Chicago
“Put Sufjan Stevens on, and we’ll play your favorite song,
Chicago bursts to life in your sweet smile remembers you
My hands open and my eyes open, I just keep hoping that your heart opens.”
Snow Patrol | Hands Open
This past weekend Robb and I went to Chicago to celebrate Easter. No longer having a home church, we decided to treat ourselves to visiting our friend’s old home church, Covenant Presbyterian Church of Chicago, located in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. What a treat, indeed! First of all, we fell in love with the neighborhood. If we ever move to Chicago, you now know where you can find us. The church meets in an incredibly beautiful building [photos] — formerly All Saints Catholics Church. It reminds me of the cathedrals in Europe. A three-story high alter, two balconies, two-story high stain glass windows. Not to mention the acoustics. It was such a joy to worship God in a glorious building with a wonderful choir and band. Pastor Aaron Baker preached a wonderful Easter sermon from John 20:11-18 when Jesus asks Mary Magdalene, who is crying over the Jesus’ empty tomb, “Who are you seeking?” Thank you Covenant for a wonderful service.
Now, we did not go to Chicago only for Easter. We caught wind of Damien Jurado’s upcoming concert at Schubas (the same venue we saw Rosie Thomas). Not to mention, the following night William Fitzsimmons was going to be playing. We have seen both of these artists in concert before, but I must tell you, the concerts at Schubas are some of the best we have ever been to. The venue is small and intimate (we actually sat on folding chairs). Damien (from Seattle) and William (from Southern Illinois) encouraged the audience to participate — asking questions, singing along, and requesting some songs. If you have ever listened to their songs before, you will know that they sing rather depressing songs. Their personalities (as we got to enjoy on Friday and Saturday nights) are quite contrary to their lyrics. I think we laughed the hardest when Damien was telling us of situation when a guy told him after one of his shows that he thought Damien was going to snap during the show and “stab someone.” Shortly after we had all laughed about this, a gentleman in the front row of our concert got up and walked to the back of the room and Damien exclaimed, “Where do you think you’re going! I’m gonna’ stab you!” The poor gentleman, as I was informed later, was quite shocked and embarrassed as he walked out of the room. Needless to say, most of us were caught in fits of laughter. If you have not encountered Damien or William before, I encourage you to take the time to listen to their music. Both write lyrics in the form (most of the time) of first person, fictional narratives. Another noteworthy musician is Laura Gibson (hailing from Portland) who opened for Damien.
Laura Gibson
Damien Jurado
William Fitzsimmons
We spent Saturday walking around downtown (our hotel was actually right on the corner of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan), taking photos of the beautifully tall buildings and city life, and (of course) shopping.
The Bean
Navy Pier and the Chicago River
Late in the afternoon when we were about to drop from exhaustion, I spied the American Girls Store. Seriously! When I was 8, my mom gave me the catalogue (back when only Molly, Kirsten and Samantha were the only dolls) and told me that this was my Dream Book. On my 10th birthday I received a Molly doll. As a tribute, we had walk around the store and see how much it had changed (I think they retired Samantha!).
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