Urban Current

by Charles Lyons A gritty Chicago neighborhood ignored the birth of a Sunday school in 1877. Sara Dunn Clarke and her husband, Colonel George Clarke, were determined to reach the rejects of the area and […]

by Charles Lyons Abraham! Isn’t he the guy that lived in a tent, the Bedouin always on the hunt for the best grass or pasture? We generally don’t think of Abraham as urban. The fact […]

by Charles Lyons I stared at the page a long time. I stared in disbelief. I was holding a major Christian magazine (not the Tribune — I said major, not the best). I was looking […]

by Charles Lyons I would want Keith Gillming as my shepherd if I was a sheep without a flock. Don’t think his friendly, easy-going manner is all there is. He’s a man of passionate love […]

by Charles Lyons The creak of the ox cart in Thessalonica. The scream of the traffic cop’s whistle in New Orleans. The call of the shopkeeper hawking merchandise in Corinth’s bustling market. The conductor’s baton […]

by Charles Lyons Steps away from the floor where Michael Jordan led the Bulls to multiple championships, 300 leaders from across Chicago gathered at the United Center meeting room. Mayor’s office reps, Chicago Police brass, […]

by Charles Lyons I’ll never forget when Lydia got mugged. “He hit me in the head and grabbed my purse,” she said. In the language of Lydia, “head” has two syllables. I could have pounded […]

By Charles Lyons The untimely pregnancy sets tongues a wagging in this Palestinian vil­lage. A young maiden’s betrothed does the socially improper, politically incorrect, religiously unacceptable thing; he stays true to his fiancée. On top […]

By Charles Lyons The fishy smell of the sea. The sailor’s curse. The creak of rigging. We disembark. Wending our way through milling crowds, mounds of fish, bales of goods, and stepping over non-descript slime, […]

By Charles Lyons Tehran. 1978. My father was down a side street, looking to buy a gift for my mother. He discovered the shop keeper had a limited, heavily accented English vocabulary. “Where you from?” […]