Mitty Collier portrait by Rich Hein

Former Chess singer Mitty Collier delivered the contemporary gospel anthem "The Rainbow" last Sunday morning before a modest but mighty congregation at her More Like Christ Fellowship Church on the south side of Chicago.

Popularized by Vickie Winans, "The Rainbow" is included on Collier's new "I Owe It To The World" gospel album (Dialtone Records). "I like the words because when the rainbow is in the sky it is a sign that the storm is over," Collier said. "You see the light rather than stay down in the dark. There is a sign that the storm has passed when you can look up and see the rainbow."

Sun-Times videographer Jon Sall and I also visited Collier on a recent Saturday morning when she hosted the Christmas edition of her monthly community outreach program "Feed a Neighbor" (FAN) in the parking lot across the street from her church at 82nd and Dobson. FAN began as an arm of the Bible Study Telephone Prayer Line that Collier created in 1983. When people hear about Feed a Neighbor they come from all over the south side.

There are no shenanigans; on the Dec. 8 FAN Collier shooed away anyone who even smoked a cigarette in the parking lot.

"We gave out 400 bags (of blessings)," said Collier, 71. "Fruit, nuts, candy, snacks, hats, toys, dolls, basketballs, soccer balls, watches for the teen girls, gloves, socks and toiletries. I need a rest to get ready for something else."

Here is Jon's excellent short film on Pastor Mitty Collier

The next Feed a Neighbor is Jan. 12.

Collier's church is easy to find by the rainbow in the sky.

Here is a link to my Nov. 15, 2012 story on Mitty Collier.