Reverend Robert Thompson, senior minister at Lake Street Church, will give his final sermon there on Oct. 31, leaving after a 30-year career. During his tenure, an overnight prayer vigil that allowed homeless persons to participate developed into an overnight shelter for the homeless, finally becoming Connections for the Homeless.
This (at times) mostly white church, formerly called First Baptist Church, also held a “reconciliation” with Second Baptist Church, a mostly African-American congregation a few blocks away.
Rev. Thompson served as president of the Parliament of World Religions and has been a leader in the interfaith movement. A party is planned for Rev. Thompson in the church’s gymnasium on Oct. 30, and there will be a reception for him after the Oct. 31 service. Reverend David Van Heyningen of Seattle will serve as interim minister.