Chicago is the Most…… January 6, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Chicago Fact , add a commentAs many of you know, I LOVE CHICAGO and all things about ti and believe that is ti the most livable, and best global city to live in around the world. As we begin 2008, I thought I would give you some of the titles Chicago holds as I Googled around the web.
Chicago is the most………
1. Caffeinated city in the US (Healthsaver survey)
2. Chocolate consuming city in the nation (Healthsaver survey)
3. Colas consuming city in the nation(Healthsaver survey)
4. Expensive place to buy cigarettes (retirementliving.com)
5. Studied American city— thanks to the birth of American sociology at the University of Chicago.
6. Accessible city in the country. The transportation hub of the Midwest, Chicago boasts the world’s busiest airport and is located at the intersection of the busiest interstate highway system. Approximately, 180,000 travelers pass through O’Hare International Airport daily. Chicago is the only U.S. city with three airline hubs, plus 50 commercial, commuter, and cargo airlines at O’Hare alone. When combined, O’Hare, Midway, and several small local airfields serve nearly 70 commercial, commuter, and cargo airlines with more than 300 daily flights to approximately 200 cities. All told, the Chicago area offers more nonstop flights than any other city. And, in an increasingly important global economy, airline carriers offer direct service from O’Hare to 60 cities around the world.
7. Important railroad center in North America. More lines of track radiate in more directions from Chicago than from any other city. Chicago has long been the most important interchange point for freight traffic between the nation’s major railroads and it is the hub of Amtrak, the intercity rail passenger system.
8. Visited U.S. destination for business travelers for several years running, according to a survey of business travelers fielded by Accenture, a global management and technology services company. This city is always adapting and improving to better meet the needs of convention organizers and their attendees.
9. Important Great Lakes port.
10. Searched City’ for Holiday Cards - CardsDirect.com
11. Ethnically diverse city in North America per capita. On the north side of the city, one out of three people is foreign-born.
12. Chicago is the most popular destination for Labor Day 2007 (priceline.com).
13. Important architectural city in America.
14. Bike friendly city in the country. Mayor Richard Daley is solidly behind initiatives to create a 500 mile network of bike paths and bicycle-friendly streets in Chicago. He wants Chicago to be the most bicycle friendly city in the United States. The Bike 2015 Plan is the City of Chicago’s vision to make bicycling an integral part of daily life in Chicago. The plan recommends projects, programs and policies for the next ten years to encourage use of this practical, non-polluting and affordable mode of transportation.
15. Popular site for national conventions of both major political parties; since 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was nominated by the Republican Party, 26 national Republican or Democratic conventions have been held in the city. (MSN Encarta)
16. Known world-wide center of Polish immigration. Poles in Chicago are more visible and spectacular group than the Poles in NYC. Even on the airport O’Hare in Chicago one can hear announcements in Polish quite often. Many custom officers are caring the badges with the information “Mowimy po Polsku” (We are speaking Polish).
17. Livable major city there is, major being places that are home to several million people or more.What makes Chicago so great is that it looks and acts like a big city, but it doesn’t feel like one. Unlike so many cities its size, its cultural and recreational charms come with some big benefits. You won’t break the bank to live there; rents and home prices remain relatively reasonable. It’s accessible by public transportation and car. And it’s looking spiffier than ever thanks to major beautification and redevelopment efforts. (Best Places to Live)
18. Ethnically and culturally diverse city in the United States, and probably in the world.
19. Expensive city to fill up your car’s gas tank, thanks to city and county taxes.
20. Dog friendly city in the US.
Mat Barber Kennedy: A Gift to Park December 4, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentFor the last few years, I have had the privilege of hanging out and getting to know Mat Barber Kennedy, a gifted artist in the Park body, who has made a living as a watercolorist both in the US and across the pond in England. Mat is an accomplished painter, a professor of arts, a excellent guitarist, a loving husband to Sherry and a cool dad.
As we have completed the PREPARING FOR MORE seaason, Mat has graciously painted a watercolor of the new building and its strategic position in the shadow of the skyline and has donated it to the church so that they could make it available to the body and generate funds for the new ministry center.
If you are interested in getting a copy, either in a signed limited edition print or a poster, please contact Tim Schraeder at tschraeder@parkcommunitychurch.org or 312.361.0519. If you would like to check out his other excellent work, please go to his website at matbarberkennedy.com
Back from East Asia May 29, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentJust got back from a 10-day tour of East Asia and China and got a chance to see some really cool sites and meet some really great people. One of the coolest sites I got to see was the new Olympic stadium in Beijing, aka “The Bird’s Nest”. It will be one of the coolest Olympic stadiums ever built. Take a look:
Here is a current view of construction:
2007 National New Church Conference April 18, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Church, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies, Missional, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentSeveral of us have been graciously been given the opportunity to attend the 2007 National New Church Conference next week and it is going to be a great one. The National New Church Conference is a cross-denominational gathering designed to connect, inspire, equip and challenge church planting leaders to the next level of collaboration. Speakers will include Bill Hybels, Wayne Cordeiro, Ed Stetzer, Dave Ferguson, Bob Roberts, Bil Cornelius, Mark Batterson, Jim Putman, Rick Rusaw, Matt Chandler, Darrin Patrick, Shawn Lovejoy, Vince Antonucci, Bob Logan, David Putman, and more. and several others. As Park looks to make a bigger impact in Chicago through multisite and church planting, the sheer energy that will come out of this conference will give us all a great emotional boost!Check out this interview by Ed Stetzer of Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Its part of the 2007 National New Church Conference podcast which is available at http://exponentialconference.org/podcasting/. In addition to this interview there are a bunch of great messages available from Dave Ferguson, Ron Sylvia, Dan Smith, Bob Roberts, John Burke and many more.
Chicago - Our Olympic Hope April 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Olympics , add a comment
On Saturday, Chicago was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as its candidate to bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, ahead of two-time host Los Angeles. This is a huge step forward for Chicago and now puts us on the international stage. We all think this is the greatest place to live, work and do ministry, but now we hope to be able to host the Olympics and show that to the world!
Chicago will likely compete with Madrid, Prague, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo to hold the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee is to decide on a venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics in October 2009. Chicago will start from scratch in hosting the games, unlike Los Angeles that had almost every infrastructure in place to host the games. However, the local Olympic committee intends to build an Olympic stadium with a seating capacity of 80,000 at an estimated cost of $366 million. This would be supported by a lakefront village in the downtown area at a cost of $1.1 billion.
The Word is Out: Chicago Attracts the Young and Educated March 24, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Breaking News , add a comment
The Chicago Trib ran an article this month looking at the changing demographics of Chicago and the surge of post-college 20Somethings who are flocking to this great city of Chicago. People are finally beginning to see what an awesome place Chicago is to live and be missional!
The article starts off, “ As thousands of Chicagoans leave the city each year, a countervailing force is moving in: twentysomethings, whose growing presence in and near the city’s center is attracting companies to start or expand operations downtown. Kenneth Johnson, a demographer and sociology professor at Loyola University Chicago who has studied the trend, estimates Chicago’s twentysomething population at 450,000, surpassed only by New York and Los Angeles, which also are experiencing influxes of new college grads. The young newcomers, Johnson said, hail from the suburbs as well as cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland.
“Companies are finding that the key asset is no longer the highway interchange, coal vein or port,” said Richard Florida, a professor of urban policy at George Mason University. “Now, it’s this educated, skilled, innovative talent. Companies are moving to be near the kind of people that Chicago is attracting in droves.” (more…)
Olympic Flame January 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, The Arts in the City, Olympics , add a comment(Crain’s) — Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid has a new visual component, as officials unveiled a logo that features a torch with a flame representing the city’s skyline. The orange flame, with a Sears Tower-like look, is meant to represent the city’s style of architecture while evoking “a city that rose from the ashes” in the wake of the Great Fire of 1871, according to a statement from the Chicago 2016 Committee, the local group leading the bid. The torch’s body is colored blue, in a nod to Lake Michigan, and green, to represent the city’s park system.
Even if the games don’t wind up here, the city hopes to reap a little cash from its Olympic bid. Merchandise featuring the logo will go on sale “soon,” the statement said.
The logo was created by VSA Partners Inc., a Chicago-based design studio.
