An Oak Lawn church is moving forward with a new name and a new focus on interacting with the community.
The Oak Lawn Church of the Nazarene church, at 91st Street and Ridgeland Avenue, is changing its name to Ridgeland Church.
In May, the church also will open a community café with free coffee and free Wi-Fi and begin hosting a farmers market on Saturdays.
“The mission of our church is to love our neighborhoods,” said Faith Miller, the church’s community engagement director. “We want to meet the people in our neighborhoods and get to know their stories.”
Members live in Burbank, Bridgeview, Alsip and other towns, as well as in Oak Lawn, Miller said.
The Ridgeland Café, with between five and 10 tables inside the church, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, starting May 2. Free coffee or tea “with a social justice kickback,” purchased through the fair trade cooperative Equal Exchange, will be available, Miller said.
The café can be a gathering place for friends or a business meeting, or for someone who is working remotely or just relaxing, she said.
“We want to open our space up to the community,” Miller said.
Church leaders also have decided to host a weekly farmers market in their parking lot, from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays from May 7 to Sept. 24.
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Six Generations Farm, based in Barrington, will be the anchor vendor. Miller is seeking other food producers for the market. Home bakeries, a florist and designers of children clothes and jewelry have applied to be in the market, she said.
Oak Lawn decided not to run its Wednesday farmers market this year, because of the difficulty in finding enough farmers selling fresh fruits and vegetables to participate.
Miller and the church’s pastor, Jared Richey, said they planned to host a farmers market even before the village announced it would not have one this summer.
The market will include children’s activities and clubs designed to encourage healthy eating.
The church is already home to the Oak Lawn Day Nursery and Early Childhood Academy.
Although Oak Lawn Church of the Nazarene has been in the village since 1965, the congregation is small with only about 50 people attending Sunday services regularly, church officials said.
For more information about the church and its programs, go to ridgeland.church.
Kimberly Fornek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.