“In our neighborhood, there are a lot of invisible fences. Anybody can go to another neighborhood, but when they go, they feel uncomfortable. They feel like they can’t really be there, like something’s pulling them back. Our dream at Trinity, Galewood is to break through those invisible fences.”
Two years ago, Bethany Lutheran, Galewood closed their doors after 174 years of service, an end with the prayer and intention of a new beginning. Fast forward to today, Trinity, Galewood, the campus Trinity, Lisle began with the gift of Bethany’s sanctuary, is an active, beloved member of the community.
Located on the cusp of the Chicago city limits and just inside of the Cook County limits, Trinity, Galewood is a hub at the center of an eclectic mix of cultures. Austin, an African American neighborhood, lies to the east, Oak Park, a majority white and economically wealthy neighborhood, to the south, and Elmwood Park, a historically Italian neighborhood, and Belmont-Cragin, an increasingly Latino area, lie to the west.
Pastor Dave McGinley recognizes this and the invisible fences present between those neighborhoods as he says, “Church is about the people; it’s about connecting and reflecting the very neighborhood we’re in.”
Next, the question, “how?” Pastor McGinley started by walking over to Joseph Lovett Elementary School, a Chicago public school adjacent to the sanctuary. He built a relationship and later trust with Mrs. Benita Dorsey, the school’s Community Relations Representative, and Dr. LeViis Haney, the principal. Together, they wanted to create a space where they could bless not only the kids, but the community as well. The first plan was a big fall party at the church.
Galewood, an area of Austin, has a Halloween event where children, in their costumes, parade through the streets. Pastor McGinley, Mrs. Dorsey, and Dr. Haney attended the parade, standing on a corner passing out candy to kids and inviting them back that very night. 400 people came; trust began to be built. Not losing any momentum, the next plan to further break down fences and build trust was a Holiday Hoops basketball camp.
Concordia University Chicago men’s basketball coach, Randy Rogers, was looking for something for his players to do after Winter Break practices when he and Pastor McGinley thought to host a basketball camp. It was a two day event for students of Joseph Lovett Elementary culminating in a halftime kid’s game at Concordia’s home game the following weekend. Pastor McGinley says, “we had forty kids show up for this, which is a huge act of trust. They’re saying ‘those people are not going to exploit me or see me as a project.’ So it was cool; we got to literally watch the invisible fences we talked about start to break a little bit.”
The months following consisted of more community events, Sunday evening Bible study, listening, and building from what they learned. Pastor McGinley, his wife, Gretchen, and the leadership at Trinity, Galewood have spent much of their time listening to get to know people, to understand what is happening in their world, what questions they have, and what they’re passionate about. This has allowed them to begin answering those questions with the Good News of Jesus and build the church the community wants and needs, a reflection not just of who the people are today, but of the vision of who they can be.
Trinity, Galewood now has regular Sunday morning services, is a church known to be active in the community, and has leadership working to ensure the diversity of their neighborhoods is represented in everything from the music they select to the people they elevate to leadership positions. In one year, Trinity, Galewood has gone from a sanctuary with no people to a place many call “home.” Praise be to God.
To learn more about Trinity, Galewood visit them on Facebook or on their website.