In hopes of expanding membership at The Peoples Church of Chicago, 941 W. Lawrence Ave., Rev. Jean Darling and some of its members took to the streets. They had matching shirts, passed out stickers and one-page flyers about the church, and more.
They did it Sunday, June 30, through the streets of Uptown and neighboring Lakeviewin the annual Chicago Pride Parade.
Darling is straight, married to Ken Perlow, with an exchange-student son from Argentina who's 34.
"The gay community is one community that we want to stand with," said Darling, who leads the admittedly gay-friendly church which has a rainbow flag on its front door.
"We've been trying to do lots of different things to let people know that we're here, that this wonderful space is here and that we are a progressive church in Uptown; I don't think there are too many other [churches] that also can say that.
"I am particularly moved by what we can do, and have done, for the African-American community, and surprised too. When I first started here, [that demographic] wasn't that evident in our church."
Attracting the LGBT parishioners "is part of our mission," she said.
Darling has been at The Peoples Church for almost six years. She is originally from Madison, and now lives in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
"I think one of the interesting things about who's been coming to the congregation lately is, a number of African-American LGBT," Darling said. "Unfortunately, Black churches don't always welcome gays, so we've been a welcoming place."
Peoples Church, with its slogan "Standing on the Side of Love," has Sunday services every week at 10 a.m., which include a praise choir, which "has helped Black people feel more welcome here," she said. The Sunday service also has classical and folk music, and a progressive message. All are welcome.
Peoples Church also has chair yoga on Sundays, starting at 11:30 a.m., with Brentan Schellenbach.
The congregation on Sundays is about half African-American, with white and Latino attendants as well. The biggest group of attendees range in age from 40 to 60.
On Easter Sunday, there were 46 in the church.
Most Sundays attract 25 to 30.
"We're constantly scrambling for money to keep this place going," said Darling, who noted a church custom is meeting everyone on Sundays. "I love doing that and I think people like that here."
Peoples Church has been a welcome praying option for the lower-income, even homeless. "We really try to be welcoming, to literally anyone who walks in the door," she said.
Darling confirmed, "We have a fair number of gay people [who attend the church.]" There are also gay organizations and music groups that use the space, and the first meeting of This Is Not Over, an activist group backing marriage equality, was held in the church in June. Over the decades, many LGBTQ rallies, concerts and events have been held there, including for gay choral groups, lesbian singers and much more.
And in September, Darling will officiate the on-site wedding of a lesbian couple, African-Americans in their 20s who are church regulars. This will be Darling's third civil union she has led.
"The first [same-sex wedding ceremony that I officiated] was about 10 years ago, a commitment ceremony back then," Darling said. "But I call them weddings; to me, it's the same. The difference is, you don't have a contract with the state."
Darling praised the national defeat of DOMA.
"I feel proud to be a part of this change, this shift," in American culture, she said.
"This church has always stood for the things that it still stands for and, to me, that's really powerful. The tradition of this church is something that is still really important, something that I hope we can contain. And to me it's still a radical message."
The United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist fall under The People's Church banner. The United Church of Christ claimed the first woman to be ordained.
See peopleschurchchicago.org .