Art. Music. Poetry. Theatre. Nearly every city has its own unique outlets and opportunities within the vast world of creativity and expression, but I personally believe Chicago does it better than most. Poetry anchored the Casa Romero community multiple times throughout this month of love. Many of us went to support Levi as they hosted an open-mic night at an eclectic, inviting venue. Levi concluded the event with half an hour of reading their own work in a captivating and personal way that left us all beaming during our commute home. For our spirituality night, the house attended a reading and conversation with featured authorRead More →

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Around this time of year, most people find it fairly easy to slip into the so called “January blues.” The holidays are over, vacation time has run out, and all of the excitement of the New Year has subsided by now. For many parts of the country – definitely here in Chicago – the days are cold and darkness comes far too quickly each night. In addition to the settling back into the regular grind, this time can often be a fairly lonely one. I know many of us in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps community likely have made voyages home over the last few monthsRead More →

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Greetings from Casa Romero!! It’s almost time for our first Fall Retreat and last but not least, turkey day! However, we must always remember to give thanks for the things we have everyday and not just on Thanksgiving Day. As we are fresh and adjusting to the LVC life, we have expressed moments of gratitude to one another while embracing the challenges we face as a house. We are still going through the journey of finding ways to appreciate everything and give back to the community we live in, while building a strong foundation in our community in the Casa Romero House. As we embarkRead More →

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Before sitting down to write this blog post, one of my housemates pointed out that we were approaching our third month of being in LVC. I feel like while adjusting to the many transitions within the program, the days can feel long but the weeks blow by. To offer a glimpse at what Casa Romero in Chicago has been up to lately, I figured I’d follow Bex Klafter’s (Redeemer House) lead and provide a day in the life at my placement. My name is Levi Todd (photo above, 3rd from left) and I’m placed with Namarig Kram (photo above, right, front), another LVC volunteer, atRead More →

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Greetings from our casa to yours! My name is Jamie and I’m one of the six LVCers living in Chicago in Casa Óscar Romero. My fellow housemates are Bre, Namarig, Levi, Weber, and Liam. We have had a great first few weeks together so far! Our house is located in the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago, and our placement organizations are located all throughout the Chicagoland area. My placement is at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Churchwide office near O’Hare. I am the assistant for the ELCA’s Justice for Women program. I absolutely love my placement and can’t wait for the upcoming months ahead.Read More →

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