For the past few months, our church has been exploring expansive images of who God is through the lens of Mallory Wyckoff's aptly-titled book God Is. Maybe you've heard these themes in our sermons and worship life; maybe you've been practicing our weekly reflection prompts on social media; or maybe you've had the chance to participate in a small group or adult formation hour discussing the book in depth. I've cherished the opportunity to connect with many of you and to hear new and different perspectives—perspectives like Jeliner Jordan sharing about what it means for her that God is Creator ..read more

Beloved friends of LaSalle -  I pray that you’re enjoying the warmer weather, sunny skies, and gardens blooming this spring! On the church calendar this season is called Resurrection Time – the period of focusing on life after the grave, on the power of Christ at work in the world today. In our own backyard I can now see dogwood, hydrangeas, lilacs, hostas, phlox, and herbs starting to show their colors. Every evening I go outside to smell the blooms, check on what’s growing, and sometimes to just sit and see the new life that is visible – growth that’s sprouting after the work of weedin ..read more

Hey hey LaSalle, Lucas Sweitzer, Associate Director of Communications & Administration Big news! This summer, we’re changing our church management system from Breeze to the new and improved Church Center. This is not just a tech upgrade; it’s a leap towards enhancing our ministry and making our community ties stronger and more efficient. Why Church Center? Church Center offers a huge array of management tools we’re excited to start using as a staff. It rolls all the cool stuff we loved with Breeze—online giving, a digital directory, and communication tools—into a new package. Plus, it bri ..read more

Elder Board Moderator Kari McGrath It has been a busy couple of weeks with spring breaks and Easter holiday activities. If you're like me, that means that important, but seemingly not urgent items can fall off of my to do list. Good news!  I'm here to remind you to put elder board nominations back at the top of your list this week! As I shared a couple of weeks ago, it is the time of year that we, as a body, have the opportunity to participate in nominating new elders. The nominations for the incoming board members come from you, our congregation. Below you will find: Details on the no ..read more

It was such a joy to kick off Holy Week with all of you on Palm Sunday. And thanks to those who joined Pastor Brent and other local congregations walking in solidairty for a Gaza ceasefire last Saturday. We still have some great Holy Week programs coming up this Friday and Sunday — we hope you can join us for any of the events below! Good Friday Prayer Walk This Friday, March 29, 3 - 5:00 PM beginning in Seward Park This Friday afternoon, pastors from LSC will be joining with other local congregations to walk and pray around the Near North side neighborhood, in a practice modeled after the Sta ..read more

Director of Outreach & Advocacy Julie Welborn Expansive Faith, Generous Community, Invested in God’s Justice! This is who we say we are and what we strive to reflect.  From what took place this past Sunday, I’d say we hit a home run.   Our Serve Sunday began service rooting us in our faith that reminded us that we need one another to survive; that we are called to pray for one another; and that our words don’t bring harm, but love. Our scripture text shared the story of Jesus and his disciples feeding the 5 thousand and how there was an abundance available. I had the wonder ..read more

I can't tell you how often in my life I have wished that God communicated more clearly. There have been times when I faced a decision that felt so big and important that I begged for a message from God written directly in the clouds. ("Won't you please just make the way clearer?") At times I've disagreed passionately with others about a point of belief, and even when I tried to make my point with Scripture, the other person found verses in the Bible to support their perspective, too. ("Why didn't God make this more obvious for all of us?") I have often wished that God would appear in the drea ..read more

by Sharon WIlliams As I “bid farewell” to my Lasalle Street Church and Cornerstone Center family and enter into the next chapter in my life’s story, it is a true time of reflection.   Looking back on my journey at LSC, I am amazed at just how deeply my roots have grown into the foundation here and become a “cornerstone” in the fabric of this community.  It is so deep that it is hard to imagine not coming to work and entering the doors of Cornerstone Center or no longer being the Gatekeeper to the LaSalle Street Church office and the Hub through which so many things, activities, and people flo ..read more

LaSalle has had many fruitful partnerships over the years with organizations both in the community and globally who align with our call to ministry. We've also helped incubate and start multiple organizations that are now their own separate entities, continuing to do beautiful work and offering hope and justice. Throughout 2024, we will be showcasing many of our current Outreach and Advocacy ministries (like NNUP, Breaking Bread, and Senior Market), and our partner organizations, so that as a church we can be better familiar with the organizations that are part of our budget, share the good wo ..read more

It's a hard time to be a human being in the world. But there's good news. Tonight's Ash Wednesday service kicks off the season of Lent. These forty days (not including Sundays, if you're doing the math) have traditionally offered Christians the chance to prepare for Easter and connect with God by means of intentional, purposeful practices. For some of us, consciously choosing to add spiritual routines like prayer or generosity help us recenter in God's presence. For others, mindfully removing certain pleasures or habits makes us more conscious of our heart's deepest desire for God. Lent ..read more