Compiled from prayers of the English-language congregation

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Peace is hard to hold, seeming to slip away amidst the chaos of our world.  Pain, pollution, prejudice, gun violence and greed, fear, self-doubt, and inequality, illness, and constant stress create a haze.

 A haze that seeps into every level of our society, into our homes and our hearts, into our governments. 

When divisions are soul deep, binding connections become divisive endings.  We fail to connect.

Hate cancels hope.  Greed covers for hate.  For every ray of light, there are more shadows. 

In this place,

We seek to create a space that is safe for even a moment, where people feel accepted and loved.  Where they love and accept themselves, and bask in that feeling.  For God wants us to be happy and love one another.

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Overview: North Shore Baptist Church is a multi-racial, multi-lingual, inclusive community of faith on Chicago’s north side. We are one church, four congregations worshipping in English, Spanish, Japanese and Sgaw Karen, building the beloved community week by week. Our pastoral team of five works collaboratively to serve the needs of their congregations while nurturing the whole church through quarterly worship services, annual picnics, weekly coffee hours, and cross-congregational committees. We are anchored in our generous, historic building, which is buzzing throughout the week with community and church events alike. We are rooted in our Baptist faith. Our congregants come from near and far in the city and travel far and wide through mission, service, and ABC-USA engagement. We are proud to partner with neighborhood interfaith and ecumenical initiatives addressing the needs of the most vulnerable while building a stronger community, and to have commissioned many pastors and missionaries from our walls. With a strong sense of heritage and history we are focused on the present and the future. With a clear commitment to diversity and equity we seek to deepen engagement across differences and nurture community within each of our four congregations.  Having been sustained by committed members and regular attendees, we ask anew what it means to truly serve our immediate neighbors.

There will be a social & spiritual retreat for young adults over the last weekend in October, 10/27-29. We will be heading up to the American Baptist Assemblies (Green Lake) for a few days spent together (with some alone time too) in eating, praying, playing, and enjoying the last gasp of the outdoors before winter sets in. The projected cost is $100 per adult for lodging, with financial support available. If you’re wondering whether you are young enough to be included, you are — Join us! Please let Pastor David or Pastor Kathryn know if you are interested

This was my second time attending Bautistas Por La Paz, which was held in Misión Mazahua,  San Felipe del Progreso, México  from July 17-22.  There were many international entities represented in the conference program, but the three that challenged me the most were the seminaries.  The moment that impacted me most was when the Seminario Bautista de México showed a YouTube video of La Patrona, a group of Mexican women who make food out of their own resources to help feed those immigrants that ride the cargo train called “The Beast.”
 
I grew up with my own Patrona. After my father passed away, when I was around 5 years old, my older brothers and my mother emigrated from Guatemala to Chiapas, Mexico.  My mother always has been a hardworking woman, and she gained the respect of the wealthy Mexican businesswomen of the town. I recall, as a child, seeing many Central and South Americans immigrants riding the Mexican cargo train.  Many of them stay in this small town to make enough money to go to el Norte (USA).  My mom worked for “la tortillería,” the factory that makes tortillas, which was owned by the wealthy women in town.  Because she gained their favor, she was the first one to acquire fresh tortillas, which she packed in lunch boxes for these immigrants.  At the end of the week, these workers paid my mother for the food.  Whenever there was a new, lost immigrant in town, the locals sent him or her right away to my house, because they knew that either my mother was going to feed them or give them a small room, where they could stay temporarily.

These childhood memories were sparked while attending this workshop—in a way, I'd forgotten what it was like to be around these people.  I went to high school in Ohio and went on to work on my education, and I forgot that there were people still riding The Beast.  I felt like I left this life behind.  I did not have to worry about it anymore.  The sad truth is that immigrants have been and will continue to ride The Beast across Mexico to the USA. Once again, I am call to pay attention to their needs and concerns, even though this time I feel completely removed from their context.