What do I have in common with the guy in this video? Well, I, too, am a Guinness World Record holder!
A little over a year ago, I was in the final stretch of an unforgettable challenge: visiting more places of worship in one month than anyone had before. By the time the month wrapped up, I had hit an incredible 185 places, all within the city of Chicago.
A Whirlwind Week
The 3rd week of my adventure was a real whirlwind, but it also captured exactly why this project meant so much to me. In just a few days, I experienced an astonishing range of lived religion in action:
- A peaceful Sunday morning service at the Evanston Friends Meeting House, where Quaker worship unfolds in quiet, unprogrammed stillness
- A vibrant Sunday evening kirtan at ISKCON, full of chanting, music, and community energy
- A visit to the unique New Church in Glenview, home to the Swedenborgian tradition
- Explorations of the beautiful campus worship spaces at Northwestern and Loyola – two universities with rich and varied spiritual life communities built right into their cultures
Every single stop looked and felt different. That’s really the whole point of this project: religion isn’t one thing. It’s lived out in wildly different ways, even within the same city, sometimes even on the same street.
A Small World Moment
One of my favorite parts of the record attempt happened almost by accident. At the UCC church in Skokie, I ran into the mother of one of my former students. Out of 185 places of worship across an entire month, our paths crossed in one small congregation. It was a reminder that even in a massive, sprawling city, communities of faith connect us in ways we don’t expect.
Why This Mattered
This wasn’t just about chasing a number. Each visit meant showing up, being welcomed as a guest, and taking the time to actually witness how a community worships, gathers, and builds belonging. Chicago became a kind of living classroom, an urban pilgrimage right in the heart of the U.S., and every place I visited taught me something new about the incredible diversity of religious life.
Interested in more of my journey? Check out our My World Record! page for many more articles and podcasts.