Urban Village Church

In 1 Samuel, we read the moving story of Hannah, a woman who has difficulty in conceiving and who comes to God and brings her whole self, including her bitter tears. What does it mean to offer our whole selves to God? Christian Coon reflects on this in this sermon podcast.

We end our sermon series on being neighbors at UVC-West by focusing on how we can *be* neighbors. The focus is on the story of Zacchaeus.

On Sunday we celebrated the tradition of Día de Los Muertos and All Saints Day with the story of Lazarus. Pastor Hannah reflects how we can grieve, mourn, and miss those who have passed, but also hope that grief will not be the only thing we ever know. Jesus' invitation is not for us to deny our grief, but to experience it fully, and ask God to be present.

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We welcome Tonika Johnson, creator of the #FoldedMapProject, to share about her work and facilitate conversation among church folks who have recently done Folded Map tours to learn more about their neighborhood, their city, and the segregation policy that tries to separate and under invest in us.

Join in to talk about being a good neighbor, and knowing your neighborhood, wherever you are.

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay in the know! (link is at the bottom of our webpage). Follow us online and support our bold, inclusive, and relevant ministry into the new year! 

“Who is my neighbor?” is a question at the heart of our faith. Throughout this month we’ve explored Chicago’s history of redlining, segregation, and also our deep and diverse cultures throughout this “city of neighborhoods.” 

This morning, Pastor D’Angelo discusses how we can be citizens of the whole city while caring for our whole selves, and doing so in beloved community. All are welcome- all are affirmed!

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay in the know! (link is at the bottom of our webpage). Follow us online and support our bold, inclusive, and relevant ministry into the new year! 

Through the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus gives us a new way of defining who our neighbors are and how we can respond to them.

The scriptures are clear: as neighbors, we are all "members of each other." But how often do we act like Jesus' neighbors who refused to see him, referencing stereotypes like "Can anything good come from Nazareth?!" The truth is there is so much good everywhere, if only we take the time to build the connections and see it. This Sunday, as we continue our neighborhood tours, we’ll explore how to deepen our love and responsibility towards one another. Please join us!

The Parade was cancelled- but the celebrations go on! Enjoy our panel conversation featuring Pastor Hannah Kardon, Blanche DoBoys, and Shea Evangelipstix during our All UVC Drag Worship service at Wicker Park! This week, continue celebrating all of who God made us to be!

 

Malia (Shea Evangelipstix) is an Afro Latina American Transwomen native of Springfield, Illinois, that spent most of her life in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 2015, Malia moved to Chicago. Being the oldest of four loved and loving children, Malia has developed a great appreciation and passion for helping others. Although Malia has many passions like performing Drag, singing,acting, making clothes, cosmetology, spending time with friends and family, crocheting, painting and drawing just to name a few. her most harbored and embraced passion is dance. It has been a lifelong dream of Malia to be the founder of her own liturgical dance company. She is in the very early stages of doing the hard ground work to build up her dance company and bring her dream and purpose of changing the world and building the kingdom of God through Dance.

 PP: $rytheminfaith

 

Blanche DoBoys is a Chicago drag queen originally from rural Indiana. She is a performer who loves both lip-syncing, speaking, and live singing, as well as a designer who creates all her own looks and wigs. “Thank you so much for including me! I am so grateful to be in a church body that not only allows, but affirms and celebrates queerness and expression!”

Instagram: @blanchedoboys. 

Venmo and Paypal: @BRJ97

 

“Who is my neighbor?” is a question at the heart of our faith that Jesus uses to teach us about what it means to care for one another, love one another, and grow closer to God. In Chicago, with our history of redlining and segregation and deep neighborhood cultures, it’s an especially provocative question. 

 

On Sunday, Pastor Emily spoke about our partnership this month with the #FoldedMapProject which invites us to understand ourselves not only as in the context of our own neighborhood, but also in relationship with neighborhoods across Chicago. How can we practice belonging to one another, carrying one another’s burdens, calling people in - and expecting our community to do the same for us? Starting where we are, with what we have, is a great first step to reflecting God’s love in our neighborhoods. 

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urbanvillagechurch.org

What do we do when a trust has been broken or a betrayal has occurred? Our culture would tell us to cut off, walk away, and never look back. But our faith tells us there is a different way. 

Finishing up our sermon series on restoration, Pastor Emily reflects on John 21, we encounter the original “Come to Jesus moment” and learn that when we make amends in our broken relationships, we can also make amendments that help us begin to trust again.