December 2016
Several of our district city churches are working together to renew ministry and strengthen outreach and relationship building in their Chicago neighborhoods. Leaders are learning and strategizing together through LUKE (Lutheran Urban Kingdom Expansion), a collaborative effort of the congregations together with CLEF (Chicagoland Lutheran Educational Foundation), LCMS Northern Illinois District Mission Facilitators, and suburban Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, Illinois. The entire project is funded by a CLEF donor to provide additional staff and ministry opportunities to revitalize city churches and schools.
Three of the LUKE schools had lively and successful block parties on consecutive Saturdays in August. Tabor Lutheran Church, in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, drew children and parents with their highly visible, big bounce house. Various artists provided music to accompany food and games led by Tabor volunteers and staff.
Pastors Phil Robarge and Martin Doering, along with Deaconess Lisa Milotla walked around during the party to meet those who attended and talk to them about what God is doing at Tabor. More than 145 neighbors attended.
St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in the Austin neighborhood held a school block party in conjunction with a health fair. During the day there was great food, a bounce house, music and dancing, basketball and even a skit by a local theater company.
St. Paul’s new principal, Valerie Winston, and some of the teachers were on site to speak with perspective families about the school and show them the new preschool room.
Pastors Tom Engel and Tom Gibbons have been reaching out to local leaders in the community (the aldermen, police and firefighters) to strengthen the church and school as a beacon of hope in a community in need; some of these leaders attended the block party as well.
Their health fair had vendors from all over, including Resurrection University, which brought many resident nursing students. Each nurse was able to help someone who came to for the fun day.
More than 45 families attended from the Austin neighborhood and were later visited by volunteers.
The final weekend in August was devoted to the back-to-school block party at St. Paul Lutheran Church and School on Dorchester, in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. There was music and food, a small carnival, games and a bounce house. St. Paul had booths representing the church, school, youth ministry, life groups and much, much more.
Each family that attended signed in and each child received a wrist band that allowed them to ride the carnival rides and receive a book bag filled with supplies. St. Paul had 300 wrist bands and they ran out. One stop at the youth booth revealed that there were already 30 youth signed up who wanted to know more about activities at St. Paul.
People were fed not only by food but by Pastors Jeff Howell and Keith Kinslow along with members of St. Paul who walked around and talked with them.
At the end, community members were still coming by asking if it was over. The word was spread that St. Paul on Dorchester is not just a come-on-Sunday church—that something is happening here—and at other LUKE congregations—and that’s God!