Link Madness, God, and Starbuck, Oh My!

We have much to talk about. But first- some new links to the right, check them out.

Have I told you about Worship Club? It is the brainchild of my friend Brian and I- we visit different places of worship and religious locations/situations, not because we are shopping for a new faith but because religion is a dominant force in our culture and we believe experiencing other religions firsthand is the best way to learn about them.

Last weekend we visited a mega-church in downtown Chicago called Willow Creek. The sermon was given via a giant projection screen suspended above the stage because the pastor/minister wasn't there- he is based at the main Willow Creek church out in the suburbs. His talk was all about amending relationships as a way to become closer to God. There was a lot of quoting from the New Testament. Before and after the sermon there was singing with a live band, as well as announcements about their current charity project of filling donated backpacks with school supplies for local underprivileged kids.

It was an interesting experience but not as intense or theatrical as what I imagined. There was also a lot less mention of Jesus than I predicted, though his name was certainly mentioned many times- more often the focus was on God however. Which to some people is the same thing I suppose.

Next we hope to attend a Jews for Jesus service.

In other religious news, I have signed up for a Jewish education class this fall through the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School. The class meets for two hours each Thursday evening September-May to study various aspects of Jewish living. I am actually very excited about it and looking forward to doing some religious study with a group.

In other non-religious news, there have been several young women attacked in my neighborhood lately, including one on my block. Obviously this is unsettling. I don't like it one bit. Today there was a news crew filming outside, and I stopped to chat with my building's maintenance guy who was standing nearby. He is young-ish, maybe around 28 or so. He said that he couldn't wait for the day the attacking bastard was caught, and that every guy in the neighborhood would love to beat him to a pulp. Awwww, it is cute when guys get protective.

This weekend is the Chicago Breast Cancer 3 Day. While I am not "officially" working the event (though I am traveling for a month this fall to staff three others in Dallas, Arizona and San Diego) I will definitely be visiting the camp site, hanging out with walkers and helping staff wherever I'm needed. This is the event I work on year-round so it's very exciting to see it all happening.

One of my dreams is to one day attend Comic-Con. This year there was a "Ladies of Battlestar Galactica" panel with Tricia Helfer, Lucy Lawless, Mary McDonnell and KATEE SACKHOFF. In other BSG news, I have been re-watching season 2 with Courtney and I totally forgot how good it is.

Life is kind of busy just now. There are many people coming to visit, or I am going to visit them; fundraising events, classes, worship club, dog sitting; bridesmaid dresses to buy, trips home for the Lobster-Q and up north for fall colors; gearing up for my stint with the 3 Day tour in October; the Jewish holidays coming up, and continuing to masquerade as an artist by getting bold with color and paint all over my apartment. I also plan to do some volunteer work soon with Chicago Cares. Want to join me?