for 10 minutes. Wave first. Ask a neighbour’s name. Stay in one ordinary place long enough that someone could actually interrupt you.
The Field Note
Johan Heinrichs: You don’t need a porch to practise presence. But if you have one, it might already be doing more ministry than you think.
Johan Heinrichs: That’s the field note. Keep noticing.
