“Hi! I’m Jamie Sladkey Meehan. I am in my third year of Seminary at Garrett and I am one of the leaders for the Thursday North Side small group which meets in the library of my Alma Mater, North Park University. Another fun fact, I got married earlier this month! I’m still abuzz with all that happened that day.

These days I have been learning about how to allow others to shine and to relinquish control. It is easy for me to try to do everything for everyone, forgetting that it can be a gift for others to serve me as well. As a Christian I believe that Jesus is my example, and he has so many times when he trusts others to do good work. In the gospels Jesus sends out his 12 disciples to do his work, trusting that they can. This work is not a burden for the 12 to bear, but rather a gift to be able to serve. Sometimes I catch myself trying to do the work of 12, forgetting that when I neglect the help that is available around me, I am also denying those that I love the gift of serving me. How can you let yourself be served by others today?”

“Hey y’all, my name is Iva Lee or Lee for short (whatever floats your boat!) and this is my #TestifyThursday! I’m a freshman at UIC and while I don’t know what I want to study yet, I’m definitely leaning more toward a social science like psychology or sociology. I moved to Lombard, a western suburb of Chicago, nearly 7 years ago now and had only been to the city three or four times in the span of time before coming to UIC so I’m still super excited every day coming into the city. I love adventuring around towns and downtown areas and I’m always willing to try something new and get out of my comfort zone. I have a horribly long list of podcasts that I love and podcasts that I’m sure I will love (don’t @ me, the liturgists podcast is in my queue). Quick plug: my instagram is @scarylee123 and my snapchat is @softlee123 - add me and let’s connect!

My experience with faith in the past, like I’m sure everyone else’s has been at some point, was pretty shaky. Since finding out that I was a lesbian in freshman year and hearing about the hate groups masking their bigotry with religion, I found it hard to continue to trust in my faith. After a few years of some soul-searching and a lot of thinking, I realized that the groups that were using God’s word for their hatred were not conveying the true beauty and unconditionality of Her love. However, even after coming to this realization, I realized that I was still pretty alone in my faith. I didn’t get a lot of support from the family that did know and the church community that I was a part of. Then, at my orientation, I happened to snag a sticker for my laptop that was from the Inclusive Collective; it simply said “Never Perfect and Always Loved” and it was everything I needed in that moment. Then after looking more into the Inclusive Collective, I found that it was the space I was looking for to feel more secure in my exploration of faith and find community that was just like me and would accept me for who I was. My faith journey will never be truly settled within me, but I look forward to exploring it more with a community of like-minded people who I can rely on and be relied on by.”

“Hi everyone, my name is Lily and I am one of the Inclusive Collective interns this year. I’m originally from the Milwaukee area and have been in Chicago for three years now- working, studying and performing improv, building community, and playing music.

At this point, I am just about one year into my journey with the Inclusive Collective. This is wild to me, considering it has felt like a home for such a long time! Looking back in my journals I can see how excited I was to be sitting down, building community, and unpacking so much of my faith throughout the year. Here’s a little thing I wrote a year ago. This is a piece of a poem/ song lyric/ something that reflects where my head was at, I think especially when it came to my faith:

From a young age I was told the world was black and white

But I’ve always danced in color

It’s funny, I usually felt extra ‘messy’ showing up to Inclusive Collective community groups. Having so much to unpack and try to better understand made me stutter and say things like “Does that make sense,” or “You know what I mean?" pretty frequently. My answers to questions in group usually felt like more questions. I still have so many questions, but I think that’s the beauty of faith. There’s so much to discover and unearth about God and God’s character. I see God in music, people, the city, jokes, art- in most things. This is more than enough for me right now.

I especially see God in the Inclusive Collective. The fact that I showed up to group each week feeling unsure and introverted and new and vulnerable, but then I was seen as someone who could lead in this group, is incredible. When I was able to bring my entire self to the table, I developed some of the most authentic relationships of my life.”

“Hi! I’m Violet and I’m a young professional living and working in Chicago. I graduated from UIC in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies. I currently work full time as a legal advocate for domestic violence victims. I’ve been a part of the Inclusive Collective since fall 2016.

I grew up in a non-denominational Christian church and was always very involved in youth groups and eventually a campus ministry in college. Fall of 2016 was a very hard time for me (as I’m sure it was for many others) because my eyes were forced open by some unfortunate events to the truth of the religious communities I was a part of. I suddenly realized that I was not in an environment that was wholly accepting of me. I stumbled across the Inclusive Collective soon after I found myself no longer having spiritual communities. I remember getting coffee with Rich for the first time, and after he explained the IC’s values and beliefs I was genuinely in shock that a community like this existed. I’ve spent my whole life involved in different religious communities and I had NEVER seen a community as beautifully inclusive as this one. I was, and still am, so grateful to find a community that was right for me at the exact moment that I so desperately needed that. I can honestly say that the IC became the first space where I could fully be myself in a way that is not only tolerated, but enthusiastically celebrated!

Growing in community with the IC has been a beautiful, inspiring experience. I love how the IC isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions and dive deeper into spiritual topics. I love that diversity and queerness are celebrated as they should be. I love that the IC intentionally creates safe spaces for everyone and constantly makes an effort to grow and better themselves. Over these past two and a half years I’ve been pushed to grow in my faith and as a person, and I’m so excited to see the IC continue their amazing work and to contribute what I can to this life-changing group of people.”

“I’m Sheena and I’m an aspiring architect. I graduated from the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2016 and I’ll be starting my master’s program at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in August. I currently work at a small architecture firm in the South Loop of Chicago. I was also born and raised in the city.

Growing up I’ve always struggled with feeling like I wasn’t enough. My mom is Puerto Rican and my dad is Filipino so I never felt fully comfortable in either culture or even either side of my family. My dad also left my mother and I when I was three so I felt like I wasn’t enough for him either. At my lowest point I somehow convinced myself that I was a mistake and a huge inconvenience to all of the people in my life. This changed as I learned more about God and their love for me.

Getting to know God has been a wild ride. It’s been a journey of accepting truths in my heart and rejecting lies in my head. It’s been full of compassionate people and communities like the Inclusive Collective. As a fellow artist, I love to think of God as the great creator. My favorite lesson is learning that I am God’s masterpiece. Every part of me is carefully crafted and most definitely not a mistake. God’s love gives me hope, joy and excitement for the future. I can’t wait to learn and share more!“

“My mother is a pastor so I have grown up in the church my whole life. I’ve moved all over Northern Illinois so I never really had a ‘normal’ life. I had to make friends everywhere I went and be the new girl in school. I was bullied from a young age because I was the pastors kid. I tried being like the ‘popular’ kids in school. Wearing their clothes, listening to popular music, etc. But it never felt like me. That was how it was until my senior year of high school. I finally found fun people that accepted me for who I was.

Once I got to college, I felt like I lost myself again. I went to a college in Indiana 5 hours away from home cause I felt like I had to move away from home to a different state to be like my friends. I moved back home after being in a more constricting college for a semester. I didn’t do well in school cause I just didn’t care. I was in more than one toxic relationship over the course of a year. Those relationships shifted my worldview.

I started going to therapy and back to church to find myself again and started my life anew. I began working through the darkness I faced and am still in a healing process of everything I went through. I started attending Northeastern Illinois University in the North Side of Chicago in Fall 2018 semester. I was introduced to the Inclusive Collective through some mutual connections. I realized after the fall retreat that these are my people. It says so in the mission statement. ‘Dreamers. Believers. Weirdos.’

Those words pretty much sum me up. Finding your people is always a journey and it isn’t easy. But to have a group of people that I know have my back and I can always lean on for anything is one of the best feelings in the world. I love fiercely and I love every person in the IC so much! We’re really doing God’s work!”

"Toward the end of 2018, I went through a challenging couple of months: lots of unexpected work travel, *really* late hours, frantically meeting deadlines, constant pressure to perform, and beginning a season of long-distance with my partner. My anxiety was through the roof every day, and I was having a hard time functioning in my non-paid-labor-life. I was dropping the ball on commitments outside of work, and breaking plans with important people in my life. However, where people should have been frustrated with me, I was met with nothing but patience and support. I ran into friends on the CTA who had snacks and hugs to share. Others let me crash on their couches, sob on their shoulders, and made me uplifting playlists.

People, especially folks in the IC, stepped in to take care of me and pick up the balls I dropped in ways that felt really undeserved. It made me so grateful to have a spiritual community who values and loves me NOT based on my performance. I knew this in my head, but this is the most deeply I’ve ever felt and experienced it. I absolutely grieve for those who lack a community (whether it’s family or friends or a faith community or activist community) that grounds them and values them for WHO THEY ARE, not what they can produce or accomplish.

After having gone through this shitty period, I feel renewed passion and energy for BEING that kind of community for others, and I feel 100% more equipped to share with others the same grace, patience, and support I received.”

“I’m Anna & I work as a Behavioral Support Specialist for teenage girls with mental health challenges. I start my Masters of Social Work in January!

I went to a super conservative Christian college for undergrad & when I came to Chicago & heard about the Inclusive Collective, I immediately wanted to get involved! It seemed as it was a chance to finally make community where my whole self would be welcome at the table.

As I’ve deconstructed & reconstructed my faith over the past 10 months, I’ve come to see God in a more loving way. She loves me no matter what I do & no matter who I am. She is compassionate in my bouts of anxiety & depression. Jesus weeps with me when my mental health gets bad & rejoices with me on my good days. God doesn’t see me as broken or crazy because of my mental health but She sees me as Beloved.

It’s been a journey to find God again as I’ve come out as queer but I’m thankful that She continues to whisper to me “I made you exactly as you are & I love you. You are always welcome at the table.” I’m thankful for the journey & I’m excited to see where God continues to take me as I learn to walk alongside Her the way I want to.”

“I’m Damon, I am a marketing and finance major at UIC graduating next May.

I have had trouble loving myself my entire life. Most of the validation I’ve gotten just doesn’t ring true to me, and I’m often dogged with negative thoughts. Becoming a Christian and seeking God has not cured me of this, and it likely won’t in the future. But it does give me some good days where there weren’t before.

My favorite thing about God is that their love is unconditional. Which is a word we throw around a lot, but don’t think about. It’s comforting to know that God’s love is constant. Whether I do poorly or well, whether I’m a good or bad person, whether I have absolute doubt or absolute faith, God’s love is constant. I’ve always wanted to feel that way about myself, and what’s gotten me closer to there is knowing that God feels that way about me.”

“Hi everyone! My name is Hannah King and I am a senior at UIC studying kinesiology (body movement stuff). I am from Champaign-Urbana and moved up to Chicago last fall. Loving it here!! I first found the Inclusive Collection this past spring at the winter involvement fair, and I am blessed to have found such a wonderful spiritual community! I grew up in the church with my family, but in the past few years we have gone through changes and split apart so I lost that strong family in Christ we were a part of. I knew I wanted to find my people again because I know how good it feels to nurture the soul and I wanted to support my relationship with God. I went to my first community group and have been every week since.

The inclusiveness that is our namesake lays down a blessed platform upon which we get to openly share and just be. I have so much fun meeting all the different people in our group and sharing good times! The IC has encouraged growing a personal relationship with God and it has given me the opportunity to grow a new family in Christ.”