Aurora Street Gets Honorary Name For Newly Merged Church

AURORA, IL — Ginger Woods Parkway in Aurora has a newly appointed honorary name in honor of a new church that sits just yards away.

Members of Purpose City Church gathered Sunday with city leaders, including Mayor Richard Irvin, to witness the unveiling of the "Purpose City Street" sign that reflects the new use of a longtime church site at 2850 Ginger Woods Parkway.

"This is no coincidence that this street is the one that the mayor and the City of Aurora have decided to put as Purpose City Way," Talaat McNeely, who serves as the unified church's pastor, said at the event. "Don't miss the symbolism of what we are called to do. ... One of the first things that my wife and I found when we were researching the city of Aurora, because the Lord called us to it, was the mayor's desire to create one Aurora because it's such a diverse [city]."

In October, All Nations Aurora Church and its predominantly Black congregation merged with Ginger Creek Church, with a majority-white congregation, to launch Purpose City Church at the former Ginger Creek Church site.

RELATED: Ginger Creek, All Nations Churches Merge With New Name, Purpose

"You have helped to fulfill our 'One Aurora' goal in this city," Irvin said in a statement. "Your intentional merger of two communities has certainly given a renewed purpose in Aurora."