Chicago Neighborhood Prayer Guide: Seeking God's Peace For the City

By John Fuder and Elizabeth Koenig

Informed by key passages in the Bible, the Chicago Neighborhood Prayer Guide is a resource to aid believers in seeking the welfare of the city through prayer. Listing the 77 communities (comprised of 221 micro-neighborhoods) that make up the city of Chicago, this prayer guide provides information about the history, demographics, and needs of the neighborhoods which make up each community, and gives suggestions for how to specifically pray, praise, and give thanks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Release date: May 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9780802492173

Book preview

©2014 by

JOHN FUDER

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

All demongraphics taken from http://chicagohealth77.org/characteristics/demographics/

Cover design: Studio Gearbox and Erik M. Peterson

Interior design: Josh Burns and Erik M. Peterson

ISBN: 978-0-8024-1261-4

We hope you enjoy this product from Moody Publishers. Our goal is to provide high-quality, thought-provoking books and products that connect truth to your real needs and challenges. For more information on other books and products written and produced from a biblical perspective, go to www.moodypublishers.com or write to:

Moody Publishers

820 N. LaSalle Boulevard

Chicago, IL 60610

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Printed in the United States of America

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

INTRODUCTION

This prayer booklet has been a labor of love, by many people, over the span of two years.

I suppose it had its genesis in my mind as a much more scaled down, local version of Patrick Johnstone’s Operation World;¹ a sort of Chicago-focused edition of WayMakers Seek God for the City.² In many ways, YWAMer Brad Stanley helped us initially zero in on praying for the nations in our city a few years ago.³

Pastor Jackson Crum of Park Community Church initially sparked my interest reminding our staff and congregation of the 221 micro-neighborhoods within the 77 communities of Chicago in the context of seeking the shalom, or just peace, of the city and praying to the Lord on its behalf (Jeremiah 29:7).

And so we tasked an intern from Wheaton College, Mackenzie Magnus, to start the process. She handed her work over to Talia Cork at Park, and I in turn, entrusted her work to an undergrad group of Moody students, as a class project for Understanding the City.

Next, a number of grad students at Moody continued to chip away at it in my Evangelism and Community Analysis course, most notably Matt Johnson, under the watchful eyes of my project manager, Elizabeth Koenig, and a Northwestern alum Grace Lyu. Another Park young woman contributed her efforts in the early stages as well, Sarah Abbey. But Elizabeth and Grace especially gave countless hours, and with Matt’s 11th hour assistance, the four of us together finally wrestled it to completion.

Thanks as well to Rachel Quanstrom, Josh Burns, and Brittany VanErem, colleagues at Park, for your help with format, layout, printing, and cover design. Couldn’t have done it without you guys!

We were informed by the holistic nature of Psalm 122:6–8 to pray for the shalom of our city, with specific criteria in mind:

1) Spiritual vitality: 6a

2) Economic health: 6b

3) Physical safety: 7a

4) Political justice: 7b

5) Social relationships: 8

There is much biblical material that informs our prayers. We referenced part of that framework and instilled it into the context of this prayer guide. The four categories referenced are: God’s heart for the city; the widow, orphan, stranger, and poor; justice goodness, and compassion; and prayer and unity. Verses from these categories were chosen and assigned for each neighborhood.

We are also keenly aware that while we were hard at work on this guide, over five hundred young people were shot and killed in many of the more marginalized communities of Chicago this past year. And in the first six months of this year in our city, there have been one thousand shootings. We feel a bit like Queen Esther, in chapter 8:6, … how can I endure to see the calamity which shall befall my people …

The words of 2 Chronicles 7:14 certainly still apply: If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

To that end, we offer up this guide. We know that our great God loves Chicago and its people, and we sincerely believe that by encouraging the broader body of Christ in Chicago to pray, He will break our hearts for each and every one of our neighborhoods with a renewed love and compassion and conviction to engage in good deeds (Titus 3:14).

It is also our hope that this Chicago Neighborhood Prayer Guide could rally a similar prayer focus across other cities in our nation and around the world. May God give us tears for our cities.

Dr. John Fuder

Resource Global: [e-mail]

Heart for the City: www.h4tc.org

Chicago, IL

October 2013

1 Patrick Johnstone, Operation World: The Day-by-Day Guide to Praying For the World. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993).

2 WayMakers, Seek God for the City 2013. (Austin: WayMakers, 2013).

3 Ethnic Embrace Chicago: a 31-day prayer guide. (Chicago: GlobalROAR, 2009).

INDEX

Albany Park / 3

Altgeld Gardens / 61

Andersonville / 24

Archer Heights / 4

Armour Square / 5

Ashburn / 6

Ashburn Estates / 6

Auburn Gresham / 7

Austin / 8

Avalon Park / 9

Avondale / 10

Back of the Yards / 52

Belmont Cragin / 11

Belmont Gardens / 34

Belmont Heights / 21

Belmont Terrace / 21

Beverley View / 6

Beverly / 12

Beverly Woods / 47

Big Oaks / 56

Bowmanville / 42

Boystown / 40

Brainerd / 70

Brickyard / 11

Bridgeport / 13

Brighton Park / 14

Bronzeville / 20

Bucktown / 43

Buena Park / 69

Burnside / 15

Cabrini-Green / 49

Calumet Heights / 16

Canaryville / 52

Central Station / 50

Chatham / 17

Chicago Lawn / 18

Chinatown / 69

Chrysler Village / 19

Clarendon Park / 69

Clearing / 19

Cottage Grove Heights / 60

Cragin / 11

Crestline / 6

Dearborn Park / 50

Douglas / 20

Dunning / 21

East Garfield Park / 22

East Side / 23

East Village / 78

Eden Green / 61

Edgebrook / 27

Edgewater / 24

Edgewater Glen / 24

Edison Park / 25

Englewood / 26

Epic / 24

Fernwood / 63

Fifth City / 22

Ford City / 75

Forest Glen / 27

Fuller Park / 28

Fulton River District / 51

Gage Park / 29

Galewood / 8

Garfield Ridge / 30

Gladstone Park / 38

Golden Gate / 61

Goose Island / 49

Graceland West / 40

Grand Boulevard / 31

Grand Crossing / 32

Greater Grand Crossing / 32

Greektown / 51

Gresham / 7

Hamilton Park / 26

Hanson Park / 11

Heart of Chicago / 44

Hegewisch / 33

Hermosa / 34

Hollywood Park / 55

Homan Square / 54

Humboldt Park / 35

Hyde Park / 36

Irving Park / 37

Irving Woods / 21

Jackowo / 10

Jackson Park Highlands / 67

Jefferson Park / 38

Kelvyn Park / 34

Kennedy Park / 47

Kensington / 63

Kenwood / 39

Kilbourn Park / 37

K-Town / 54

Lake View / 40

Lake View East / 40

Lakewood/Balmoral / 24

Le Claire Courts / 30

Lilydale / 63

Lincoln Park / 41

Lincoln Square / 42

Lithuanian Plaza / 18

Little Italy / 51

Little Village / 66

Logan Square / 43

Longwood Manor / 70

Lower West Side / 44

Loyola / 62

Magnificent Mile / 49

Marquette Park / 18

Marshall Square / 66

Marynook / 9

Mayfair / 3

McKinley Park / 45

Medical Center / 51

Middle Edgebrook / 27

Montclare / 46

Morgan Park / 47

Mount Greenwood / 48

Museum Campus / 50

Near North Side / 49

Near South Side / 50

Near West Side / 51

New Chinatown / 69

New City / 52

Noble Square / 78

North Center / 53