Urban Village Church

In 1 Samuel, we read the moving story of Hannah, a woman who has difficulty in conceiving and who comes to God and brings her whole self, including her bitter tears. What does it mean to offer our whole selves to God? Christian Coon reflects on this in this sermon podcast.

We end our sermon series on being neighbors at UVC-West by focusing on how we can *be* neighbors. The focus is on the story of Zacchaeus.

On Sunday we celebrated the tradition of Día de Los Muertos and All Saints Day with the story of Lazarus. Pastor Hannah reflects how we can grieve, mourn, and miss those who have passed, but also hope that grief will not be the only thing we ever know. Jesus' invitation is not for us to deny our grief, but to experience it fully, and ask God to be present. . . . Sign up to receive our eNews and st...

We welcome Tonika Johnson, creator of the #FoldedMapProject, to share about her work and facilitate conversation among church folks who have recently done Folded Map tours to learn more about their neighborhood, their city, and the segregation policy that tries to separate and under invest in us. Join in to talk about being a good neighbor, and knowing your neighborhood, wherever you are. . . . Si...

“Who is my neighbor?” is a question at the heart of our faith. Throughout this month we’ve explored Chicago’s history of redlining, segregation, and also our deep and diverse cultures throughout this “city of neighborhoods.”  This morning, Pastor D’Angelo discusses how we can be citizens of the whole city while caring for our whole selves, and doing so in beloved community. All are welcome- all ar...

Through the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus gives us a new way of defining who our neighbors are and how we can respond to them.

The scriptures are clear: as neighbors, we are all "members of each other." But how often do we act like Jesus' neighbors who refused to see him, referencing stereotypes like "Can anything good come from Nazareth?!" The truth is there is so much good everywhere, if only we take the time to build the connections and see it. This Sunday, as we continue our neighborhood tours, we’ll explore how to de...

The Parade was cancelled- but the celebrations go on! Enjoy our panel conversation featuring Pastor Hannah Kardon, Blanche DoBoys, and Shea Evangelipstix during our All UVC Drag Worship service at Wicker Park! This week, continue celebrating all of who God made us to be!   Malia (Shea Evangelipstix) is an Afro Latina American Transwomen native of Springfield, Illinois, that spent most of her life...

“Who is my neighbor?” is a question at the heart of our faith that Jesus uses to teach us about what it means to care for one another, love one another, and grow closer to God. In Chicago, with our history of redlining and segregation and deep neighborhood cultures, it’s an especially provocative question.    On Sunday, Pastor Emily spoke about our partnership this month with the  #FoldedMapProjec...

What do we do when a trust has been broken or a betrayal has occurred? Our culture would tell us to cut off, walk away, and never look back. But our faith tells us there is a different way.  Finishing up our sermon series on restoration, Pastor Emily reflects on John 21, we encounter the original “Come to Jesus moment” and learn that when we make amends in our broken relationships, we can also mak...

When we're in need of restoration, we sometimes look for that healing in familiar places. But God can surprise us by restoring us in unexpected ways. Christian Coon reflects on this using the story of Naaman.

How can we find restoration when others have harmed or betrayed us? Christian Coon reflects on how Jesus shows us a way.

In 2 Kings there is this mighty character, Naaman, who’s seeking healing and restoration from an illness. Naaman is disappointed though with the instructions he receives to be made well. It takes the encouragement of his community, getting out in nature, and a readjustment of perspective to take next steps. In worship, Pastor Chan discussed how part of finding restoration and wholeness is being op...

We are not the first faithful people to return to worship together after a long time away - others have done so too, under even harder circumstances, and we can learn from them.  This morning, Pastor Hannah encourages us to look to the Israelites who returned from exile to rebuild the Temple under Ezra and Nehemiah. How did they return to one another and what did they do? How can we embrace God wh...

In our fifth (and final) week of ‘Living Into Community’ - we’re running it back!! In week one, Pastor D’Angelo spoke about gratitude, and it’s such an important aspect of community, we're speaking about it again.  Pastor Emily invites us to consider how Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians centers around hope being restored in the midst of despair. How does hope encourage us to contribute tow...

Yesterday, we concluded our “Living Into Community” series by discussing truth telling. In the letter to the Colossians the author talks about taking off something old to put something new on, and in this process, there is a period of nakedness and vulnerability.  Pastor Christians asks us what does it mean to be fully truthful and transparent with ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities? A...

“Make yourself at home.” As we continue our series “Living Into Community,” Pastor Emily invites us to look at hospitality.     Hospitality in this passage is spoken about within two contexts: internal and external. And, hospitality requires an act of service on behalf of the entire community. But what happens when the entire community isn’t involved, and only certain members are asked to give up...

We’re human, so we’re not always able to fulfill all the commitments and promises we make. And sometimes others may struggle to follow through for us. But in Christ, every one of God’s promises are ones we can depend on. How does God’s love and faithfulness impact our community?  Join Pastor Christian reflecting on what it means to make and keep promises and the importance of covenant.    **Stream...

We all need community, and, community is hard. This morning we begin our series “Living Into Community” focusing on our first core practice: gratitude. Gratitude is a vital and sustaining aspect of community in that it is life giving. Gratitude invites us to engage, and keeps us from avoiding. Join Pastor D'Angelo as we explore new ways, gain fresh understandings, and challenge ourselves to be ref...

As we celebrate taking steps towards in-person worship, Pastor Chan encourages us to lean on the wisdom of Paul from Romans and Miles Morales & friends from 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.' What does it look like to lean into the abundance of spiritual gifts as community? How can we confront real fears of scarcity faithfully? 

‘Drag & Spirituality’ part deux!! We’re back for a multi-faith, international conversation featuring Mango Lassi, Coco Sho-Nell, and hostess, B0NNi33 Vi0L3T. Enjoy!! . . . Humza A. Mian, aka Mango Lassi, is a queer Canadian-Pakistani who currently resides in the GTA. The focus of his drag is to bring awareness to the existence of queer Desi folk and breaking the chains of toxic masculinity that ho...

We’re back at the movies! Today in worship, much like in the movie 'Black Widow', we’re talking about forgiveness: what does it mean to move forward from a past where we were hurt, and where we hurt others? And how do we set a new way forward? Jesus instructs us to make our lives a constant act of forgiveness, but not to enable others to cause us harm, but as a way to heal as individuals, as a com...

Spoiler: community-making is hard. In Jeremiah, God speaks to a people who have come into a new land after being refugees in another. ‘In The Heights’ tells a similar story about Usnavi de la Vega’s family (and chosen family) pushing back against oppressive systems with a strong commitment to community.  How will we show up for each other as we transition back into new & old building spaces? How c...

In the final service of our “Queering Faith” series, Pastor Juan Pablo invites us to ask “who is our family?” while weighing the realities of this world. Jesus asked this question, and in his response, we see a liberator who frees us from harmful ideas about God; a Jesus who invites us to be our full & authentic selves; and a Jesus who himself had to come out to his close friends & family, and eve...

This morning, as we celebrate Juneteenth, we read about an Ethiopian eunuch who, although is not given a name in the Bible, is named in several African traditional stories: Qinaqis.  Qinaqis has been denied the access to worship freely in the temple of Jerusalem and is dealing with this rejection by the religious leaders in the text. Join us as we explore freedom through Qinaqis’s story and hear r...