April 22, 2026 | A Note From Matthew 25's Executive Director
What if We Didn’t Wait?
A Note From Courtney Ball
Not long ago I took a five-week class focused on helping Eastern Iowans think about how our communities might transition to a time when we will no longer have access to cheap energy in the form of oil and natural gas, while also adapting to the effects of climate change. This will happen in my lifetime (it’s already on the way there), and most likely it will force us to make some major changes to our lifestyles. 
There was a high potential for this class to be full of doom and gloom. But actually, some of those necessary changes could be very good for us. Instead of consuming food shipped from thousands of miles away while covering our own soil with petroleum-based pesticides, Iowans might return to eating locally grown, healthy organic food like our grandparents and everyone before them did. Instead of living in oversized homes in neighborhoods built primarily for cars, we might return to more walkable, human-scale cities and towns. Or instead of spending huge spans of our time in front of energy-consuming computer, phone, and TV screens, we might actually do work with our hands and reconnect with our neighbors and coworkers in person.
But what if we started to do all of those things now instead of waiting for a collapse of world energy reserves to force us into a painful time of change. Actually, in the neighborhoods we serve, Matthew 25 is doing most of those things: growing clean, local food; preserving historic neighborhoods full of reasonably sized affordable homes (while also making them more energy efficient and building new sustainable homes); putting a few staff and hundreds of volunteers to work on practical, helpful projects, and reweaving the fabric of community that has been unraveling at faster and faster rates. 
We didn’t get into this work because of peak oil or climate change, but our mission of strengthening neighborhoods today also happens to make them more prepared for changes we’ll see in the next century. Matthew 25 has been experimenting with the work of strengthening neighborhoods for nearly 20 years now. We’ve learned a lot, but honestly, it feels like we’re still just getting started.
I imagine looking back on this work from 20 years in the future. When the time comes, my hope is that instead of telling a sad story of tumultuous times, we get to share all the ways we paved the way to a stronger, more resilient city. I know it’s possible. Matthew 25 has helped our neighbors recover from two major natural disasters. Those were not much fun, but each time, we learned how to be stronger, smarter, and closer to each other in the process. And we are better for it.
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