Iglesia Amor de Dios UMC

Founded in 1895 after the Czech reformer “Jana Husi,” later adopting the Anglicized name of “John Huss United Methodist Church”, Amor De Dios, as it calls itself now, has withstood the test of time in the city, surviving a shift in demographics that now places it in the heart of Mexican Chicago.

Little Village is the youngest community in the city and one of the most densely populated neighborhoods. Multi-generational, the community remains culturally cohesive because it shares a fairly recent root to central Mexico and its values. At the same time, it struggles with one of the highest rates of violence and a steady incidence of unemployment and underemployment.

Very humble itself, Amor De Dios has a strong core of church members that make it their ministry to somehow respond to the crisis that affects their community. Every Thursday a group of dedicated volunteers help to feed many local families. Pastor Ramiro Rodriguez drives an old box truck to the Greater Chicago Food Depository up to 3 times the same day to bring fresh bread, protein, dairy, produce, canned goods and much more to distribute. Often times the food bank will supply their own deliveries to the church’s front step. Pallets of food will fill the entire garden level and spill out to the parking lot, and usually everything will go, serving 400 families in just a few hours.

Local hunger is Amor De Dios’ most pressing concern. The congregation understands that for a person to be spiritually rich, he or she must first address their physiological needs. The pastor also understands that giving food is not quite sustainable. While the church cannot give out jobs, it grows its own organic garden and teaches the community to grow their own food where they can find a parcel of dirt. From corn to garlic to chiles, the church sows what the people like to eat, encourages them to grow and harvest, then to repeat the process at home. In the garden there are also rabbits and dozens of roosters and chickens, which the children particularly like to feed and play with.

A cement court between the church and “Jardin Amor de Dios” is a free zone for kids in the block to play basketball, volleyball and tennis. Other programs like Zumba, boxing and martial arts for kids, and a clothes-and-furniture thrift shop are also some of Amor De Dios’ efforts to reach families in Little Village.