Five civic opportunities for the church in Chicago

As we head into a consequential election cycle, the church stands uniquely poised to make a difference.

Jan 06, 2023

We have a lot of work that needs to be done in Chicago, but there are some specific things that the church is uniquely positioned to accomplish.

As we gear up for another year in the city of big shoulders, here are some thoughts on where the people of God can concentrate our civic efforts.

1. A moral compass for the mayoral election

On February 28, Chicagoans will go to the polls to elect someone to a four-year term as mayor of the City of Chicago. We will also elect 50 alderpersons and 66 members of the newly-created Chicago Police District Councils. Too often, in the rough and tumble of Chicago politics, money, clout, and machinery dominate our elections. The questions that candidates have to answer are focused more on the plans of donors and political power brokers than on the needs of everyday Chicagoans.

Churches have a genuine connection to real people, from the members in the pews to the people we serve through food programs, day care, housing assistance, youth programming, and violence prevention work. Churches have, collectively, the institutional muscle to convene candidates for the top job in the Windy City and ask them questions that relate to the well-being and prosperity of regular folks.

I can think of scant few institutions in this great city that have this combination of grassroots anchoring and institutional power. We owe it to our parishioners and to our city to be a voice in this election cycle.

2. Proactive peacemaking

This week, the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois prevented the SAFE-T Act from going into effect, pending a review of the law’s constitutionality.

As that battle rolls on, I am reminded that this law, like so much of the discussion of crime and violence in our city, focuses on the punishment and prevention of crime.

While this is an important conversation, it is worth pointing out that the church has something to offer the city that is a bit different from crime and violence prevention. The people of God are not simply crime-preventers, we are called to be peacemakers.

The difference is more than semantics. Crime prevention can keep would-be perpetrators at bay. It keeps negative things out of the spaces in our communities. But peacemaking fills negative space with positive activity, leaving no room for violence and crime.

When we build homes or gardens, when we pray in homes or on the street, when we establish programs to serve youth and the poor, we build shalom.

Weighing in on violence prevention policy like the SAFE-T Act is important. But, the church has a unique capacity for peacemaking and should major in this area of work.

3. CSP for CPS (Churches Sacred Presence for Chicago Public Schools)

Our public schools are hurting. Enrollment is down. Performance is not where it should be. And if we’re honest, the character development we once hoped would be aided by our public schools is all but gone from them.

These realities are the result of generations of decline and multiple, compounding challenges.

But, as Berkley University has pointed out (in keeping with lots of other research), one of the most impactful interventions for students is the introduction of a personal relationship with a caring adult.

The church is already sending teachers into the classroom. But, rank-and-file church members who don’t have a teaching degree are needed in our classrooms and in the halls of our schools like never before.

The service is not just tutoring or academic support, per se. The service is in showing up and being available to children.

4. Be unpopular for the sake of unborn

I know that this point will not sit well with a range of people with whom I have and with whom I genuinely seek to maintain good relationships. I am also aware that there are a range of opinions about the abortion issue among genuine Christ-followers.

But, there is a dangerous movement afoot in progressive political strongholds like Chicago that would seek to silence anyone who does not endorse maintaining a region of abortion on demand for every person, without exception, and through all nine months of pregnancy. That position is morally indefensible.

While it may be unpopular to push for continued conversations about how we dignify the blessing of childbearing and the lives of unborn children, the church must engage in this vital work.

Even if Illinois is never to ban abortion, we must continue to examine things like parental notification when a minor is seeking an abortion, health inspections for abortion clinics, and public support for women who want to carry their babies to term.

It may be uncomfortable. It may be unpopular, but conversation about the dignity of women and children is morally right, and the church should be on the front lines.

5. Make the police our parishioners

The old-school, parish church model considered parishioners to be not only those who attended worship services, but all those within the boundaries of the community the congregation was called to serve. We need a return to that mindset in Chicago, especially where our police are concerned.

There is a lot to sort out when it comes to policing in this city. But, one thing is for certain, our police department is made up of people. The more spiritually and emotionally healthy those people are, the better the reality of policing in our city.

The church already knows what it means to provide care, even for those who don’t live exactly as we wish that they would. This gives us a unique capacity to come alongside the police department and to be a leader in caring for these public servants.

The items listed above do not represent an exhaustive list of things that the church can or should do in the civic life of Chicago in 2023, but they are places where we have a unique capacity and great opportunity to make an impact in our city.

Most of this can’t be accomplished by a single congregation in Chicago, no matter how large. All of these things require that we come together. So, I will leave you with this bonus thought where that is concerned.

Bonus: Practice unity without uniformity

One of the things that the AND Campaign stresses is that there are central truths that unify the biblical church, fundamental spiritual realities that are clear in scripture and are infallible.

But, there are a range of issues in civics, in politics, and in culture for which the Bible provides boundaries, and as long as we operate within those boundaries, our biblical fidelity is intact.

That profound unity of core beliefs should provide, for the church, a foundation upon which we can cultivate fellowship and build working relationships with people from different regional backgrounds, from different places on the so-called economic ladder, with different views on the role of government in the marketplace, who make different decisions about where to send their kids to school or which charities to support.

Modern politics is a game of division, a fact that promises to be on full display as we head into perhaps the most tumultuous election cycle of our lifetimes. Now more than ever, the church can’t play that game.

The Round Up

Here are the stories that caught our eyes this week and what they mean for the weeks ahead.

Vice President Kamala Harris touts bridge funding in Chicago: ‘We will finally fix this problem’

Standing before the 95th Street Bridge on Chicago’s Southeast Side, Vice President Kamala Harris touted the impact of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, which includes $144 million to upgrade four bridges along the Calumet River.

Harris’ Wednesday trip to Illinois marked her sixth visit to the state since she entered the White House.

“After two years in office, I can say with confidence, we are building that better future,” Harris said. “We are building an economy, as President Biden often puts it, from the bottom up and the middle out. And I’ll add from the outside in.”

The vice president’s visit coincided with President Joe Biden’s visit to the Brent Spence Bridge in Kentucky.

The end of Chicago poaching suburban corporate headquarters? Area-wide initiative touts ‘new era of regional cooperation’

A new regional economic development partnership encompassing Cook and six collar counties announced Wednesday includes “no poaching” and data sharing agreements that proponents hope will increase cooperation, bring in new businesses and spur business growth.

The Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership — a three-year pilot entity to be located at World Business Chicago — are public, private and civic groups from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will, McHenry and Kendall counties, plus the City of Chicago.

Chicago progressives in Washington to celebrate one of their own in Congress, Freshman Delia Ramirez

Elected officials from Chicago’s progressive political community — among them members of the City Council, Illinois General Assembly and Cook County Board, as well as the Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates — trekked to the nation’s capital Tuesday to celebrate Congresswoman-elect Delia Ramirez.

Ramirez, a former state representative, is the first Latina in the Illinois delegation. She represents the new 3rd Congressional District — a seat Illinois Democrats created with the newly redistricted map generated in the wake of the 2020 Census.

The House adjourned with no speaker, which meant none of the House members were sworn in, since that can’t happen until a speaker is elected.

As of press time Thursday, after 10 speakership votes, the Republican House majority still have not reached an agreement.