Rev. Danielle Buhuro

CCP inspired me to publish more articles and books on the theme of pastoral care in an age of #BlackLivesMatter.

Rev. Emily McGinley

The Chicago Commons Project has not only breathed fresh air into the "thought spaces" of my ministry by providing opportunities to connect with experts around topics that expand my sense of call in ministry, it has also connected me with a supportive cohort of ministry colleagues that I can partner with for local ministry.

Rev. Shawna Bowman

The Chicago Commons Project made it possible for me to build and strengthen relationships with brilliant, creative and visionary clergy working throughout the Chicago area. The opportunity to learn and grow together through engaging conversations with political and civic leaders as well as innovators in science and art in Chicago’s diverse community not only renewed my passion for prophetic and imaginative ministry but has enabled me to connect the congregation and organizations I serve to the city in meaningful and transformative ways!

Rev. Vince Amlin

The Chicago Commons Project takes us deep into a specific context: Chicago. By providing time with leaders from fields as varied as history, photography, and astrophysics, it has broadened and deepened my understanding and appreciation for this community and fueled my imagination about what is possible for the city and the church.

Rev. Veronica Johnson

Participation in the Chicago Commons Project expanded my circle of clergy colleagues as conversation partners and current/future ministry partners. To have the opportunity to disconnect from the day-to-day, several times a year, while connecting to colleagues of the caliber of those in this program is an important blessing! Just as wonderful is the opportunity to experience Chicago by meeting great Chicagoans, visiting places such as the Planetarium or WBEZ, and engaging in conversation about matters important to our city.

Rev. Carol Hill

Through the Chicago Commons Project, I was introduced to the city of Chicago in new ways – individuals, systems, people, and places – and connected to the most inspiring group of world-changing clergy, who wrestled with ministry in the local, city, and global contexts. I was stretched, challenged, encouraged, and given tools to be a more formidable leader for my congregation and the Kin-dom of God.

Rev. Jeff Lehn

The Chicago Commons Project has been a source of great encouragement and growth. The retreats provide a respite from the familiar, space to think and connect with colleagues and a chance to nurture the pastoral imagination. I return energized and empowered to embody the gospel in my context.

Rev. Melody Seaton

What a way to unwind after Sunday Service! I am so very appreciative of the congenial and collegial time spent with other ministers of the gospel. I have not only been enlightened by the activities, guests and sharing; CCP has been a safe place for me to bear my soul. Melody L. Seaton, Grace United Church of Christ.

Rev. Erik Christensen

The Chicago Commons Project was, hands-down, the most useful leadership development opportunity in my ministry to date. By bringing together an ecumenical cohort centered in the city of Chicago, CCP gave me relationships and resources that I have been able to call upon again and again during and after the two year program.

The Chicago Commons Project:

Public Ministry, Civic Leadership and the Common Good

The Chicago Commons Project is an early-career religious leadership development program that is embedded in the city of Chicago and its suburbs, a rich and complicated context for ministry and public life. The project identifies talented young clergy at a pivotal stage in their careers, gathering them into ecumenically, theologically, and racially diverse cohorts who meet regularly and intensively over two years, building strong relationships with one another and engaging in significant conversations and network-building with influential and innovative civic leaders from across the spectrum of public life.

Cohorts meet quarterly for a series of two-day onsite retreats at a downtown retreat center. Each of the eight gatherings introduces local speakers and settings that invite religious leaders to “read” our Chicagoland context more deeply or investigate an issue of public concern or capacity building. Past programs have included a session on “place” led by a local geographer and a photojournalist; a wide-lens conversation about the relationship between science and religion hosted by an astronomer; an exploration of the power of communal and cultural storytelling in the theater and in the media; and sessions engaging such topics as city government, health care, immigration, and criminal justice.

This curriculum of theological and civic reflection invites program fellows to 1) develop deep and nourishing relationships with clergy leaders in their age cohort that can inspire and sustain them as they move into future positions of leadership in their institutions and communities; 2) cultivate confidence in themselves, their traditions and in the contribution they make to public life that will energize their congregational leadership; 3) foster collegial relationships and practices across professions and disciplines that will help build communities’ capacity; 4) gain greater knowledge and insight about issues which pose significant challenges in Chicagoland and beyond; and 5) expand their imaginations about the ways that congregations and their leaders are called to serve their communities.

The overarching goal of the Chicago Commons Project is not to provide expertise in public policy, build consensus around any one interpretation of these complex public issues, or “solve” contemporary social problems. Rather, the program aspires to expand the collective vision of what it means to be religious communities and religious leaders in our contemporary context, and to inscribe practices whereby talented and committed young pastors can cultivate the curiosity, creativity, and confidence to equip their communities for conversation and action, and thus increase the Chicago area’s capacity for transformative public engagement.

How to Nominate/Apply for the Chicago Commons Project:

Our third cohort of Chicago Commons Fellows will gather for the first of eight retreats in late October, 2019, meeting through June, 2021. NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! We are seeking to identify religious leaders in Chicago and its suburbs who are 5-10 years into their careers, and whose work demonstrates on-going promise for and commitment to the work of ministry. NOMINATORS can be colleagues, friends, congregants, seminary faculty and staff, judicatory officials—anyone who understands and cares about the work of ministry, and can speak to the particular strengths and promise of a candidate. More information about the nomination process, and the submission portal itself, are available here.

Rev. Phil Blackwell
retired in 2014 after 45 years of ministry in northern Illinois. As a United Methodist pastor he served congregations in a dairy farming community, a blue collar/middle class industrial city, a North Shore suburb, and on Daley Plaza in the heart of Chicago.

From Phil Blackwell, Project Director

What is the future not only of the institutional Church, but of the Christian faith itself? And how can we in the Chicago Commons Project create a context within which our twelve participants can address the uncertainty of that future? They are clergy from the Chicago area, each in her or his first ten years of ministry. They have great skills, deep faith, and fearless commitment, but in some ways these gifts make them all the more vulnerable to the crises we face. When our cohort meets for 48 hours four times a year we use specific topics to shape our conversation about what matters most as they embrace their calling. For instance, we have met with Ann Keating, an historian, to survey the history of Chicago, with Grace Wolf-Chase, an astrobiologist, to consider the relationship of science and faith, David Ansell, a doctor who has written The Death Gap, a rigorous study of the ways in which social conditions determine one's longevity, Alex Kotlowitz, an author, and Malik Gillani and Jamil Khoury, founders of a multi-cultural theater, to experience styles of story-telling, and Robin Lovin, a social ethicist, to determine what vocabulary allows us to speaking ethically in the public square. As we convene for these discussions, we also commit time for the group members to offer unconditional support and encouragement to each other. It is in this intimate connection with one another that the topical discussions make sense and that they find the vision faithfully to carry on into an uncertain future.