Allen Smalling

Grab that Easter bonnet! For the first time in a long time, Easter is so late that it will take place in full-blown Chicago spring, April 23. The last time Easter fell that late was in 1943; the next time will be 2011.

Because the holiday is already the second most popular church service (after Christmas Eve), this Easter is bound to draw crowds to match the greenery. In a continuing effort to scope out visitor-friendly churches for people who don't usually go to church, Newcity presents ten local churches, a cut above the norm, from which the normally church averse can choose. Just for fun, we've ranked them competitively.

Unfortunately, some of the best churches are the hardest to squeeze into on Easter Sunday, so we've added a new ranking

category: "Capacity" refers to seating capacity; the higher the number, the better your chances of finding a great seat for the main service. "Liturgy" reflects style and integration of the worship elements, including preaching and Eucharist or communion (if we call the church service "Worship" instead of "Eucharist," there is no scheduled communion). "User-friendliness" rates the first-time worshiper's ability to feel at home, from "meeting and greeting" at the entrance to ease of following the Order of Worship. "Transportation" considers the convenience of parking and public transit equally. Of course, rankings like these are subjective, and your experience may vary according to your tastes and the individual circumstances. Not to mention Acts of God.

Lake View Presbyterian Church, 716 West Addison, (773)281-2655. Easter Eucharist: 11am
A smallish, nondescript white-shingled church stands at the northwest corner of Broadway and Addison. Don't underestimate it. Inside the sanctuary, the just-refurbished interior, with its Carolina blue walls, oak-toned beams and blond floors sends forth a message of good cheer, tradition and sincerity. Pastor Joy Douglas Strome's sermons are relevant to the Bible readings, nicely nuanced and analytical without being dry. The acoustics are so bright that microphones aren't necessary. In a denomination whose members are often stereotyped as distant and WASP-y, this observer was treated warmly and introduced around on his first visit. This is how churches grow and thrive. Lake View Presbyterian has an enviable transportation situation, too: it stands adjacent to the Broadway, Addison and Halsted bus lines, is walking distance to the CTA Red Line (Addison/Wrigley Field station), and has the use of a free private parking lot right next door.
Capacity: 6
Liturgy: 7
User-friendliness: 7
Transportation: 8
Total: 28

All Saints Episcopal Church, 4550 North Hermitage, (773)561-0111. Eucharist: 8 and 10am, potluck lunch following.
In this area, most Episcopal churches tend to Anglican-style ceremony, but All Saints tends to closeness and charm. The Rev. Bonnie Perry took over this little church in the nineties and, with the congregation's help, turned a struggling congregation into a healthy and growing one. Many visitors find the taking of the Eucharist particularly meaningful, as it is done in a circle rather than facing an altar. Also, it doesn't hurt that the church is a late-nineteenth-century gem of wood-framed Victoriana, and the congregation is relaxed and easygoing. The Wilson Avenue bus runs right by the building, the CTA Brown Line stops at Montrose, and there is ample Sunday parking a block west by the Metra tracks.
Capacity: 6
Liturgy: 8
User-friendliness: 7
Transportation: 7
Total: 28

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1500 West Elmdale, (773)743-1820. Eucharist: 10:30am.
Immanuel is a neighborhood church on a roll. After two years of temporary priests, the church welcomed Pastor Robert Goldstein last fall, and the good pastor has proved popular with both lifelong members and recent converts. His sermons, while brief, are powerful and meaningful. The church has a handsome midsize sanctuary composed of stone and glass, and with good bright acoustics. The liturgy is a simplified version of the standard, musicalized denominational liturgy, while the Order of Worship makes it as user-friendly as possible. The casual visitor who doesn't sight-read music is still at a slight disadvantage. Parking is available on street and in the Senn High School parking lot; the No. 22 Clark Street bus runs a block west.
Capacity: 7
Liturgy: 7
Transportation: 7
Total: 27

Chicago Temple (First United Methodist Church), 77 West Washington, (312)236-4548. Eucharist: 8:30 and 11am. Breakfast: 9:30am (freewill offering).
Liturgically and stylistically, Methodists tend to define the middle of the road, but the Temple scores above average because it puts its size and strength to good use. Pastor Gene Winkler is an engaging pulpiteer and a recognized community presence. (Rev. Winkler has a vertical commute -- he lives twenty-two floors above his church in a parsonage built into the church steeple.) For Easter, the choir will be on hand with a brass ensemble. The Temple is good at offering fellowship to strangers and was the first big church in the area to consciously recognize the needs of gay and lesbian worshipers, a hurdle that still bedevils other "mainline" churches. Note also that breakfast is positioned to appeal to both the 8:30 and 11am audiences. Subsidized parking is nearby at Three First National Plaza, and the Loop is a hub for CTA rapid-transit lines.
Capacity: 5
Liturgy: 7
User-friendliness: 7
Transportation: 7
Total: 26

Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 East Chestnut, (312)787-4570. Worship: 8, 9:30 and 11am. Brunch: 12:30pm, $10; call church for reservation.
Presbyterians don't have cathedrals, but if they did Fourth Pres would be one. It has a big, impressive sanctuary of stone and wood, in which the clergy and choir occupy a "transverse chancel" (that is, they sit facing the congregation rather than sideways). In this posh, tourist-oriented neighborhood, your pewmates may be from all over the world; expect the 11am service to be jammed, and opt for an earlier service if you're crowd-averse. (All three services have the same content.) Pastor John Buchanan's sermons are both intellectually and spiritually satisfying. The CTA runs numerous bus lines along Michigan Avenue; the Red Line (Chicago Avenue station) is walkable. Subsidized parking is available nearby in the Bloomingdale's building (900 North Michigan).
Capacity: 4
Liturgy: 8
User-friendliness: 7
Transportation: 7
Total: 26

First Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1301 North LaSalle, (312)642-7172. Eucharist: 9:15 and 11am
Driving up LaSalle, all one can see of this church is a curved brick wall, which the style 1960s wags called "riot renaissance." Inside, the simplicity is put to good use -- wooden pews, an altar, a cross, a pulpit -- with a feeling of great spaciousness and perfect balance, truly the cleanliness that is next to godliness. You can expect a brief sermon on-point with the Bible reading and a very complex liturgy, with singing, chanting, praying and kneeling, made as user-friendly as possible by explicit instructions in the Order of Worship and from the pulpit. (It might be unfamiliar, but you won't get lost.) Parking on street is very tight, but the Broadway and Clark buses run nearby and the Red Line's Clark/Division station is one block south.
Capacity: 6
Liturgy: 7 User-friendliness: 7
Transportation: 6
Total: 26

The Moody Church, 1609 North LaSalle, (312)943-0466. Worship: 10:30am
Dwight Moody was a nineteenth-century evangelical churchman, and if you visit his church you'll hear references to committing to Christ and bringing a friend to Jesus. But even if you're not a conservative Christian, the Moody Church is worth a peek for the architecture; call it "Radio City Music Hall Meets Rockefeller Chapel." The 3,800-seat sanctuary consists of a vast ground floor and a horseshoe-shaped balcony, all lit by huge amber-colored chandeliers. Behind the pulpit, a huge marble proscenium arch frames the choir. Easter Sunday's "Resurrection Day Celebration" will last one-and-a-half to two hours, including special music and a sermon. On a previous trip we encountered excellent preaching and music and, happily, noticed a more diverse racial and ethnic mix there than at other large Chicago churches. The church has six free satellite parking lots; the Clark, Broadway and North buses run by.
Capacity: 4
Liturgy: 7
User-friendliness: 7
Transportation: 8
Total: 26

Broadway United Methodist Church, 3344 North Broadway, (773)348-2679. Worship: 10:45am
Local Methodists know this as "Greg Dell's church," for the pastor who was tried by church leadership and convicted of conducting a holy union ceremony between two gay men, losing his pulpit as a result. Until Dell regains this pulpit, Broadway U. Meth. church is in the very capable hands of Pastor Jenny Weber. The church is a handsome modernistic structure; the sanctuary seats about 200 and consists of earth-toned carpeting, angular brick and wood. Worship here strikes a good balance between small-church intimacy and large-church formality. The Order of Worship is one of the best of its kind we've seen. Sermons are good, but non-Methodists may be taken aback at the Methodist tendency to find twenty-first-century social concerns in ancient Bible text. Musicianship is first-rate. It goes without saying that the church is very gay-friendly. Come early if you want to avail yourself of the church's modest parking lot; otherwise, on-street parking is the usual 60657 horror story. The Broadway bus runs by the building.
Capacity: 5
Liturgy: 7
User-friendliness: 8
Transportation: 6
Total: 26

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 939 Hinman, Evanston, (847)475-3630. Eucharist: 9 and 11am
You're in High Anglican mode here. The organ booms, the incense swings, the choir processes, and thus begins church service in the immaculate late-Victorian style, Gothic Revival sanctuary ("nave" in Episco-speak). But St. Luke's isn't exclusive -- 40 percent of the congregation grew up in other denominations, and the Order of Worship is so user-friendly it eliminates any need to fumble with the Book of Common Prayer. Expect Easter to be packed to the rafters. (Note how well the church scores in everything except capacity.) If you must attend the 11am service, come early to scout out legal on-street parking. The 9am service is less crowded and boasts identical content with only a few stylistic differences (the Nicene Creed is recited rather than chanted, for example). Directions: Lake Shore Drive to Sheridan Road, north to Main Street, West to Hinman, right onto Hinman. Church is at end of block. The Purple Line (Main Street Station) is within walking distance.
Capacity: 3
Liturgy: 9
User-friendliness: 8
Transportation: 7
Total: 26

St. Ben's (St. Benedict's Catholic Church), 3920 North Leavitt, (773)588-6484. Eucharist: 8 and 10am, noon.
This is the immense Flemish Revival steeple just west of the Irving-Damen-Lincoln intersection. Inside you'll find what appears to be a healthy parish in a not-too-frilly sanctuary, spruced up and looking quite cheerful. The liturgy can be baffling for visiting Protestants: A helpful slip of paper sent us to the pew hymnal for all our hymns and a couple of our sung responses, but it was assumed everyone knew the Nicene Creed and certain other responses. The sermon was intelligent, and the congregation seemed to appreciate it. Communion was wafer only, no wine. (At any rate, non-Catholics are not supposed to partake without special permission.) The noon service is a nice option for slugabeds and folks with unusual work schedules. Parking on street is easy, and the Irving Park Road bus runs by the door. Note that St. Ben's gets a pretty good score except for user-friendliness, which is not surprising: By and large, Catholic churches have no mandate to make their liturgies easy for casual drop-in non-Catholics to assimilate.
Capacity: 6
Liturgy: 6
User-friendliness: 5 Transportation: 7
Total: 24

(2000-04-20)

Also by Allen Smalling

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