For 41 years, the First Friday Club of Chicago has gathered hundreds of people at the Union League Club on the first Friday of each month from October until May, for food and conversation and to listen to local leaders reflect personally on issues of the day.
“There are not a lot of organizations that can gather 200 people at noon on Friday in downtown Chicago in the years after COVID. We have,” said Father John Cusick. “Downtown is pretty empty.”
The new season of speakers starts on Oct. 2 with Harry Kraemer, former CEO of Baxter and a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Cusick founded the First Friday Club of Chicago after being invited to speak at the First Friday Club of Cleveland. He thought it could be replicated here, especially since opportunities for adult catechesis were waning.
“There used to be thriving adult education in many, many parishes and that was being swallowed up by other things. There really was not a lot of formation for Catholic lay people,” Cusick recalled. “I said, ‘Why wouldn’t we want to do this downtown during the workday? That’s what Cleveland does, and they do it effectively.’ And that’s how we began.”
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was the first speaker in 1986.
The First Friday Club is founded on Catholic values, but speakers and attendees aren’t necessarily Catholic.
“We’re Catholic to the extent that we welcome everybody,” he said. “We are not a private club, even though it says First Friday Club. I think that that’s pretty important, and, consequently, we are built on values, not doctrine,” Cusick said.
Determining the slate of speakers each year is a dance, said Executive Director Judy Murphy.
“When we’re trying to put together our lineup for the year, [Father] John always reminds us that we have to keep a little wiggle room in the schedule because part of our mission statement is topics of the day,” Murphy said. “Things can come up which might warrant to bring in a speaker during that time because it’s so relevant.”
Some of the lesser-known speakers often turn out to be gems, she said, which is something the dedicated members who come each month know.
“We make a special effort to go across different professions and fields. We try to bring in a writer, somebody from business, somebody from the arts, somebody who practices religious life in a very dedicated way, but also people who come at it from different angles, from a more secular point of view,” Cusick said.
They encourage speakers to bring more than their favorite speech that they have delivered many times.
“If you look at Pope Leo, I mean, I can read some of his stuff that is eyebrows up, but I also can see stuff that is from his heart, that is speaking to a world,” Cusick said. “That’s what the First Friday Club is, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need doctrine. I need people to open up, and I want to see faith in action, whatever that faith is, and however it’s expressed. I’m happy with that.”
The board really wrestles with who they invite to speak, Murphy said. When they get the right speaker for a topic, attendees will walk away knowing more than they did before the luncheon, she said.
They don’t select speakers because they are easy to get, Cusick said. They pick speakers who have something important to say.
“I’m damn proud of that,” Cusick said.
Over the years, First Friday Club has created a community of people who value one another, said Board President Roseanne Rosenthal.
“The First Friday Club truly elevates this idea of civil dialogue among people and does it with absolute respect for the dignity and humanity of every individual. It’s quite lovely and uplifting,” Rosenthal said. “As a whole, it becomes transformative over the course of a year. I think it’s quite a beautiful organization.”