God In Chicago OverPond Media

I began my journey here because this was one of two places that shaped my understanding of God during my teens and early 20s. This has always been a place where I could get my head right. So when my life’s road brought me back to the Chicago area a few months ago, it only made sense to start my search for God in this place.

This place is a cathedral to God. The way stadiums are cathedrals to sports. The way skyscrapers are cathedrals to capitalism. This places is designed to make a statement , about God and about the community that assembles here every week.

And statements matter. Especially for this neighborhood, which borders the campus of an Ivy League level university that trains people to run the world; but also borders a community that is fighting to protect its youth from running the streets.

I see the excellence of God in this building they’ve constructed. I see experience in their decoration of this space, and of themselves.

So I am ready. Surrounded by people who present themselves with excellence, and who care for this space with excellence, to hear something about an excellent God.

The journey begins in the Woodlawn neighborhood of the south side, at the corner 63rd Street and Dorchester.

Intro Theme Music: Victory Lap by QSTN ft. Mecca:83
Background Music: http://www.bensound.com/

Pick up your copy of the companion book at https://godinchicago.com/

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I haven’t seen anything like this before. It’s like being on a mini-campus where all the buildings on the block leading up to the main building are owned and affiliated with this institution.

There’s a building called Hope House. One called Perkins Center. There’s a learning center, a health center, an agape chapel, a fitness center. Even the indie coffee shop on the corner might also be part of this impressive collection of buildings.

When I arrived, the building - an old-school gymnasium with wood beam rafters - has a comfortable and low-key vibe. This is a come-as-you-are kind of place. No one here is wearing a suit. There are no expensive cars parked in front of the entrance.

As I watch more people enter the building, it’s obvious that these people know each other. They are not simply co-located in this space, they are communing with one another. Fittingly, today the speaker had chosen to talk about the concept of love.

The journey continues in the Lawndale neighborhood on the west side, and the corner of Ogden & Avers.

Intro Theme Music: Victory Lap by QSTN ft. Mecca:83
Background Music: http://www.bensound.com/

Pick up your copy of the companion book at https://godinchicago.com/

Join the conversation! Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Y94abI and on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2z6q5W4

As I drive up Princeton Street, I couldn’t help but think about the cruel irony of the street’s name. A name it shares with one of America’s oldest institutions of privilege, power, and wealth.

This street runs as a kind of middle track between the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Norfolk Southern freight train tracks. If you were doing one of those ESPN feature profiles of a young athlete from the “mean streets” of Chicago’s south side, the landscape of this street on this morning is the video footage you would see: gray skies, bordered up homes, vacant lots, few businesses.

As I waited for the event to begin, I watched the comfortable conversation between pairs and small groups of people as they made their way to their preferred rows.

Next to me, a 3-4 year old boy politely steps into a conversation between two women discussing pre-kindergarten registration:

“Can you please top talking to my mommy?”

Both women laugh. This child looks comfortable in this space. He has been here before many times. He recognizes faces, they recognize his. He seems cared for and cared about. I think about who he will be 10 years from now, 20 years from now, will this building still be a place where he is recognized, welcomed, loved, and cared for?

The journey continues in the Fuller Park neighborhood on the south side, at the corner of 45th and Princeton.

Intro Theme Music: Victory Lap by QSTN ft. Mecca:83
Background Music: http://www.bensound.com/

Pick up your copy of the companion book at https://godinchicago.com/

Join the conversation! Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Y94abI and on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2z6q5W4

I did not have any preconceived ideas about what to expect as I pulled into the parking lot behind an elementary school and in the shadow of the Orange Line elevated tracks.

Yet, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little surprised when I walked into the well-lit, open lobby and saw an information kiosk in the center, a merchandise booth in the corner to my right, and a 4-5 table coffee shop on my left.

It was...professional. Like going to a hotel ballroom for a seminar or conference. But it was also familiar, and definitely had a come-as-you-are vibe. There was a signature book for first-time visitors placed at each aisle as you enter the auditorium.

As I waited for the event to begin, I flipped through the brochure I’d been given, and watched the scattered small groups of people chatting in the auditorium. In the upper right hand corner of the informational brochure, I noticed a small box of text titled Weekly Budget. Listed underneath was the organization’s budget for the week, and the amount of money they had raised from donations in the previous week.

This is the first place I’ve been, so far, that mentioned how much they spend. It seems to be an effort to build trust through transparency. I wonder what led to the decision to share this information with visiting guests and committed members alike.

I think, on some level, this small disclosure had an effect on me. I felt better about the projectors, sound stage, screens, speakers, and modern decor in this auditorium which were a contrast to the nondescript and understated exterior of this building and the buildings on the the surrounding blocks.

The journey continues in the Archer Heights neighborhood on the southwest side, at the corner of 51st and Keeler.

Intro Theme Music: Victory Lap by QSTN ft. Mecca:83
Background Music: http://www.bensound.com/

Pick up your copy of the companion book at https://godinchicago.com/

Join the conversation! Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Y94abI and on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2z6q5W4

You can understand a lot about the history of Chicago over the past 50 years just by taking a ride down Lake Street from the gas stations and fast food restaurants in Maywood, through the tree canopied streets of River Forest, through the urbanized suburban bustle of Oak Park, and into the two-flats, corner stores, and 19th century mansions of the Austin neighborhood on the city’s west side.

To ride down Lake Street into the city is to see the clear boundary lines between struggle and success, poverty and profit, comfort and carnage. Even the viaducts and walls of the Green Line tracks that run alongside Lake Street reflect the stark shift in economic realities at the Austin Blvd. border.

As I enter the building, it has the feeling of a meeting hall. With the exception of the stained glass windows along the side walls, there are not any immediately visible decorations that indicate what the space is used for. There are around 150 people in this space, but it doesn’t feel like it. It feels cozier and more intimate.

This Sunday happens to be Youth Sunday, and a 20-person team of young mime actors and praise dancers from elementary to middle school age filled the front stage and main center aisle.

There is a specific kind of joy and freedom that is expressed when children dance. In some ways, this kind of joy can only be expressed by children. As I watched their performance, and the enthusiastic support of the adults in this building, I wondered what it means in the lives of these young people to have started their week in this way.

I thought about the drastically different Sunday mornings that their neighborhood friends and their peers at school must be having. What does it mean for these young people to have such a space to dance, sing, perform, play, and express?

The journey continues in the Austin neighborhood on the west side, at the corner of Austin Boulevard and Lake Street.

Intro Theme Music: Victory Lap by QSTN ft. Mecca:83
Background Music: http://www.bensound.com/

Pick up your copy of the companion book at https://godinchicago.com/

Join the conversation! Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Y94abI and on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2z6q5W4

An uptempo jazz/afrobeat instrumental plays through the auditorium speakers as I enter. There’s a ship steering wheel with a face that appears etched on it in the middle of the stage.

As the event was about to get underway, a woman walked up to a podium at the side of the front stage:

“In keeping with our African tradition, may we have permission to proceed with our worship? To signify, wave your hankerchief.”

With that, a procession of choir singers entered the auditorium accompanied by the syncopated beats of the African drum players on the front stage. Nearly every choir member was wearing a West African-inspired dashiki, dress, head wrap, or kufi.

In the first 15 minutes, the people assembled in this space experienced a wider and more global expression of love for God than most people will see in a year. The opening song was performed with a reggae vibe. The opening meditation was offered in Spanish and English. The opening prayer was delivered in Jamaican Patois. The mime/dance performance that followed was set to a gospel ballad.

The time set aside for the audience to greet the people seated around them lasted for a good five minutes, and was one of the more joyful breaks of this kind that I’ve seen so far. The band played a jazz instrumental while people embraced, laughed, and smiled at each other.

The journey continues in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the south side, on the corner of 95th Street and Eggleston.

Intro Theme Music: Victory Lap by QSTN ft. Mecca:83
Background Music: http://www.bensound.com/

Pick up your copy of the companion book at https://godinchicago.com/

Join the conversation! Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Y94abI and on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2z6q5W4