When it comes to getting to know your neighbor, just ask the youth of Gooding United Methodist Church in Idaho how to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently the church youth launched a YouTube channel \u201cThe Good People of Gooding\u201d to hear the stories of people in their town and build connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou get to interact with so many people and learn about their daily lives,\u201d said 11-year-old Natalie Huerta, whose first interview was with Gooding Mayor Jeff Brekke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt lets people know we\u2019re (a church) open to everyone as a community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rev. Amanda Gayle Reed, pastor of Gooding UMC in this town of 3,600 people in southern Idaho, introduced the \u201cGood People of Gooding\u201d idea to her youth group for multiple reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wanted to teach her TikTok-dance-challenge-loving youth group about positive ways to use social media, modeling the interviews after the \u201cHumans of New York\u201d stories that were started on Facebook years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reed wanted to help some of the youth get out of their shell a little bit and get comfortable talking to new people \u2013 though Natalie, admittedly, has long shed whatever shell she had. Natalie said none of her friends could believe she\u2019d interviewed the mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun to have bragging rights sometimes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More importantly, though, Reed said with all the vitriol that has taken hold of this country \u2013 and in local communities \u2013 when it comes to politics and the pandemic, this is the chance to showcase something positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt just felt like we had to have something we could have unity in,\u201d Reed said. \u201cCommunity building is an important part of our church life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jordyn Gonzalez said they felt a little shy about talking to someone they didn\u2019t know. But then they heard they were going to interview a woman from church who rescue cats, they were on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good project for me to start socializing,\u201d Jordyn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, the group of four, which also includes Ashlynn Turner and Nathan Wright, have interviewed the mayor, a cat rescuer, the owner of a publishing company, a local hospital CEO and a Gooding newcomer. They talk about where they grew up, what got them into the work they\u2019re doing now, and so many other aspects of the person\u2019s life in the 10-minute episodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe purpose is to get together with the community,\u201d Natalie said. \u201cIf they\u2019re not explaining their lives, you\u2019re not explaining yours.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When it comes to getting to know your neighbor, just ask the youth of Gooding United Methodist Church in Idaho how to do it. Recently the church youth launched a YouTube channel \u201cThe Good People of Gooding\u201d to hear the stories of people in their town and build connections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22353","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-video","6":"category-oregon-idaho-conference","7":"post_format-post-format-video"},"yoast_head":"\n