Our Beginnings
In 2009, Norwood Park Presbyterian Church and St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church merged to create Friendship Presbyterian Church. Our legacy congregations wanted to create a community that would welcome all of our neighbors on the northwest side of Chicago and beyond, and for many years we faithfully did just that at the old Norwood Park Metra Station. Worshipping for seven years at the train station, we wove ourselves into the fabric of the northwest side of Chicago. Partnering with the Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce, we shared our space hosting community events. We hosted concerts, met for “God Talk on Tap” in neighboring bars, supported the formation of both the Neighbors for Affordable Housing and the Northwest Side Coalition Against Racism and Hate, and more!
A Congregation On the Move
Change came calling and we answered with some big moves.
In 2018, our city was rocked when CPD officer Jason Van Dyke was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 7 years in prison for the murder of Laquan McDonald. Five days after the verdict, Friendship and the NWS Coalition joined in vigils all over Chicago; we hosted one in the train station. As our community grieved with the family, and called for more police accountability and systemic changes in the criminal justice system, we were met by pro-police protestors. Within a month after hosting the vigil, the Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce notified us that our lease at the train station was being terminated so that they could turn it into a one-off rental space. Change called and we answered with some big moves.
In the time between leaving the train station and the pandemic, we worshipped at The Gift Theatre in Jefferson Park. During this period, we fiercely advocated for an affordable housing structure that was proposed by developer Full Circle Communities at 5150 N Northwest HWY. While working with our neighbors to get this building approved, former alderperson of the 45th ward, John Arena, put us in touch with the folks at Full Circle. Full Circle was looking for an organization to rent the commercial space that was to be included on the ground floor of this new building, and Friendship was looking for a permanent home.
After careful consideration, Friendship decided this was an opportunity that was not to be missed. We signed on to be the tenants of the commercial space and waited for the project to break ground!
The Zoom Times
Once the pandemic hit in 2020, Friendship went fully online. Around the same time, construction had begun on 5150 N Northwest HWY. When the building finished in spring of 2022, our congregation felt it was safe to return to in person gatherings, and we hit the ground running!
The pandemic showed us the value of offering hybrid programming, meaning folks can join us online and in person for worship and a lot of our other programming. This has allowed congregants who have moved out of Chicago to still play vital roles in our community, and it’s allowed for folks out of state to discover us and join us from afar!
A screenshot from our Zoom Christmas pageant in 2020!
Today at Friendship
We launched our first Worship Service at 5150 on Easter Sunday with a sneak peek and blessing of our new space in 2022 and since then have been worshiping, building community and providing meals, resources and community events in collaboration with our community partners and neighbors.
Perhaps the most exciting part of our space at 5150 is our commercial shared kitchen! Through the kitchen, we do what Friendship has always done best: feed people! Food ministry has been a part of our DNA from our early days. Whether we were partnering with The Night Ministry for their Crib and Bus programs or hosting potlucks at the train station, keeping people fed has always been a part of our mission.
In an effort to feed even more people and expand our programming, we launched our nonprofit, Friendship Community Place when we moved into 5150. Through our work with FCP, we have built a community based “Kitchen Krewe” that plans menus, takes turns as chefs, kitchen managers, servers and dishwashers each week in order to serve hundreds of meals to the residents of 5150 and the wider Northwest Side community.