Gospel Fest

What: Chicago Gospel Music Festival
Where: Millennium Park (Loop)
How Much: Free!
How to get there: Red line to Monroe

"Say, Thank you, Jesus for the CTA!" These were the first words I heard at the Gospel Music Festival. And it only got better from there. Prior to entering the first tent, I was handed a flyer by someone from the Church of God. If you can figure out what denomination these people are, please let me know because I don't get it. They look Amish but appear to believe in Calvinism. In any case, they handed me a flyer and I walked away, so it wasn't that bad.

The day could have gone badly, as it began with showers that threatened to last the whole day. In the hour it took to get downtown, however, the clouds parted and there was sun in Chicago. Bart and I arrived at the festival just after opening so the crowd was scarce. This didn't stop the infectious energy of the crowd who were there. We visited the youth choir tent first.
That is the St. James Ministries Youth Choir and they were awesome. If I were ever going to join a church (and if you know me you know the chances are slim) I would join a Southern Baptist church. the ENERGY! The pure JOY that these singers feel while they praise the Lord is truly inspiring to me. I feel passionately about a lot of things, but I can't say that my passion comes anywhere close to the absolute devotion some of these people feel, and the ecstasy it brings them to express it.

Then it was over to the main stage.
Again, scarce crowd but plenty of energy.
The singers were practicing for the first act, which didn't begin until 4 pm.
.
The main stage and the second tent had adult acts. In the second tent, the Day Stage, I saw "Mind over Matter," a group of five very talented young men. Again, it was the energy of the crowd and the passion of the singers that really won me over. In this tent, I learned that people were "put on the earth to worship". I'm not even going to get into the logistics of that one.


These are views of the table set ups around the Bean for hungry fair-goers. Also, the Art Institute Lions have Blackhawks helmets on. I'm so glad the city is using its money to help people in need and not spending it frivolously on unnecessary accessories. Awesome.

I also hit the Do Division St. Festival today, more on that later as I really need to eat some dinner.