Monthly Archives

October 2023

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In Weekly Update

“Grace and Peace to You…”

Our Thursday Gather conversations have been everything you could ask for: rich, interactive, and super-engaging as Rev. Dr. Pat Carson and Chris White open our understanding of Paul’s  correspondence with first-century Christians. The content is also timely as  a lot of the wisdom in those ancient letters applies directly to us. If you’ve not dropped in on the Thursday gatherings, there’s nothing to stop you. (You can watch in your PJs! It’s on Zoom; see below for the link.)

“Letters to a New Church” also inspired me to look at the texts more closely for parallels to where we are now in this time of transition—an exciting moment in our history that is not without its difficulties. This Sunday on YouTube we’ll look at a famous few paragraphs from Paul’s letter to Philippi, where he begins with grace and considers what it means to be in the struggle together. He has sound advice: our ability to “do all things through Christ” is predicated by our willingness to let go of things that weigh us down and wear us out. Make sure  to join us. (BTW, You can also come to YouTube Sunday worship in your PJs!)

With much love,

Pastor Tim

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In Weekly Update

More People, More Love

They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community. – Acts 2:47.

 

What an amazing time we had on Sunday! We’ve got a new rhythm going, being faithful in weekly attendance and making the most of added opportunities to invite friends and family into Gather. Who do you know who needs to belong to a caring, ecstatically inclusive community of care? Invite them! More people mean more love to share. And, right now, given the state of the world, we need more love!

 

POTLUCK THEME: Roots and Fruits. Fall vegetables bring savory flavors to the table. Let’s go vegetarian this week and bring along something seasonal. (Of course, we won’t be mad if you color outside the lines and bring something meaty!)

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In Weekly Update

Moving into a New Era

Peaceful and Secure

 

My people will live in a peaceful dwelling, in secure homes, in carefree resting places. – Isaiah 32:18

 

Dear Gatherers,

 

Since the pandemic we’ve been in “wander” mode, moving around the city—and virtual spaces, too—discerning where we can grow. When we rested in the Bronzeville-Bridgeport-Pilsen triangle, we saw interest and involvement increase noticeably. Over the past year, we’ve been praying, listening, and looking for a settled space where we could focus less on “popping up” once a month and establish a weekly worship cadence in a settled space to grow our community.

 

Today, I am thrilled to report we’ve found a “triangle-adjacent” worship space that meets all our needs thanks to the fine folks of Church of the Good Shepherd UCC at 5700 S. Prairie. Beginning on October 15, 2023, we’ll gather there every Sunday at 5pm—with the one exception being the last Sunday of each month, when we’ll enjoy our regular YouTube gathering. The pastor, Rev. Jesse Knox and his people are thrilled to make room for us, and we look forward to establishing a thriving relationship with them.

 

Gathering weekly will require deeper commitments from us. We need to make those sacrifices now so people can find us and join our community. To put it plainly, we must work on creating an “immediate family” whose first concern is realizing the Gather vision while our extraordinary “extended family” continues to enrich our community while also serving other congregations. A regular cadence will help us do this. And, thankfully, we’ve built amazing pastoral and leadership teams to reach out to various groups of folks while keeping the “home fires” burning with all their many gifts.

 

Finding a place of peace and security—a soul’s home where everyone can grow—is a timeless theme in scripture. It has always been crucial to creating faithful community. We celebrate this moment as a major leap forward for Gather. And we invite you to circle October 15 on your calendar now, so you can be with us to celebrate God’s work among us!

 

With great thankfulness and much love,

Pastor Tim