I still remember our first night in Chicago. Gil and I had just moved into the 9th floor of the Atrium village, our stuff was inside of our little studio apartment and we were pretty tired. We sat down on the floor in front of our sliding glass window overlooking the El tracks and Cabrini Green and I remember saying to her, “this is home.” She smiled and I knew she felt the same. That was January, 1995—almost 14 years ago. We still call Chicago home.
We gained another home within a home here in Chicago back in 1999 when we first became a part of New Life Community Church. It was in September of that year that we began attending the worship gathering at IIT on 31st Street. We no longer meet there—in fact we meet in a bunch of different places now—but the sense of home is still the same. New Life has become for us a home within Chicago—a place of relationship, worship, meaning and purpose. My role has changed over the years—at first I was a children’s ministry teacher for 2-3 year olds and now I’m a pastor—but the sense of home has only increased the longer I’m here.
Here’s my hope—that you would find the same sense of home at New Life that our family has found. We’re not a perfect place—like any family, we have our moments and our issues. But we are a place for people to discover, love, obey and serve Jesus in the company of others. And there’s no place like home (right, Dorothy?) Thanks for stopping by and come back often.
