2026
Join us in Chicago.
Inhabit is an annual gathering for people learning how to be the Church in their neighborhoods, together. Hosted by the Parish Collective, Inhabit brings people from across the country to gather in one place, return year after year, and practice faith rooted in real neighborhoods.
If you’re longing for a grounded, hopeful space to listen, learn, and stay → this may be for you.
What You’ll Walk Away With
People don’t leave Inhabit with a blueprint and exact answers.
What people do find themselves carrying home is:
A renewed sense of hope for their place
Language for what they’re already sensing
Practices they can try and adapt
New relationships that continue beyond the gathering
Courage to stay rooted where they are
A deeper trust in what God is already doing nearby
What a Day at Inhabit Feels Like
Across two days, we gather to listen, pray, learn, eat, walk, sing, and respond together. The rhythms are intentional.
Unhurried arrivals with good coffee and space to settle in
Common sessions that weave together teaching, storytelling, worship, and embodied practices
Time to metabolize what we’re hearing: through prayer, movement, music, and silence
Stories from the ground, rooted in real neighborhoods and lived experience
A typical day includes:
Parish pilgrimages that take us into local communities to listen and learn in place
Shared meals that become spaces for conversation, storytelling, and rest
Workshops that are participatory, practical, and shaped by shared questions
Moments of sending, grounding us again in our own neighborhoods and contexts
Throughout the gathering, we return again and again to the soil beneath our feet, paying attention to place, honoring difference, and trusting that God is already at work before we arrive.
Who Inhabit Is For (and Isn’t)
This is for you if:
You’re a little tired of abstract church talk
You care deeply about the neighborhood you’re part of
You’re asking honest questions
You’re looking for companions, not formulas
You’re still hopeful about the Church, but could use a reminder you’re not alone
This might not be for you if:
You’re mainly looking for a growth strategy
You’re drawn to big stages and big names
You prefer clear answers over shared practice
You’d rather sit back and observe than participate
Practice · Presence · Place
At Inhabit, we discern together how God is calling us to be the Church in our neighborhoods through three shared commitments
Practice
We equip one another through stories, prayer, shared learning, and embodied experiences you can carry home. We trust that everyone brings a gift worth sharing, and that we learn best when we learn together.
Presence
We gather across difference to experience a taste of the Beloved Community, being together in ways that are honest, relational, and deeply human. It isn’t always simple or tidy, but it is rooted in patience, curiosity, and a shared commitment to stay at the table.
Place
We renew imagination for God’s dreams in our neighborhoods by paying attention to particular places and honoring unique contexts. Spending time in a new place often gives us fresh eyes for the familiar neighborhoods we call home.
Why Chicago? Why Lawndale?
Why Chicago? Why Lawndale? Inhabit returns to the same neighborhood this year because place matters. Staying put is part of the practice.
Lawndale is an incredible place, and a generous teacher. It is a neighborhood shaped by deep faith, resilience, creativity, and care. It carries stories of struggle and renewal, grief and joy, long-term commitment and daily hope. Lawndale reminds us that God’s work is not abstract but it is rooted in real streets, real people, and real histories.
By gathering here again, we learn to listen longer and notice more. We resist the urge to extract ideas without relationship, choosing instead to pay attention, receive what is offered, and honor the wisdom already present.
Lawndale can help us learn how to see our own neighborhoods with greater humility, patience, and love, not as a place to replicate, but as one example of what faithfulness can look like in a particular place.
GOT A QUESTION
Frequently Asked Questions
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Nope. People come from a wide range of backgrounds: pastors, lay leaders, organizers, artists, neighbors, and practitioners from many traditions. What connects them is a shared commitment to place, practice, and staying rooted.
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That’s okay! We know lots of people who came by themselves but left with new relationships and a sense of belonging. In fact, Parish Collective staff member, Lauren, bravely attended her first Inhabit by herself. Now, 8 years later she’s on our staff team!
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Parish Collective is a Christ-following, ecumenical network bringing people together across difference and distance. Our shared center is learning to be the Church in our unique neighborhoods. We don’t agree on everything, but we are committed to love, mutual respect, and paying particular attention to voices at the margins of our differences.
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Yes and no. There are common sessions and workshops, but Inhabit is designed as a communal gathering with many voices sharing wisdom and experiences. Many of the most meaningful moments come through shared conversation, storytelling, and embodied practice, not just from the front of the room.
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Curiosity, openness, and comfortable shoes.
Join Us
Inhabit is held annually in Chicago and serves as a gathering point for a growing movement of people committed to being the Church in their neighborhoods.
If this resonates, we’d love to gather with you.
