greater things

Roll call.

Who and what is here?

If there's one big takeaway I can already claim from the spring break trip that started it all, it's the inspiration to keep my eyes wide open. Every street, every building, every neighbor has a story, and we can learn from them all.

Our current world--and the relationships among its people and environment--does not reflect God's original design. But it all leans in longing for redemption, and I think we can learn something from the direction of its leaning. All people were made in the image of God so it's crucial that we include all people in our pursuit of God.

We live in Rogers Park, the northernmost neighborhood in Chicago, right along the lake. I've already learned a lot about it by living here since 2009. It's a truly fascinating community. Jake was afforded an inside look when he actually collected Census data in our neighborhood last summer! During his training, he learned that we have one of the most diverse zip codes in the nation.

According to the 2000 data, our community is 

31% white, 29% black, 27% hispanic, 6% Asian, 4% other. 

Those "others" include our many new immigrant neighbors, as our community is a major entrance city for foreigners.

But more than nationality ... Rogers Park has apartments, single family homes, nursing homes, a university with dorms, condos and hospitals! That's pretty stellar when you think about it.

While perusing the RPCC web site, Jake and I delved into this together. It's really revealing of the community. We were excited to see some familiar faces on the pages, and we definitely learned a few new things.

These people have tracked the attendance of whos and whats in our community for a while now:


I highly encourage all of you take a closer look at who lives amongst you.

So, do tell, who and what is in your neighborhood?