My husband and I love First Free, I have been attending since I was single back in 2003. I had…read morevisited quite a bit even prior to that when I was in college. The people are real, that is one thing that stood out to my husband. It is a diverse group of people, the arts and music are good. For me Pastor Bill is real, humble and not just someone up on the stage. I have always found First Free to be a safe place. I appreciate the ways they reach out to all of the community.

Well, I hate giving a church anything less than a 4 or 5 star rating, but I have some personal…read moreobservations that are very important to me that keep me from rating this church any higher. My one really big concern is one that I'm sure some will find equally important and some will dismiss as a non issue. First I'll start out with a minor observation that although it's not very important to me others may find it fairly important so I'll mention it. What I'm referring to is a pretty lukewarm welcome. There was a nice young lady at the door when I entered the church and a couple men just inside the entryway who smiled and said hi and that was the only welcome I received from anybody. Personally I don't go to church to make friends and am there almost exclusively to hear the Word of God through the sermon that the Pastor preaches. For other people who do want a warm welcome when they visit a church this may be an area that this church wants to consider making some changes to accommodate those peoples feelings. Now on to the reason I don't feel I can rate this church any higher. When I visited a few weeks ago the Pastor was preaching on family and at one point he read a verse from the Bible that stated along the general line that if a person divorces and remarries they are committing adultery. At that point he did acknowledge that yes that verse is an uncomfortable one for many people within the church and then he quickly moved on to other points. I'm not coming at this point from a holier than thou attitude since I am divorced and I'm sure if he'd have expanded on the subject I'm sure I'd have been kind of uncomfortable and squirming in my seat some, but hey I'm there to hear the Word of God not what I necessarily want to hear so I couldn't have complained if he had discussed this verse that could affect so many people, myself included. My problem is I honestly believe the churches of our society are almost becoming more like social clubs instead of places we go to hear the Word of God preached. Nowdays pastors seem to want to preach the parts of the Bible that give their congregation those nice warm fuzzy feelings, but won't take a stand and preach on the parts of the Bible that make their congregations really think about where they may really need to adjust their beliefs or actions. I do believe it is appropriate to preach those warm fuzzy parts of the Bible, but I also believe that ALL of God's word needs to be preached even if it makes the people in the congregation or the preacher feel uncomfortable. Maybe this was just a one time thing, but to me it really reminded me of so many other modern churches who are unwilling to preach about sin since people don't like to hear that. Hopefully I'm wrong in my assessment of this church, but this is my honest feelings on this church. I think a person could do worse than attending this church, but I can't help wondering if maybe this is just another "social club" like so many of our other churches. I honestly hope my impression of this church is wrong and I wish them well, I just don't feel that I'll be returning.

Personal growth and development has long been a source of interest for me. I place a high value on…read moreself-improvement and have explored several different strategies to make shifts in my life that result in closer and more loving relationships, enhanced personal happiness and releasing pain from my past. While I have experience with many modalities (e.g., talk therapy, al-anon, self-help books, group coaching, acupuncture and other energy work), I have found Shweta's work to be the most effective. I always seem to feel lighter, clearer and generally better immediately following our sessions, whereas other work has often left me feeling drained and confused about what was next. Shweta is a perpetual learner, she attends regular trainings and is always adding modalities to her already vast set of skills, which gives her the ability to address client's personal needs in a very unique and customized way. I've been blessed to develop a personal relationship with Shweta, and have learned over time that her skills go well beyond her certifications. She is a real intuitive with an innate ability to tap into exactly what's going on. Her work is nothing short of miraculous. In my very first session with Shweta, she was able to assist me in removing several destructive and deeply held beliefs/blocks that I had been otherwise working on for years. I have subsequently continued my work with Shweta because I believe she is an integral part of my personal development journey.

Shweta was pivotal in helping me through a very difficult time in my life dealing with loss and the…read moreunexpected. She taught me how to center myself back in my body and calm the anxieties in both personal and professional arenas. I was also appreciative that the varied techniques she uses are deal with larger energies other than the "story". I appreciate her educated, professional stature as well as the knowledge and tools she applies. Also, a very calm space of non-judgment and very intuitive to the energies and the different modalities to best apply. I encourage any other professional looking to make better use of their day and lives to work with Shweta. Tony

On New Year's Eve in either 1962 or 1963, on the verge of suicide, my grandmother took her final…read moredrink. She was not even forty years old and had been addicted to alcohol since she was a kid. Alcoholics Anonymous members will say that a higher power intervenes when it's time to quit. My grandmother got her moment of clarity and began attending AA meetings at the Mustard Seed. She was one of their earliest members and kept going until Parkinson's Disease make her too unstable to continue (at this point she was only in her early 50s). But she got her life back. It's changed locations several times, but it continues to serve thousands of recovered addicts.

Thank you Ellen M. I may have known your Grandmother I was an attender in the Jimmy Hodges days,…read morethe place has a wonderful magnetism I remember when it was @ the Fire house on Wells st. Matt J sobernsaved ODAT March 19th 88 Thank you so much for posting

Hazelden helped me rebuild a life beyond anything I could have imagined. I'm still sober, nearly 7…read moreyears later, and my relationships, career, and health have been completely transformed...and it all began at Hazelden. It's an amazing place.

As an addiction specialist and a former client, I 100 percent recommend the out patient services of…read moreHazelden Betty Ford in Streeterville. The location is a nice but large town home directly adjacent to Newberry Park & The staff first rate. They were a key part in my decision to devote my professional life to addiction counseling. I also recommend their hosted AA groups for added recovery support.