Member Congregation Spotlight: Kenwood UCC
The Church That Gives a Damn
How Kenwood United Church of Christ embodies faith, justice, and radical service in Chicago
On a quiet stretch of Greenwood Avenue in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood stands a church that doesn’t just preach the gospel—it lives it, feeds it, bathes it, and organizes it into the bones of the city.
Kenwood United Church of Christ is the kind of institution that forces you to ask different questions. Instead of asking, “How big is your Sunday service?” or “What’s your building’s capacity?” they pose, “What kind of wounds are you willing to bear for the world you believe in?” Rev. Jamar A. Boyd II, who took up the mantle of senior pastor in November 2022, doesn’t mince words. “Without a justice-centered faith that sees the image of God in all, respects the lived experiences of others, and affirms the dignity of one’s humanity,” he says, “we fail to meet the essential commandments of Christ.”
That conviction isn’t theoretical. It manifests every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning in the clatter of pans and the murmur of conversations in the Kenwood Soup Kitchen, where the hungry are fed, the unhoused can shower, and all are seen. It pulses in the Norma Jean Sanders Free Clinic, where anyone—regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation—can receive care without question. And it moves through the church’s partnerships with organizations like the Chicago Center for Urban Life, Rainbow PUSH, and the Ellis Lakeview Tenants Association.
Kenwood’s ministry is a confluence of public theology and practical support. This fall, their virtual Bible study series, “Black August,” will convene faith-rooted justice leaders like Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and Rev. Dr. Eric Gil for a monthlong exploration of liberation, economy, and equity. The platform is digital; the stakes are real.
It’s this kind of commitment that has tied Kenwood to the work of Community Renewal Society for more than three decades. Whether it’s police accountability, reparations, LGBTQIA+ equity, or healing justice, Kenwood doesn’t pick and choose—they show up for all of it. As Rev. Boyd explains, “Our faith reminds us we are a church that sees the hope of God embodied through our commitment to faith, life, and service.”
This year, they’re leaning into a vision grounded in Isaiah 43:19— “Beholding the new in our service to Christ.” It’s both a spiritual theme and a strategic direction: an openness to innovation and renewal in a church preparing to celebrate its 140th anniversary. Campaign 140, their bold fundraising initiative, is halfway to its $140,000 goal to ensure the historic structure continues to house not just worship, but justice.
One recent example? In April, the church hosted the Cook County 3rd District Town Hall: Health is Wealth, in partnership with Commissioner Bill Lowry. The event spotlighted free county health resources, including cancer screenings and behavioral health services.
Of course, all this work requires hands. Volunteers with social services or medical training are welcome to join the effort. Donations, too, are a critical lifeline. But what Rev. Boyd seems to be asking for most is not just time or treasure—it’s attention. Empathy. Care.
“Within human chaos is the opportunity to engage Divine creativity through intentional collective resistance,” he writes in an article titled The Lost Art of Giving a Damn. It’s a manifesto more than a reflection. A reminder that the church isn’t a building—it’s a body. And that body is bruised, hungry, healing, and holy.
So if you walk by 4600 South Greenwood and wonder what kind of church this is, don’t look to the stained glass for your answer. Look to the open doors. The steamy kitchens. The healing hands. The room full of people who still—defiantly, radically—give a damn.
Written by Chris Groza
Communications Coordinator