Hey, Friend!

We’re so glad you found us and we can’t wait to get to know you! If you’re interested, take a look at some of our upcoming events and feel free to connect with us on social media.

 
 

Come Hangout!

EVENTS
DINNER + WORSHIP
Nov 1
Chicago Temple
DINNER + WORSHIP
Chicago Temple

The Inclusive Collective is hosting our monthly worship event. Come join us for a night fun, food, and music and spend some time getting to know other students and young adults in the Inclusive Collective. You can also meet folks at Argo Tea in UIC’s Student Center East at 5:30 to travel together.

Chicago Temple
CHRISTMAS DINNER + WORSHIP
Dec 6
Chicago Temple
CHRISTMAS DINNER + WORSHIP
Chicago Temple

The Inclusive Collective is hosting our monthly worship event. Come join us for a night fun, food, and music and spend some time getting to know other students and young adults in the Inclusive Collective. You can also meet folks at Argo Tea in UIC’s Student Center East at 5:30 to travel together.

Chicago Temple
 

Let’s Connect!

 
This weekend, we went on our 4th Annual Fall Retreat. Fall retreat gives our community a chance to disrupt our daily routines by connecting with all that God has to offer: nature, music, spiritual reflection, friends, deep conversations, van playlists, s’mores, cheesy campfire songs, and so much more. We call this “Jesus-rooted soul-work.” It means intentionally creating the kinds of conversations, practices, and experiences that connect us to God and one another, disrupt the status quo, and invite us to co-create God’s Beloved Community. Today, we pray a prayer of gratitude. We are grateful for the ways our ministry has grown not just in size, but also depth. We are grateful for the support of our board members, donors, and prayer circles. We are grateful for fearless leaders, like @thejarell, @teresamateuschi, @afreshmind, and @cokwu who have taught us about tough topics like salvation, contemplative practices, prayer, and sin. We are grateful for the IC members of our past, present, and future. We are grateful for so many things. Thanks be to God and all of you for supporting this beautiful, scrappy, and courageous ministry. You are our people and we will forever be yours. 💛 Check out our Instagram story today and later this week as we share some of our favorite Fall Retreat 2019 mems. 😊 . #SinBabySin2019
Happy #NationalComingOutDay! For those who are fully out, only out in certain circles, or who don’t feel comfortable or safe coming out at all: you are seen, you are valid, and you are so loved 💕🌈
Hey, friends! 👋 Happy #TestifyThursday. This week, we have a beautiful testimony from our friend, Lily!: “Hi everyone, my name is Lily and I am one of the Inclusive Collective interns this year. I’m originally from the Milwaukee area and have been in Chicago for three years now- working, studying and performing improv, building community, and playing music. At this point, I am just about one year into my journey with the Inclusive Collective. This is wild to me, considering it has felt like a home for such a long time! Looking back in my journals I can see how excited I was to be sitting down, building community, and unpacking so much of my faith throughout the year. Here’s a little thing I wrote a year ago. This is a piece of a poem/ song lyric/ something that reflects where my head was at, I think especially when it came to my faith: From a young age I was told the world was black and white But I’ve always danced in color It’s funny, I usually felt extra ‘messy’ showing up to Inclusive Collective community groups. Having so much to unpack and try to better understand made me stutter and say things like “Does that make sense,” or “You know what I mean?" pretty frequently. My answers to questions in group usually felt like more questions. I still have so many questions, but I think that’s the beauty of faith. There’s so much to discover and unearth about God and God’s character. I see God in music, people, the city, jokes, art- in most things. This is more than enough for me right now. I especially see God in the Inclusive Collective. The fact that I showed up to group each week feeling unsure and introverted and new and vulnerable, but then I was seen as someone who could lead in this group, is incredible. When I was able to bring my entire self to the table, I developed some of the most authentic relationships of my life.”
Fall Retreat is in 10 DAYS and the deadline to sign up is TOMORROW at 11:59 PM. Check the linktree in our bio to sign up! If you are worried about the cost, reach out to Pastor Rich (rich@letsgetinclsuiveuic.org). We have some partial and full scholarships available! This year’s Fall Retreat we’ll be talking about SIN and be led by the incredible Chi Chi Okwu (@cokwu)! Want to know more about our theme? Here’s a note from Rich: . “Sin. What an interesting word. A word that has been misused to craft oppressive lists of do’s and don’ts. It’s especially been wielded to shame LGBTQ and disabled folks. . But sin doesn’t have to be used that way. Sin is simply moving away from the love of God, neighbor, self, and creation. Personal and systemic things that disrupt the way we are created to live and sidetrack us from being the people and the world that God created us to be. . Here’s another phrase for sin: the HPtFTU: the Human Propensity to F*ck Things Up. British author Francis Spufford coined that one. . Think about that for a second. Isn’t what he says just true? If we are honest with ourselves, don’t we all have the capacity to F things up? To get in the way of God’s dream for our lives and the world. Now, the HPtFTU or sin doesn’t tell our whole story -- not even close. But I do think there is power is reclaiming that word and naming things as sin. . Why? Because we have the capacity to do incredible and amazing things, but we have stuff, sin, that gets in the way. What if we start off this academic year not by pretending that we’re perfect to impress others, but by naming our sin and the sin of of our world -- the things that move us away from the love of God, neighbor, self, and creation? And we don’t name these things to feel shame. We name them to take away their power and begin to devise ways, with God’s help, to rid ourselves of these distractions. Then we can move forward and lean into who God wants us to be personally and collectively. . Sound interesting? Then don’t miss Fall Retreat. We’ll spend the weekend exploring sin and how to follow Jesus even when we sometimes F things up.”
 
 

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

Our e-news is a great resource to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the Inclusive Collective. We send a weekly email that will give you some important info on upcoming events and other ministry updates!

 

Have Questions?

Send us a message! We’d love to chat; virtually or in person! We do love meeting over a good cup of coffee, tea, soda, you name it; it’s on us!

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