SUBMIT YOUR PROMPT on paper — or in the chat.
“I was done with all that when…”
Poem “Time Problem” by Brenda Hillman
Opening Song “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Cher
Welcome Anne McNamee Keels
Story Soren Hodshire
The word of God for the people of God…
Thanks be to God.
Song “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson
Prayers of the People Cillian Green
God in your love… …hear our prayers.
Announcements Izzy Collazo
Offering
Song “Flashdance…What a Feeling” by Irene Clara
Sermon from Esther 1
Making Peace
Peace be with you.
And also with you.
Communion Vince Amlin
God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise
Music during Communion One Moment in Time by Whitney Houston
Closing Song “Dog Days are Over” by Florence + The Machine
Benediction
COMING UP
May 5: The Balm
May 11: Soul Food Brunch
May 12: Ordination Church!
May 17: Reading party
May 19: Dinner (and optional Auction brainstorm)
The Balm – Slather Yourself in Stories: May 5th, come get a concentrated dose of stories and community: one hour a month may cure what ails you. Part storytelling show, part facilitated conversation, it’s a chance to soak up storytelling, consider and feel about it more deeply, and, who knows, maybe come up with new ideas of your own. Part storytelling show, part facilitated conversation, it’s a chance to soak up storytelling, consider and feel about it more deeply, and, who knows, maybe come up with new ideas of your own. But we’re not trying to improve our stories or performance. We’re gathering to hone our listening and attention. (And, sure, that can lead to better telling. But that’s not the point.) This month's theme is What Was I Made For: stories of figuring out what the hell you're doing, or not, and moving ahead anyway. Moments when you knew this wasn't the thing, and the times when it all felt right. The Balm is for Gileadites and beyond. A chance to take our storytelling practice public, and invite folks in for whom even queer storytelling bar church is just too much church. A low-stakes place to meet Gilead. So save the date, invite a friend, and start mulling over our theme.
[one-on-ones]: This past Sunday night, April 21, 2024, we launched a campaign of one-on-one’s with a more reasonable, but ambitious, goal: 100 one-on-one conversations among Gileadites before September 15th. One-on-one’s are how we started this church, asking people in coffee shops and at storytelling shows if they’d be game to talk for 45 min or an hour. We had a ridiculous goal. Like, Rebecca was gonna have 800 one-on-ones in 6 months. (She probably hasn’t had that many in her life — or maybe she’s approaching it now, 8 years later.) We’re a much different church than we were 8 years ago, and our goals now more than just a coupla young, bright-eyed pastors meeting strangers, is to get to know each other. We wanna build community, deepen the relationships we have, and find new connections. That’s where you come in. Whether you made the training or not. Because you already know everything you need to to hold one-on-ones. And because there are only two ingredients you need: courage and curiosity. Often, when people first think about doing one-on-ones, they get nervous about “what am I gonna say?” But good news: the assignment is more like, “how hard can I listen?” That’s the curiosity piece. And you need some amount of courage to ask someone to meet up in the first place, to ask them to remind you of their name, for their phone number, to give 45 minutes of their time, to ask good questions, and to share some of your own story authentically — because this isn’t a one-way interview. Read more about it here. And then start grabbing coffee, going on walks, having a beer.
BONUS: if creating and sustaining a life-saving community isn’t sufficiently compelling, there’s added incentive. When you’re out on a one-on-one, take a selfie of you and your 1:1 partner, post it to social media, tag us, and we’ll get your drink or tater tots the next time you’re at church.
Soulfood Brunch: We’re looking for volunteers! Contact Izzy, Izzy@gileadchicago.org if you’re looking to volunteer for Lighthouse Foundation’s annual BQEI (Black Queer Equity Index), they’re looking for people to help set up, clean up, and otherwise serve!
Questions / Need help? email us