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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

Recently some friends and I named old hits that captured summer for us. Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” was my choice—didn’t even have to think about it. In the summer they describe, every day is the Fourth of July, not one of parades and pompous patriotism, but rather what real community looks like. Folks of all ages and backgrounds pour into a city park to enjoy one another. “People dancing, people laughing/A man selling ice cream/Singing Italian songs.”

The coolest thing (for me, at least) is how a sun-bright vision bursts through the festivities. These folks are genuinely committed to love and justice and progress:

People talking, really smiling

A man playing guitar

And singing for us all

Will you help him change the world

Can you dig it? (Yes, I can)

I’ve been waiting such a long time for today

Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day

A bronze man still can tell stories his own way

Listen, children, all is not lost

All is not lost, oh no, no

As we move into the back half of summer, let’s give the song a fresh listen for the many spiritual practices subtly painted into its picture: dancing, laughing, singing, talking, smiling, waiting, telling stories our own way, listening, and above all else believing we can change the world. (And that’s just from the lyrics I quoted.) Sharing hopes and joys, struggles and uncertainties in faithful community is how we express our faith that all is not lost. Can you dig it? (Yes, I can!)

With much love and joy,

Pastor Tim

Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. – Ephesians 6:9 (KJV)

Dear Gather Family and Friends,

Recently a longtime Gatherer and I were mulling over recent setbacks to women’s and LGBTQ rights—just two of so many issues that bear watching. In the current reactionary climate, when it seems like progress that took decades to achieve is being systematically undone, discouragement mounts easily. When you are, at heart, a good person a student of Jesus who intentionally lives out his teaching caring for the least in our society is how we show love for God, it’s hard to conceive how so many folks around us are consumed with denying rights of others and depriving people of what they need. And then there are the myths and lies and suspicions that fuel such uncaring and ungodly behavior. If it only seems to get worse, what’s the point?

Doing good is a long-term commitment. As the Early Church learned, as our LGBTQ ancestors also discovered, there is always a backlash when you lay claim to freedom. The first-century Jesus Movement not only faced opposition from without; they also faced opposition from within, as their synagogues excommunicated them, and their ranks often became infiltrated with false teachers and impostors. The same can be said of the LGBTQ movement. Of course, there was steep climb to overcome systemic homophobia in the larger society. But our struggles have also been complicated by inter-community conflicts and name-calling and hierarchies of privilege. It’s enough to make anyone in the fight real tired.

As we enter Pride Month, we should listen closely Paul’s advice to the Galatians. We simply can’t get tired. We can’t give up—not as members of Jesus’s movement or as people who support equality across-the-board. Setbacks are inevitable because the world is not easily amenable to profound change. But if we stay in the fight—if we “faint not”—we shall reap a harvest for our efforts. The progress we’ve made is the fruit of our ancestors’ tireless labor. We must offer the same witness to those who come after us.

Hang in there. Hold to hope at all costs. When you feel yourself getting weary, call a friend for encouragement. This month is about Pride going forward, not just Pride of our past. Let us not be weary in well-doing.

Peace, with much love—and Happy Anniversary!
Pastor Tim

Jesus touched their eyes and said, “It will happen for you just as you have believed.” Their eyes were opened. – Matthew 9:29-30

Dear Gatherers,

This Sunday marks four years of great joy and effort to forge an innovative faith community. We have much to be grateful and proud about. We started with nothing. No sponsoring denomination, no “seed money” sources, no people, no place. Most new church plants fold in their first two years. Yet here we are. Many churches, regardless of age, are struggling to rebound from the pandemic. We never stopped growing. For all the above, we say thanks be to God! And thanks to you!

It’s a lot of work, and there’s more to do. For Gather to come fully into its own, its basic needs must be met while new capabilities get added. We’ve always walked and talked as if our needs were met and, true to the promise, they have been. Now that we’re older and bigger, we’re getting bolder. More responsibility for what’s next. And while we pursue unconventional ministry and ecstatically inclusive community life, a settled space is necessary for this work. Equipment and greater support will enable us to connect with neighboring social justice and care communities to make a material difference in the world.

Perhaps one of Gather’s biggest weaknesses is that we make it look easier than it is. This will become more evident as we move ahead. When we’re in a secure space, monthly costs will increase significantly. We’ll be asking more time from more folks. Between now and Sunday—when we come together on YouTube to celebrate four years of building something new together—let’s commit a monthly pledge or tithe that will enable this work to last. The size of the gift is not the concern; dependable and regular giving is what we need right now.

God bless you all. We’re such old souls. Sometimes we forget we’re a young family. Our prophetic gifts alert us to where God’s leading; our practical insights remind us it will take some reliable time and money commitments to get there!

Peace, with much love—and Happy Anniversary!

Pastor Tim

Teach us to number our days so we can have a wise heart. – Psalm 90:12

Dear Gatherers,

In just a few days we will celebrate our fourth year together as a worshipping community.  By design, we launched in 2019 (see above) on Pentecost as our immediate confidence that the promise of Acts 2—“I will pour out my Spirit on all people”—mean ALL people. And that has been our driving conviction ever since.

On my fingers, I’ve counted about 150 people who’ve come through Gather since we began. Some stayed. Many lingered for a while and moved on. (Multicultural church planting from nothing is not for everyone.) Others dropped in, nodded with approval, and kept going. During the pandemic, we had a surge of people seeking community. When the world reopened, they returned to their home churches and regular haunts. That’s the way it works. It’s how it’s supposed to work, if we use the ministry of Jesus and the Early Church as our model.

For those of us who’ve stuck it out, though, we have been constantly amazed at the creative ways God has blessed. Times haven’t always been easy. But God never failed to provide. We’ve experienced growth in ways we never envisioned and discovered so much about what it means to be an ecstatically inclusive, theologically progressive, socially committed, scripturally sound, and spiritually adventurous faith community. The lessons we’ve learned, the experiences we’ve shared have taught us well!

Now it’s time to celebrate, as we number our days together. To be fully inclusive, we’ll rejoice together virtually on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, at 5pm. We’ll revive the joy and verve we brought to our pandemic worship with three open-to-all participation offers. We invite everyone—full-time Gatherers, part-time Gatherers, sometime Gatherers, and friends of Gather—to contribute to this experience. Even if you’ve just been watching from the sidelines, we want to see you and hear from you! You’re a part of us! Scroll down to find out how to be part of the service; then plan to join us at 5pm CDT on YouTube for the premiere of our anniversary worship / party.

Peace, with much love,

Pastor Tim

If we have a hope in Christ only in this life, then we deserve to be pitied more than anyone else. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. – 1 Corinthians 15:19-20

Dear Gatherers,

As many of you know, I keep my rent paid doing communications consulting, with a special emphasis in oncology and infectious disease treatment. Over the years I’ve had the honor of meeting dozens of individuals who are living examples of resurrection. Coming out of cancer, HIV/AIDS, hep C, and other deadly diseases is neither a simple nor painless process. Even with medical advances, mortal combat in one’s own body requires stamina, stubbornness, and—above all else—hope. When I speak with survivors, they often discuss a hope-filled transformative process of resurrection. The side effects may be brutal. But it will be worth it. The complications may be many. But it will be worth it. The demands may be grueling. But it will be worth it. Anticipation drives everything.

When we reduce Easter to a one-off event—a mystical moment when a left-for-dead human opens his eyes to discover he’s been completely transformed to live forever—we miss what resurrection’s purpose is. The prospect of defying death amplifies hope that keeps us alive. Maybe that’s why nobody knows what happens after we cross die; not knowing empowers each of us to shape our own hope with imagination that compels us to push ahead. As Paul says, if all we’re looking at is what we’ve got, we don’t have much. But as so many cancer and infectious disease survivors have taught me, hope keeps us alive if we don’t lose sight of what’s on the other side. Hope makes “living in the moment” possible because it’s never just this moment. It’s also, always what’s next.

This Sunday, we finish our Resurrection People conversation with a focus on hope. Come ready to sing and rejoice and fellowship together. (And bring a mom along; moms know a whole lot about hope!)

Peace, with much love,

Pastor Tim

The sun has one kind of glory, the moon has another kind of glory, and the stars have another kind of glory (but one star is different from another star in its glory).  It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead. – 1 Corinthians 15:41-42

Dear Gatherers,

The Early Church’s biggest theological puzzle emerged when figuring out how to make meaning of resurrection. Atonement? Nothing new there. It was an ancient idea played out in ritual sacrifices around the known world. Messiah? The countryside crawled with messianic movements. But resurrection? That was new. And it threw Christians for a loop.

What did it mean? How did it work? When does it happen? Perhaps one of the greatest joys of early Christian literature comes from our ancestors wrestle with these questions. Paul regularly attempts to meet the challenge in his letters—to varying degrees of theological success. But often in his strain he scales poetic heights, as when he explains resurrection’s meaning in First Corinthians. The ultimate hope, Paul says, is a kind of glory that embodies all the stardust we’re made of.

We’re not returned to life to be like everybody else, Paul says. Instead, resurrection empowers each of us to live fully into our divinely created singularity. Unlike earthbound stardom conforming to a “type,” in resurrected stardom, every person shines on their own, holds their own unique place in the universe, doesn’t hesitate to let their light shine.

Resurrected life means full life that Jesus explicitly promised. Everything God placed in you—as well as all the ways your life veered left and right to complete your making—needs to explode and radiate. Rise to this occasion! Be the star God has resurrected you to be!

Peace, with much love,

Pastor Tim

Giving News

Our giving has been solid and we’re grateful for those helping take Gather to its next stage of growth. Throughout May, give thought to a regular tithe or pledge that will enable us to expand our monthly capacity as we plan our move into a settled space. How much can you offer? At our upcoming anniversary, we’ll invite everyone to submit their pledges and tithing commitments. Plan now to be one of our regular givers!

Volunteers

The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does its part. – Ephesians 4:16

Dear Gatherers,

It’s spring and in our apartment that means indoor gardening. Living in a high-rise apartment, Walt and I don’t have any yard to worry about. But we do have big windows, which means from April until October, our house is a lush lab of fabulous herbs growing on windowsills and bookshelves. It’s something we take very seriously because it gives us so much joy.

As I’ve pulled together our indoor garden this year, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how Gather is growing. I’ve also thought about how being ecstatically inclusive is a lot like growing a widely varied herb garden. And then I’ve considered how building a healthy, productive community can’t be the work of a select few. It needs to belong to all of us, who put our roots into the rich soil of faith and love, not only tending to our own growth, but working hard to enable others to grow.

I’ve never known a group of folks who better fits Ephesians’ description of a “body [that] makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does its part.” At the same time, I trust we are reaching an awareness that more is being asked of us now than what we literally phoned in during the pandemic. There are physical tasks that must be undertaken. Pulling equipment out of storage. Chairs put into place. Tables stacked with visitors’ cards. Potluck dishes set out. Cleaning up to do. All of which means we need volunteers.

This Sunday, after our monthly YouTube service, we’re going to scoot over to a Zoom meeting to get organized. We’ll ask folks to sign up for specific tasks for the live and online services. We’re going to make the ground of Gather rich for new plants and comfortable for everybody who comes to us looking for growth. It will take all of us. Plan NOW to be with us THIS SUNDAY, at 5pm CDT for worship, with a brief (<30 minute) meeting to follow.

We’re doing church unlike anybody we know. Let’s do it right and do it together. See you on Sunday!

Peace, with much love,
Pastor Tim

CLICK HERE TO BE PART OF SUNDAY’S VOLUNTEER MEETING