Christmas connections

I seem to be in a bit of a networking slump. I've mentioned in previous posts that networking and making contacts is the lifeblood of starting a new church. I had great success in October. November was also pretty good until about the middle of the month and then things started to slow down, meaning not as many people were returning phone calls or e-mails. I've learned pretty quickly that there are times of bounty and times of scarcity when it comes to this kind of thing, but obviously times of scarcity are harder to deal with.

I've been more intentional, then, about going to events that community organizations put together. Last night, for example, the Greater South Loop Association had its holiday party and tomorrow night, the South Loop Neighbors organization will have its holiday and I went to and will go to both of these. I think the thing that makes this a bit more challenging is that Christmas is often a time to reconnect with those closest to you. It's the time we send out the letters and go to parties with friends, but here I am still trying to build relationships, meet new people. That's an ongoing process that, for the most part, I really enjoy, but it can get discouraging.

I participated in a hard-core networking task last Sunday as I stood outside the Target on Roosevelt Road handing out candy canes tied to cards that publicize our next worship service (this Sunday night, 7 p.m., 637 S. Dearborn). That was a pretty cold experience, in more ways than one. First, it was literally pretty chilly and, second, I was a bit surprised that only about a third of the people actually accepted these candy canes. Many were very polite about it ("No, thank you"), but, still, I left with quite a few candy canes in my bag. I'll be going out to L stops today, tomorrow, and Thursday to do the same thing. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm doing any good by doing this. I think I am (I should say we are because others from our church are doing this, too). I sometimes run my mouth off about leaving the church building and hitting the streets but I need to recognize that it's not always easy. In the midst of all of this, though, God is with me and us. The birth of Jesus tells me so.