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Chicago
This month we're heading on over to the city of Chicago, IL!
Be sure to visit our opportunities page for
more information about serving in Chicago.
News from Chicago City Director
Upon arriving to Chicago, we place expectations on our groups.
What are they going to learn? What is going to break their hearts? Is the city
going to make them want to stay? As CSM Directors, we must make sure our CSM Hosts keep
a stable mind-set about being the ‘leader’ of the group. Just as we send our CSM Hosts
back home praying they will remember the things they learned in Chicago, our CSM Hosts do
the same with each group they encounter. With hundreds of persons serving in
Chicago this summer, the stories we hear are endless and keep us going, reminding us
why we love this city so much.
Those CSM veterans out there know how much emphasis we place on
stereotypes and trying to break them. We give a two-hour prayer tour each week
to encourage a different way of looking at things. It is us, too, that have some
of the greatest moments when our CSM Hosts’ stereotypes of a particular area in the
country are broken. It is that reciprocal way of learning that really cultivates
a relationship and encourages learning both from a group and our CSM Host. One specific
instance of that ‘ah- hah’ moment happened recently with a group from Virginia.
One leader in the group was a stereotypical Southern male—tough love and tended not
to show too much emotion.
This particular group had been working at a Kid’s Café, which essentially
is a soup kitchen for kids. In the Englewood neighborhood, this ministry site serves
as a safe space for kids to play games, work in the community garden, and have good
fellowship. Our group had been hanging out and helping do minor projects around the
center when their time came to an end. Before they departed, one little girl came
over to them and asked if she could pray for them. This leader shed his outer shell
and broke down. He let his guard down and threw out any stereotype he had. There,
in the middle of Englewood, was that ideal picture of integration—something that
this group had not been accustomed.
Moments of pure understanding and compassion are unique in the world but
not at CSM. As Directors, we are able to hear and see these firsthand through our
staff and then vicariously through the groups whom which they host. Now, down to
three more serving weeks of the summer, we petition our staff as they re-enter to
the world from which they came to us. They have seen, heard, ached, and rejoiced
with the city. They have led our groups through moments of question, hurt, confusion,
and understanding. Thank you—all of you—for your vulnerabilities to the city. They
are imperative as we seek to live the Gospel—to advocate for justice, mercy, and peace.
-Taylor Tims , CSM Chicago Associate City Director
Local Resources
- Find articles written by Chicago's homeless in
Street News.
- Click here to visit the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
Local News Links
CSM Urban Updates
CSM now has it's own blog! Find out what's happening in urban centers throughout
North America, make comments and dialogue with others involved in urban missions.
Click here to check
it out.
Sign Up
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up.
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