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Urban Current

Serving a traumatized community

by Charles Lyons Hurricane Sandy. The Newtown school shooting. The West, TX, fertilizer plant explosion. The Boston Marathon bombing. Whether it’s a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or tragedy in a small town, a community can […]

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Urban Current

Out my window

by Charles Lyons “Out my window” sounds funny when you stop and listen to the phrase. Is it correct? Sounds all wrong grammatically. I’m missing a preposition. Should it be “Out of my window?” “Out […]

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Urban Current

The death of death

by Charles Lyons Six-feet-plus with a football player’s build. Half black, half Polish. For years I assumed he was Puerto Rican. I wish you could meet Richard.* When our church moved into the hulking former […]

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Urban Current

A great read for a great need

by Charles Lyons David Claerbaut is a true city dude. He has lived and ministered as a Chicago resident over a number of decades. His involvement in a number of ministries is cou­pled with being […]

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Urban Current

O Jerusalem

by Charles Lyons  “The history of Jerusalem is the his­tory of the world, but it is also the chronicle of an often penurious, provincial town amid the Judean hills. Jeru­salem was once regarded as the […]

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Urban Current

You live in an urbanized world

by Charles Lyons You can run but you can’t hide. These are the words I used in my first “Urban Current” in February 2005. I told of sitting in an outdoor café in Kyrgyzstan with […]

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Urban Current

Nothing new

by Charles Lyons Urban ministry is no contemporary phenomenon. From the first centu­ry through the Middle Ages, during and following The Industrial Revolution right into modern times, urban congregations have engaged in great exploits for […]

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Urban Current

A tale of two mayors

by Charles Lyons It was the worst of times, it was the worsen­ing of times. “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston,” May­or Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald on Thursday, July 19. “You can’t have a […]