SOJOURN through Chicago religions

Chicago is proud of its public art like Marc Chagall’s America Windows

Journey arrived at Chicago early Sunday morning so we could do a journey through Chicago religions.

From O’Hare International Airport to Division Avenue, we saw some familiar place names.

Walked 45 blocks in the Humboldt Park area.

Division Avenue goes from the gentrifying to the grim. Here are boosters of Peace Church which meets in Roberto Clemente High School

Passing through the Puerto RIcan area of Humboldt Park on Division Avenue. Also visited a musically hot and joyful church packed with young Mexican immigrants. Several of the churches are unknown to each other and not on anyone’s map. Journey needed in Chicago.

Pastor Wilfredo De Jesus and New Life Covenant Church at Division Avenue and elsewhere have grown through great preaching and services to the community. One of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.

New Life Covenant Church put up a cross with the name of every person murdered in Chicago during the first six months of last year. “We have a war here in our city. And we just as a church, we feel we need to come out here,” said Pastor Wilfredo De Jesus. Now, for each person whose life is saved by Jesus at the church this year, the congregation is symbolically taking down a cross.

Daniel Hill of River City Community Church in the Humboldt Park area will be coming to New York City on March 4th. Will he take a Journey through Elmhurst, Queens religions?

In the afternoon, Journey visited the Art Institute of Chicago. Like this sign!

We met with Journey Influential John Mulholland. Be sure to check out his rich scholarly resources at The Charles Malik Society for Redeeming Reason on Facebook.

Joined up with lawyers and faith groups working for immigrant detainees at O’Hare International Airport. Went through detainee lists to see if any were headed to New York City.

A man, who wishes to remain unidentified, met his friend as she got out of detention. He claims that the government was holding several immigrants from Kazakhstan, a fact previously unreported. However, we couldn’t confirm one way or the other.

Met with Ram Cnaan, who studies the monetary value of “the invisible caring hand” of religious congregations in cities. Journey relies on his work.

Philip Bess is an architectural visionary who has proposed redesigning Chicago around a “sacred center.”

The think-tank Cardus organized a meeting to talk about the social, cultural, and monetary value added to cities by faith-based groups.