this world

So every sunday night and sometimes monday afternoon we gave a prayer tour of the city of chicago. We either went around the north side or the south side and showed groups the city- both the rich and the poor, the problems, the ministries and churches, the people... Students really got a chance to learn about the dynamics of Chicago and what really goes on in the city beyond Michigan Ave. shopping and the view from the Sears tower. The most powerful part of the prayer tour for me was the end of the South-side prayer tour. We go past a lot of the projects on the south side prayer tour and hear a lot about the problems of homelessness and segregation and other issues, but we end the prayer tour by traveling up Michigan Ave. and pointing out the disparity between the rich and the poor in the city. It is amazing how much disgust you feel towards Michigan Ave. after seeing the "rest" of the city and how people really live in Chicago. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford one of the 1.5 million dollar condo's of the "Gold Coast" or a $2000 handbag from Gucci on MI Ave. After driving over the Chicago River bridge, we play the students a song and let them reflect on what they've seen on the prayer tour. The lyrics are below, but if you haven't ever heard "This World" by Caedemon's Call, you should get ahold of a copy:

There's tarnish on the golden rule
And I wanna jump from this ship of fools
Show me a place where hope is young
And a people who aren't afraid to love

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could want and nothing that I need

This world is making me drunk on the spirits of fear.
So when he says who will go, I am nowhere near.

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could want and nothing that I need

And the least of these look like criminals to me So I leave Christ on the street

This world has held my hand and has led me into intolerance
But now I'm waking up, but now I'm breaking up
But now I'm making up for lost time

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could want and nothing that I need