Just wanted to welcome our new neighbors Lisa and Brad to the Evanston/Northern Chicago area. Eric and Lisa worked together at the Outdoor and Retreat Ministries for the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church 2002-2003. Brad is going to graduate school at Northwestern University to study physical therapy (the Chicago campus.)
On Sunday we visited Living Water Community Church. It is part of the Mennonite fellowship. It is also an amazing place to visit. They used to rent worship space at United Church of Rogers Park, where Mira interned and where we got married. They have since moved completely to their new home, just a few blocks south of UCRP. Prior to our visit, one thing that we had heard about the Mennonites is that they don't hold back anything from their community. During our visit, we found the whole worship experience to be extremely honest, earnest, and self-revelatory. The service was simple and prayer-filled and not for the faint of heart. Just hearing people share made both of us very emotional. Pastor Sally, who also attends the potlucks up in Evanston, did not lead the service, but was present--the lay leadership was comptetent and enthusiastic. We noticed that it was quite diverse in just about every way. However, while we will probably maintain contact with many of the folks from that community through the potlucks, we found ourselves wanting the familiarity of Methodist worship and language.
2 comments:
That's great you had a good experience with visiting another church and also have an idea of what you are looking for in that you want to be part of the methodist church. When we moved to Tucson, we went through about 6-8 Sundays of just visiting and always left feeling more and more homesick for our church in Boston. I hope you find a church you like soon! :)
Welcome back to the midwest, Eric & Mira! I hope this means I'll get to see you when you're in MI (or vice versa). Great to see you both doing so well. Love, Renya
Post a Comment