Every Easter, rain or shine, Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church, an historic building with rutted limestone facade and broad arches, hosted a community egg hunt within its massive walls.
A beacon on Chicago's South Side, the 134-year-old building has hosted worship services and more, as thousands have gathered under its high-sloped roofs to attend club meetings, classes, lectures, civil rights events, and socials. Its impact on the community has been so vital, the Romanesque Revival-style structure was named an official Chicago landmark last year.
Pastor Todd Jarrett shepherds the church named for the three congregations that merged more than a dozen years ago. He appreciates its legacy but hasn't forgotten that its true treasure is found in the people — the Bronzeville community it serves.
"It is socially, economically, racially, religiously about as diverse as a community can be," he said. "I call it a potpourri of people. You have homes that range from lower income to a million dollars on a block. You have every ethnicity that you can name."
While the neighborhood is diverse, about 90 percent of those to whom they minister are either women or children, most lacking the resources of intact families.
"That's pretty typical," Pastor Todd said. "The neighborhood is primarily residential, but it was also the bedrock of culture, the blues, the music culture, little nooks, little shops, and stores — and all types of places where people used to come and hear the blues."
The church is located just minutes from the home of the late musician Muddy Waters, who was known in some quarters as the "father of modern Chicago blues."
Pre-COVID, the historic district of Bronzeville operated trolleys that would take patrons to stores, art galleries, clubs and restaurants, all within walking distance of low-income row homes. The church is a 15-minute walk from Lake Michigan.
"It's just always been a very unique and culturally exciting place in the city of Chicago," the pastor said.
While culturally rich, Bronzeville is not immune to poverty with its own peculiar type of blues. Demographics on the real estate news site Point2homes.com, show the median household income in Bronzeville to be $35,179, with 87 percent of the workforce classified as white collar. Even so, nearly three-quarters of residents are renters and about a third live below the poverty line, a stark financial reality that is anything but music to their ears.
Cognizant of community needs, Pastor Todd and his wife, LaTonya, began partnering with Cru® Inner City about five years ago by distributing Cru's Compassionate Products™ — high-quality giveaways such as Easter Bags, PowerPack® backpacks filled with school supplies, Boxes of Love® Thanksgiving meals, and Homeless Care Kits, each with accompanying gospel literature — all made possible through the ministry's generous donors.
LaTonya also took advantage of Cru's evangelism training, which helps church partners learn effective techniques for sharing the gospel and plugging new believers into personal growth studies. The training helps participants activate heart and passion.
"That's where it really started," Pastor Todd said of their new found outreach mindset.
That partnership proved critical in 2020 as Easter intersected with the coronavirus, which was just beginning to ravage entire communities. Like churches across America, Blackwell-Israel was forced to rethink its annual indoor resurrection-themed puppet show and Easter egg hunt.
While many of the logistics changed on the fly, there was one constant — Cru Easter Bags, paper bags filled with crayons, candy and a colorful gospel bead bracelet. The reimagined, socially distanced event, now called the Resurrection Gathering, was held the Saturday before Easter at Mandrake Park, kitty-corner to the church. Volunteers from the church fellowshipped with neighbors, distributed boxed lunches instead of hosting a community dinner, and shared the story of Jesus.
The church followed established protocols to keep everyone safe.
"It was May or June before it really dawned on us how serious this was and how bad this was," Pastor Todd said. "There was almost a denial, really. Then, as there were more and more deaths and we saw things get pretty bad, things changed. Early on I think part of it was coming off the winter and folks just being excited about spring."
Among those at the park that Saturday was an excited sixth-grader named Victor, who was given an Easter Bag filled with candy, a salvation bracelet and gospel literature. The salvation bracelet features a leather strap and colored beads symbolizing different elements of the gospel message.
"The young man's interest was piqued," Pastor Todd said.
Two weeks later, Pastor Todd and several members of his team followed-up the Resurrection Gathering with neighborhood home visits.
"We don't want this to be one time," he said of the Easter Bag distribution. "We're in a community. We want to reach the community."
Victor's grateful father thanked the church profusely for the outreach, saying his son "talked about it for two days non stop."
Pastor Todd told the dad all credit belonged to the heavenly Father.
"That struck a nerve with the father," he said. "He was just convicted to know more, learn more about this God."
So Pastor Todd shared the gospel with father and son as the man's own father swayed in a nearby rocker. Mostly non-verbal, the grandfather mumbled a bit but otherwise listened.
"By the time we finished, the grandfather nodded his head when we offered the salvation plan," he said.
Watching three generations of men make simultaneous confessions of faith in Christ moved the veteran pastor.
"It's extremely rare," he said. "It hasn't happened for me."
Then again, it was 2020, a poster year for the unexpected.
For his part, Pastor Todd is grateful to Cru donors, whose contributions provide important resources so that inner city churches and ministries can meet street-level needs.
"We're grateful because we couldn't have done this without them," he said, adding that he was able to follow-up with Victor's family four times before the coronavirus shutdown hit.
The pastor is certain they will be able to reconnect once COVID loosens its grip.
"There will come a time when we can begin to walk them through spiritual growth and faith development," he said. "That's our goal, not just the conversion piece but to continue to see them grow in the love and the likeness of Jesus Christ."
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Lori Arnold serves as senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
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