Holy Trinity Lutheran Church | Chicago, IL

Holy Trinity is located three blocks from Wrigley Field in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Known for its tolerance and diversity, residents of Lakeview revel in all that urban life has to offer. Holy Trinity is a vibrant and progressive urban parish, whose attendance has increase from approximately 50 to 175 worshipers in the last decade. Much of this growth has been because of an influx of young adults and families with children. Bucking the trends of church growth practice, Holy Trinity’s liturgical and musical style is essentially traditional with a flair of innovation. The challenges of urban commuting, together with the fact that the church has no parking lot, means that Sunday worship is the central event for the parish. Holy Eucharist with choir is celebrated at 10:30AM, and is preceded by an Education Hour. Programs are offered for approximately 60 children, during which time adults are invited to participate in a Sunday Forum. A community meal follows worship each Sunday.

Address:
1218 W. Addison St.
Chicago, IL 60613

Website:
http://www.holytrinitychicago.org

Team Leader: 
Craig Mueller, Pastor

 

Sects and the City
Renewing Worship in an Urban, Millennial Context


Holy Trinity’s project proposes to convene a worship conference that would focus on two aspects of their context: its urban setting and the predominance of young adults, many in the millennial generation born after 1980. The idea for this project began with an ecumenical lectionary study group begun in 2007, in which participating pastors found the conversations in this weekly study to be helpful not only for the preaching task, but also for the unique ministry setting in Lakeview that includes such a large number of young adults. This conference will
Be designed for area clergy, musicians, and lay leaders.
Invite students from eight area seminaries (since the trajectory of the conference concerns worship for future generations).
Involve a more fluid approach, and be held in three area churches, each church hosting a worship service (following the liturgical style of that congregations) to be followed by a guided reflection and conversation on that experience, with particular emphasis on the urban context and presence of young adults.
Care would be taken to move beyond subjective reactions to the worship style and instead reflect on the diverse and creative methods of liturgical renewal.