Throwback Thursday: What Makes a Neighbour?

There’s something about looking back that always opens the door for more. We’re a week away from our last episode of our first season.

As we’ve recorded each episode of Prepared to Drown this season—from deconstruction and dignity, to AI and embodiment, to protest and community—one theme kept surfacing. Not in every moment, but steadily enough to matter: the question of who we are to one another.

Whether we were talking about grief or justice or belonging, there was this undercurrent: what does it mean to live like we actually belong to each other? That’s a question about faith. But it’s also a question about relationships.

In Episode 8, “Dam Good Neighbours,” we explored the parable of the Good Samaritan—not as a feel-good morality tale, but as a question of courage. Who are we willing to stop for? Who do we believe is worth showing up for, even when it costs us?

But neighbourliness wasn’t confined to that one conversation. It echoed through the grief of Episode 1, where leaving behind toxic religion became a survival act—and finding new community became a lifeline. It pulsed through Episode 4, where Rev. Tony Snow reminded us that decolonizing the gospel is about reclaiming sacred relationship—with land, with tradition, and with each other. It ran under the surface of Episode 7, where we asked why some are barely staying afloat while others are cruising in comfort—and whether we’re willing to build an economy where enough really is enough.

Neighbour, in all these contexts, meant something deeper than niceness. It meant presence. It meant responsibility. It meant kinship.

And maybe that’s as good a place to prepare for our second season: not with a policy blueprint or a ten-step plan for justice—but with an invitation.

An invitation to see our “neighbour” not as a demographic or a postal code, but as a posture. A spiritual practice. A decision to live as though the wellbeing of others is bound up in your own.

Because it is.

And here’s the good news: being a neighbour isn’t about being a hero. It’s not about fixing everything or knowing all the answers. It’s about refusing to look away. It’s about making space. It’s about reaching out—not perfectly, but persistently.

It’s the extra pair of gloves you tuck into the bus shelter.
It’s the text you send when someone’s name comes up in your heart.
It’s the community fridge you help stock, or the sidewalk chalk that reminds strangers they’re not alone.

Neighbourliness doesn’t have to be loud to be holy. It just has to be real.

I think sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be. We wait for the perfect moment or the right words. We hold back because we don’t want to offend or overstep. But neighbourliness is often quiet. It shows up in small, repeated ways.

And over time, it changes things.

It breaks down isolation.
It softens hardened edges.
It reminds people they are not alone.

In the early days of the podcast, someone asked me what I hoped Prepared to Drown would become. And I said this: I hope it becomes a place where people feel less alone in the deep end.

That’s still true.

And maybe that’s what makes a neighbour—not proximity, but presence. Not agreement, but empathy. Not perfection, but persistence.

If you’ve followed this series, thank you. If you’ve shared a story, or listened quietly, or felt seen in some small way—I’m grateful. And if you’re wondering how to start being a better neighbour today, here’s all I’ve got:

Be kind. Be curious. Be brave.
And when in doubt—show up anyway.