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