Community Events
MAAFA 2023
Free registration here.
The MAAFA is a renowned teaching and drama that takes a walk down memory lane to get a clear understanding of:
Who the African in America is.
Why he/she are who they are.
How we can reverse the thought patterns that have been ingrained in our psyches, in some cases paralyzing some of us, from generations foregone and still remain present in us today.
The term MAAFA (pronounced Mah- AH-fah) is a Kiswahili word which gives definition to the catastrophic event experienced by millions of African people during the middle passage journey from Africa bound for enslavement in the Americas. The word MAAFA is the concept of Dr. Marimba Ani, African-American scholar and author, and has been adopted in contemporary scholarship.
Itihari Touré EdD. Associate Dean for Curriculum and Evaluation is a participant in MAAFA 2023.
World Mission Institute 2023
McCormick is proud to sponsor the 2023 World Mission Institute on March 9th, 2023 at 6:00 p.m., titled “Trauma, Reconciliation and Healing.” This event will be hybrid with in-person seating available. A reception will follow this event.
Register here.
2023 State of the Black Church Symposium
Join Black faith leaders at 2023 State of the Black Church Symposium to discuss ways to bridge the gap between the Black Church and the LGBTQ+ community! Students can register for free.
The Seminary Meet & Greet
Join us Monday, February 13th, 12:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. and Thursday February 16th, 7:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. EST for a reformed recruitment gathering with PC(USA) Seminaries, presented by Austin Seminary! This event will be streamed live on zoom.
Registration is required. To register, click here!
“Reparations: What’s It All About?” Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago’s Black History Month Discussion
Join Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for a panel discussion on Feb. 9th, from 5:30-7:30pm CST, on the topic “Reparations: What’s It All About?” This panel will discuss the history of Reparations, and its significance to the Black Community. LSTC’s Dr. Linda Thomas will moderate the discussion, with keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Iva Carruthers, executive director, Center for Reparatory Justice, Transformation and Remediation. The second panelist is Dr. Marvin E. Wickware, Jr., Assistant Professor of Church and Society and Ethics at LSTC. Light refreshments will be served. This panel will be held in person in Room 350 on the LSTC campus or virtually
“Healing Congregations: Nurturing Love, Life, and Hope in a Hurting World”
Join us Monday, Jan. 16, 2:00 p.m. CT for the virtual release party for the book Healing Congregations: Nurturing Love, Life, and Hope in a Hurting World. This book invites you to a journey into love, life and hope through real-life stories and the sacred scriptures of our faith tradition, with contributions from our McCormick faculty, staff and students.
To register, click here!
Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago 2022 Awards Breakfast
On October 26, the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago will present the 2022 Community Excellence Awards to the Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin, Sr., and Ms. Sandra Lewis at its inaugural Awards Breakfast at Hilton Chicago.
Rev. Dr. B. Herbert Martin, Sr. is the immediate past president of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago and pastor emeritus of Progressive Community Church in Chicago.
Ms. Sandra Lewis is the former director of external affairs or Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and staff member for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, during this time working with religious institutions.
The program will include updates on current Council initiatives with the Chicago Police Department, with local congregations, and with the next generation of religious leaders in our community. It also will feature a keynote presentation from John J. Farmer, director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics and of the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience at Rutgers University, on the crisis of mistrust and the challenges it poses to our democratic society.
Tickets are $75 each and tables of ten are available at $700. Tickets and sponsorship information are available here.
Reimagining the New Chicago: Faithfully Welcoming Climate Migrants
As climate change continues-- with rising temperatures, more frequent storms and fires, higher water levels-- more and more people will need to find new places to call home. And, “we will be among them, or we will be receiving them." In Chicago-- a climate resilient city -- we can expect many climate migrants to arrive at our doors. What are the biblical and theological resources we can draw upon in response? How can we faithfully demand climate justice for all, so that all people have a place to call home?
We'll gather together for a presentation and a discussion, led by Dr. Theodore Hiebert and rev. abby mohaupt.
There will be an opportunity to sign on to the faith letter in support of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
You can sign here: https://greenfaith.org/fossil-fuel-non-proliferation-treaty-sign-the-faith-letter/
Contact abby@greenfaith.org with questions.
Register here.
Out and Faithful: A Multi-Faith Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Spirituality and a Call to Advocacy
Honor the past, reflect on the present, and commit to future advocacy at a multi-faith event on National Coming Out Day at Elmhurst University. The special event “Out and Faithful: A Multi-Faith Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Spirituality and a Call to Advocacy” will take place on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel, located at 190 S. Prospect Ave., Elmhurst, IL.
“Out and Faithful” is jointly presented by the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ, Elmhurst University, and Community Renewal Society. Fifty years ago, Elmhurst alumnus, Rev. William R. Johnson ‘68, was the first openly gay person ordained in a mainline Protestant denomination (The United Church of Christ). We will celebrate and honor Rev. Johnson and give thanks for all who have contributed to the advancement of LGBTQIA+ justice work within religious communities, and who continue to pave the way forward.
A diverse panel of speakers from Chicago and its suburbs will lead a stimulating dialogue focused on the intersections of spirituality and sexuality/gender. Panelists include Rev. Shawna Bowman of Friendship Presbyterian Church (Chicago), Rabbi Andrea Cosnowsky of Congregation Etz Chaim (Lombard), Rev. Dr. Eddie Journey of Second Baptist Church (Evanston), Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey of Meadville Lombard Seminary (Chicago), and Rev. Dr. Marilyn Pagán-Banks of San Lucas UCC (Chicago).
In addition to the panel presentation, the program will include liturgies to celebrate and affirm LGBTQIA+ persons and spirituality, to confess and name the places we have failed or fallen short, and to recommit ourselves as people of faith to the work ahead. Both the event and parking are free and open to all. Parking is available on Alexander Blvd. (north of the football field and Hammerschmidt Chapel). Drivers with disabilities are encouraged to use the limited parking spaces near the Chapel on the north side.
Post-Imperial FUTURES: Addressing Legacy and Living Into Promise
A conference with leading theologians and activists to equip ordained and lay leaders with the tools to educate their congregations and decolonize their ministries
Imperialist ideology and practice is threaded throughout U/Uism, as well as other religious traditions now practiced in North America. From the a/theological justifications of founders to the faith’s everyday practices of money and leadership, the legacy of Empire and its desire to dominate and mark out Otherness has us participate in harmful colonial enterprises. This conference convenes scholars and activists to equip lay leaders and ministers with resources and practices to live into the promise of radical, post-colonial, and faithful futurities.
Rev. Lis Valle-Ruiz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Worship and Director of Community Worship Life will be a presenter at this conference.
YOU WON'T BREAK MY SOUL: RECLAIMING OUR SPIRITUALITY
The Center for African American Ministries and Black Church Studies Program at McCormick is proud to sponsor the one-day spiritual wellness retreat “You Won’t Break My Soul: Reclaiming Our Spirituality”
The intention of Mind, Body, and Soul Health and Wellness Circle is to build and expand holistic communities of support and resources for Black gay, bisexual and same gender loving (SGL) men in Chicago. At the core of this group are six Chicago-area organizations lead by Lack, queer-identified men—The Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, Alliance Care 360 Project Vida, Task Force Prevention and Community Services, Faith United Methodist Church-Dolton, and Pride in the Pew, and UBtheCURE, LLC.
Register here!
Abolition Accompaniment: Open House with Presbyterians for Abolition
McCormick’s Solidarity Building Initiative is proud to be a sponsor of the Presbys for Abolition on August 3rd for practical conversations in community on practicing abolition in your context. Learn more and register here.
How Not To Be Afraid
McCormick is proud to be a sponsor for a special evening of storytelling and conversations with beloved storyteller and peace activist Gareth Higgins about courage, creativity and community. This is a free event on Thursday, June 9th at 6:30pm and everyone is welcome!
To register, click here.
2022 Good Friday Walk for Justice
McCormick is proud to be a sponsor of the Good Friday Walk for Justice 2022! Join the VIRTUAL Walk for Justice on Zoom on Friday, April 15, 2022 at 12 pm CT. This year’s theme is “Be the Light: Climbing the Hill Together.”
Register here: https://bit.ly/3JtdvCU
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference 2022
We gather this year at the 2022 Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference annual meeting ready to orient our hearts and minds towards the new. Our theme affirms the power we have to change the trajectory of this nation’s course towards a more just society. We offer this course intensive as an opportunity for students to look forward with promise, rooted in hope, while actively surveying the rough road we travailed to get here.
In this course intensive, and throughout this conference week experience, we will provide information, leadership and tools for mobilizing the seminarians, clergy and lay leaders in the faith community in civic engagement and participation as well as in creating ecosystems of program interventions that matter.
Transitions: A New World & The Black Church
Attend workshops on hybrid church technology, overcoming pandemic challenges, with focus on social justice, mental health, and an in-depth conversation about how the Black Church transitions in a new world.
The deadline to register is February 14th. For more information and registration, click here.
Virtual Town Hall Meeting
Calling All Illinois Residents!
Virtual Town Hall Meeting
February 5, 2022 • 10:00 a.m. CT
The passage of the Clean and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) in Illinois, has created job opportunities for people of color, most impacted by environmental racism and the adverse effects of climate change! Our goal is to get people in our congregations and communities connected to jobs as soon as they are available. RSVP to join us for a virtual townhall meeting on Saturday February 5th at 10:00 AM where we get the latest information to share with you and your church family so that we can get our folks connected to jobs, job training and money saving resources! Our featured speaker is Jack Darin from the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.
To RSVP click here.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
Tomorrow! An Urgent Conversation!
February 1-7, 2022 is National Gun Violence Survivors Week!
Everytown Interfaith Advisory Council, as a part of Everytown for Gun Safety announces "Faith Without Works is Dead: An Urgent Conversation on Gun Violence Prevention." Thursday, February 3, 2022, 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT and again at 10:00 p.m ET/7:00 p.m. PT. There will be a vigil to remember Black lives lost to gun violence following both sessions. Register here: https://bit.ly/3olYZV7
LSTC Black History Month
Register here.
For more event information, contact Jessica Houston at jhouston@lstc.edu.
Annual Joint PCUSA Seminaries Virtual Recruitment Event
Join McCormick and the seminaries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as we host a joint recruitment event for prospective students. This will take place via Zoom with two time options: Tues., Jan. 25, 2022, 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET and Thurs., Jan. 27, 2022, 12:00-1:30 ET.
Register to join this event here.
Annual Interfaith Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Please join Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot Friday, January 14th at 9 AM for Chicago’s 36th Annual Interfaith Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Realizing the Dream of an Equitable Economy.
To stream click here.
Faith Leaders Becoming Community Navigators
Join us as we commemorate World Aids Day with a virtual kick-off to our 9-week Faith Leader Training in partnership with McCormick Theological Seminary!
To register for this free event click here.
Colombia Today: Peacemakers Resist!
Our event is free but registration is required. You can use the enclosed form to register and learn more about donating, sponsoring, or placing an ad in the program book or visit https://bit.ly/ColombiaToday.
Effective Leadership: Critical Conversations About Sexual Ethics
Join Dr. Stephanie Crumpton at Yale University for this Transformation Leadership Intensive!
Effective Leadership: Critical Conversations about Sexual Ethics
REL 3900- 01 (FA21)
Rev. Stephanie M. Crumpton, Th.D
Associate Professor of Practical Theology
This is an intensive leadership class about body, sex, sexualities, spiritualities and intimacy, in our own lives, and in our lives as leaders of congregations, in the midst of justice work and education, and as communities of scholars. This intensive, one-credit course requires reading in preparation for the two days together, and is followed by a significant reflection essay or creative work. Full in-person attendance is necessary. Register for REL 3900-01.
Questions? Reach out to william.goettler@yale.edu
A Symposium on the Holy Spirit and the Future of the Church
Jakes Divinity School is thrilled to invite all scholars, pastors, ministers, and anyone with a passion for theology to join us for our virtual Fall Symposium!
This year’s academic forum will focus on “The Holy Spirit and the Future of the Church” and feature guest speakers, McCormick Theological Seminary Historian Dr. David Daniels, world Christianity researcher Dr. Wanjiru Gitau, and an inaugural annual lecture series in honor of Archbishop J. Delano Ellis.
Don’t miss this stimulating and theologically challenging conversation; streaming on the official T.D. Jakes ministries YouTube channel, from October 28th-29th.
A Symposium on the Holy Spirit and the Future of the Church
Jakes Divinity School is thrilled to invite all scholars, pastors, ministers, and anyone with a passion for theology to join us for our virtual Fall Symposium!
This year’s academic forum will focus on “The Holy Spirit and the Future of the Church” and feature guest speakers, McCormick Theological Seminary Historian Dr. David Daniels, world Christianity researcher Dr. Wanjiru Gitau, and an inaugural annual lecture series in honor of Archbishop J. Delano Ellis.
Don’t miss this stimulating and theologically challenging conversation; streaming on the official T.D. Jakes ministries YouTube channel, from October 28th-29th.
Shape Your Ward
Greetings,
Rev. Damon Smith here and I am the Community Outreach Director for CHANGE Illinois. CHANGE Illinois is a member of the Illinois Redistricting Collaborative that is supporting the work of the Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission, This Commission is helping the People of Chicago design the 50 Ward Map of Chicago. After hours of testimony and hearings, The People have spoken!
The Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission has developed the second draft of The People’s Map.
The Commission is now asking for the community to review the map, make more submissions, or confirmThe People’s Map as it is constructed.
Southside! Westside! We need you to submit testimony and if available, attend one of the last three virtual hearings.
Tuesday, September 28th at 7 p.m.
Thursday, September 30th at 7 p.m.
Friday, October 1st at 6 p.m.
To submit testimonies on what you want your ward to look like, go to https://chicagoswards.org/your-submissions.
To the people of Chicago, we are inviting you to submit proposals, testimony, or general feedback on how you believe your community should be reflected in Chicago’s 50 wards based on YOUR interests and NEEDS!
For more information, go to chicagoswards.org. https://chicagoswards.org.
This is our opportunity to shape our lives for the next 10 years.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact me at dsmith@changeil.org.
