Helen Stringer discusses Kansas City Oasis in this week’s Pitch questionnaire
Name: Helen Stringer
Occupation: Executive director of Kansas City Oasis
Hometown: Excelsior Springs
Current neighborhood: North Hampton, Kansas City, Missouri
What I do (in 140 characters): For means, I run a professional organizing business, Organized by Helen, but for meaning, I’m the executive director of Kansas City Oasis, a nonprofit.
My undergraduate degree was in pastoral studies, but I never made it to the pulpit. Not for lack of opportunity but for lack of belief. A lot of us don’t fit in church. Some of us outright don’t believe in the stuff, while others have a view of religion that’s not represented in faith communities. Kansas City Oasis exists as an alternative to faith-based communities.
What’s your addiction? Hearing people’s stories. Regardless of age, everyone has experiences that are compelling, thought-provoking and often funny.
What’s your game? Go, Chiefs!
What’s your drink? Lime margarita
Where’s dinner? Stroud’s. I have been eating there since I was a child.
Finish this sentence: “Kansas City got it right when …” They developed and built the Sprint Center, Power & Light District and the Kauffman Center.
“Kansas City screwed up when …” They elected Mark Funkhouser as mayor.
“Kansas City needs …” Better roads. The suspension system in my Volvo is shot because our roads look like the surface of the moon.
“I’ve been known to binge-watch …” The baby monitor. I may have some “helicopter” parenting to overcome.
“I can’t stop listening to …” All jazz, all the time. Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Madeleine Peyroux and Frank Sinatra, to name a few.
“I just read …” Brain Rules by John Medina
The best advice I ever got: “This is your world. Shape it, or someone else will.”
Worst advice: Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you ignore the small stuff, it will incubate and become bigger stuff. Sweat all the stuff; just change your outfit when it becomes too sweaty.
My sidekick: Definitely my 4-year-old is my sidekick: He laughs at my jokes, cuddles when I’m sad and likes sweets as much as I do.
My dating triumph/tragedy: I married my high school sweetheart, but I mostly hated him until 11th grade.
My brush with fame: When I was 17, I had the lead female role in a children’s Kansas City Lyric Opera production called Brundibar.
My 140-character soapbox: The fastest growing demographic is the nonreligious. We are positive people, humanists, nothing like what you’ve heard, and we are done being silent.
Who’s sorry now? Probably my undergraduate alma mater, an evangelical school that cranks out pastors. I doubt they want their training to be used for organizing and supporting the nonreligious — too bad.
My recent triumph: Getting to spend my Sundays with an incredible group of people each week. It seriously blows my mind every time we gather. Seeing your passion in action, and working, is indescribable.
KC Oasis meets at 11 a.m. Sundays on the sixth floor of 1800 Baltimore. See kcoasis.org.
