Phil Ashey+: Why does a 21 year old go to church?

(Part 1)
July 10, 2011

The following is from the Friday, July 8 edition of the AAC's Weekly Email Update. Sign up for the AAC's Email Update here.
[This is excellent-esp. Part III!-PD]

Dear friends in Christ,

Our family has just returned from a week-long visit with our son, Jake, in Chicago. We managed to see as much of Chicago as Jake could squeeze us into - Wrigley Field (the Cubs won!), Northwestern, the Magic Mile, Navy Pier, architectural tour up the river and out onto Lake Michigan, a comedy-improve show at the IO, and much more. The best part, of course, was just being together as a family, and with our children - hanging out, laughing, playing games and stealing away for one on one conversations and catch up time with each one.

One of the highlights came on our first day when Jake took us to the church he now attends in Chicago, Park Community Church. It is not an Anglican Church: it is a church plant some 13+ years old that has helped revitalize and transform one of the most challenging neighborhoods in Chicago, Cabrini-Green. Thirteen years ago Julie and I attended an urban missions conference at Moody Bible Institute and visited Cabrini-Green. At that time, it was an impoverished neighborhood marked by violence, drugs, despair and deteriorating housing projects. Where once stood burned out and decaying buildings now stand new townhomes and green spaces. This time I saw people walking their dogs and strolling with their children - still many blocks in need of renewal, but this time there is a palpable sense of a hope and a future. From conversations with an usher, I discovered that a number of young couples from Park have chosen to live in Cabrini-Green and raise their children in this neighborhood rather than the suburbs as a direct result of Park's commitment to invest in the community.

Like most 21 year olds, Jake lives a full life. He works full-time in a Starbucks and chose Chicago because it holds many opportunities for those who want to break into comedy and the arts (as he does). Between work, evening performances, events in the city and friends, he has very little discretionary time. So even though he has a solid foundation in Christ, Julie and I were impressed when he found this church on his own and committed to membership. Most Sundays he attends the "Near North Campus" where we worshipped together. It takes him 45 minutes - an L train ride, a bus ride, and a good walk - to get there. When he works on Sundays, he often attends the Saturday evening service. Most weeks he also attends a small group, part of the process for joining Park as a member. the rest

Part II     Part III

Canon Phil Ashey is Chief Operating and Development Officer of the American Anglican Council.