Holy ground
 
I had a really interesting conversation yesterday with a man from Germany who works as a pastoral associate for the Catholic church in the Aachen diocese. He found my blog and is in the Chicago area for a few weeks to do some observation and learning, especially around ministry with young adults. He’s intentionally trying to learn not just from the Catholic churches in the area, but from other folks in different denominations, as well. We talked for probably two and a half hours and for all the small difference in our contexts, we had larger similarities in how we attempt to do ministry. He had many interesting insights, but two in particular struck me. The first was (and he emphasized this fairly strongly), how much young adults appreciate silence in worship. They’ve had success with Taize services in Aachen and he has noticed, no matter what a person’s religious tendencies, that there is a real yearning for moments of quiet. The second insight was his description of how important it is to acknowledge (and this is my language) the sanctity of space. In other words, take time to remember all those men and women who have occupied, however briefly, the space in which you’re gathering. This is especially true when you’re gathering for worship or fellowship in a non-religious setting. He, like us, is trying to do more of that. That was really helpful to hear. So, as I interpret this, if we start worshiping in a movie theatre, we should remember and pray for all the people who have sat in those seats. They have important stories to acknowledge, stories of pain and heartbreak, stories of monotony and the mundane, stories of joy and celebration. They have added something to that space by their presence. His mentioning this also made me think of a book I’m currently reading called “Sin in the Second City.” I just started it, but so far, the book focuses on two sisters (the Everleighs) who opened a brothel on the near South Side in Chicago, near the corner of what is now Dearborn and Cermak, which is only about eight blocks south of where we live. I was curious what was there now so I drove by that corner yesterday and noticed that it is close to the National Teacher’s Academy. I found this a little ironic because there’s another new church that’s starting in the South Loop (other new churches are popping up--we’re not the only ones who have noticed the growth of the South Loop) and they’re worshiping at this location. I wonder if they know the history of this particular corner and, if so, whether they acknowledge it? Would we if we were worshiping there? I think so. It is our hope that Urban Village Church will be a place for the saints and sinners of the world because we all have our days when we’re both. http://www.sininthesecondcity.com/home.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
Friday, September 25, 2009