There’s a conference I keep coming back to, and this year I want to invite you to come with me.
On May 1–2, 2026, Parish Collective is hosting their annual Inhabit Conference at Lawndale Community Church in Chicago, IL — and I think you should be there.
This year’s theme is Sacred Ground, centered on seeking God’s renewal in us for the sake of our neighborhoods. The conviction driving it is simple and profound: God created the world with rhythms for renewal, and our places — real streets, real people, real histories — teach us how to join God’s work of resurrection right where we are.
I’ve been shaped by this community’s vision of what it means to be the Church not just in a neighborhood, but of it. Inhabit is more than a conference — it’s the heart of a movement that connects people to be the Church in their neighborhoods for the flourishing of everyone and everything.
Why I’m especially excited this year:
This year’s gathering will feature guest speakers Dr. Willie James Jennings and Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra, alongside voices and stories from neighborhoods across the country. If you know Dr. Jennings’ work — his writing on race, place, belonging, and what it means for the Church to be genuinely rooted in its community — you know this is a rare and meaningful opportunity to hear him in a setting like this. His theological imagination fits this gathering like a glove.
What you’ll actually do there:
To love God, neighbor, and neighborhood, attendees will embody practices together that help us pay attention, receive what is already present, and align ourselves with God’s resurrection story.
One of my favorite parts of Inhabit is the parish pilgrimages. These are simple, intentional neighborhood walks guided by locals who live, move, and have their being in the Chicago neighborhoods you visit Parish Collective — and they have a way of giving you fresh eyes not just for Chicago, but for your own neighborhood when you get home.
Original liturgy, poetry, interactive art, and music also play a vital role in the way the community gathers at Inhabit — animating imagination, giving voice to theological hopes, and helping shape faithful action.
Come with me.
I’ll be honest: the world feels heavy right now, and the temptation is to either retreat or to thrash about trying to fix everything at once. Inhabit always does something different for me. It slows me down, roots me back in my particular place, and connects me to a broader community of people who believe that showing up faithfully in their own neighborhoods is the strategy.
I’d love to go together. Reach out if you’re interested, and let’s make the trip to Chicago.
You can learn more and register at parishcollective.org/inhabit2026.
Peace, dwight
