Loving Your Neighbors

Loving Your Neighbors

Barb Chidley is the Neighborhood Specialist for the City of Rockford. A Dixon native, she taught English at Auburn High School for six years before moving to her current role. In a recent conversation at her office in City Hall, Barb talked about creative ways to meet...
‘We can be very real’

‘We can be very real’

The Sunday that Kaylin Carlson led the worship song Rattle at Rockford Rescue Mission, she knew she was in the right place. Kaylin is part of a team of volunteers that lead worship at the Rescue Mission, one of two offsite venues for First Free’s Sunday worship...
‘Why do we live here?’

‘Why do we live here?’

Early in my post-college life, I experienced a season of intense depression and anxiety. Something I found helpful during that time was acknowledging how my emotions were tied to my surroundings and circumstances. It’s not wrong to not want to feel depressed or...
Defeat cabin fever

Defeat cabin fever

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” Rogers Hornsby, Hall of Fame baseball player All due respect to Mr. Hornsby, but that’s no way to spend Rockford’s long...
Jeremiah Fund benefits Spring Creek School

Jeremiah Fund benefits Spring Creek School

Kids at Spring Creek Elementary School will learn some Hebrew, thanks to a Jeremiah Fund grant from First Free Rockford. Wait, what? OK, it’s just one Hebrew term: gaga, which means “touch-touch.” The $750 grant from First Free will help the school’s Parent...