WORSHIPPING MILLENNIAL STYLE - IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE USED TO
"Some of the new more popular churches contain coffee bars, photo booths and gift shops selling Etsy-like accessories that have nothing to do with
religion."
When she was younger, Gina Fiorito, 32, went to church six days a week. She grew up in a small, conservative, traditional town in Delaware where drinking, dancing and watching television were verboten. "It was Jesus and country 100 percent," Fiorito says.
But when Fiorito turned 17, she was done. That is, until 2015, when she was living in Oak Park and discovered a new way of celebrating religion.
At Free Church in
the western suburb, congregants meet at a theater. A message on the church's website reads: "Best summer ever." Services are limited to 70 minutes, the music is contemporary and social justice is the pinnacle upon which the church is based. There are dozens of small groups within the church, and few of those involve Bible studies. Rather, there's a Young Families group, a Saturday Morning Brunch With Kids group, a Running Group and more.
For Fiorito, finding this nonconventional
church was almost like a rebirth. "It felt like a judgment-free zone, where I never felt the need to censor myself," she says. "Walking in the door, I felt comfortable: They had a social media presence, and everything was in pursuit of the idea that the church is for everyone...READ MORE
