(708) 352-0800 | Worship every Sunday @ 10 a.m.
(708) 352-0800 | Worship every Sunday @ 10 a.m.
Learn more about our church, history and team.
A vibrant, thriving, and inclusive church inspiring love in action.
As people of the First Congregational Church of La Grange, both individually and collectively, we declare our mission to be as follows:
Adopted by First Congregational Church of La Grange on May 16, 1999
We, the members of First Congregational Church of La Grange, affirm our regard for the worth and dignity of all persons as beloved children of God. We welcome persons of diverse racial and ethnic heritage, socioeconomic circumstance, gender, age, physical and mental ability, marital status, faith perspective, and sexual orientation to join our congregation and participate fully in its life and ministry. We condemn all acts of discrimination and violence, and advocate in word and deed for justice and inclusiveness. We welcome all families, traditional and nontraditional, as they strive to function within principles of love, justice, faith, and commitment. We join together to celebrate our common life as children of God and to serve a hurting world.
Adopted by First Congregational Church of La Grange on January 22, 2023. We acknowledge that First Congregational Church of La Grange sits on the unceded, traditional, and ancestral homelands of Native peoples. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the indigenous peoples who have been caretakers of the land for thousands of years, into the present day.
First Congregational Church of La Grange embodies the values of the United Church of Christ. It is a congregation that truly lives out the UCC mission statement: “No Matter who you are or where you are from you are welcome.”
We at First Congregational truly embrace diversity as a Global Mission Church and actively demonstrate what it means to be an Open and Affirming congregation in its words and actions. First Congregational is a very generous congregation through stewardship and community-wide ministry. For over 40 years the congregation has held a Saturday Meals program. It does not matter if you are homeless, lonely, or just wanting to have a good meal and fellowship. The free meal is an act of living into our understanding of Matthew 25. First Congregational La Grange members and friends also give of their time and energy, expressing their generosity through various acts such as volunteering at Beds Plus (Chicago based ministry that deals with the homeless and those who could become homeless), volunteering at Plymouth Place, a residential senior living facility that was birthed at First Congregational Church, sending cards, or simply offering their love and time where the need is greatest.
As soon as you enter First Congregational, you are greeted warmly by the greeters at the door and again at the welcome table. This welcoming spirit continues throughout the sanctuary as friends or soon-to-be friends extend hugs or genuinely inquire about your well-being. At First Congregational, you feel like you are home. And if you’ve never experienced what home truly feels like, First Congregational Church of La Grange United Church of Christ is ready to welcome you with open arms and make you feel at home.
The First Congregational Church of La Grange began more than 140 years ago, when a small group met on March 8, 1881, to organize a Congregational Church and build a house of worship. The church was officially formed that April with 17 charter members who first gathered for worship and Sunday School in a vacant store near the railroad station.
A wood-frame church was completed in 1882, and as the congregation grew, a new stone church was built in 1893 at a cost of $18,000. That building—still in continuous use today—is the oldest remaining church structure in La Grange. Continued growth led to the construction of the current sanctuary in 1907 and later expansions, including the Parish House and Chapel in 1951 and the rededication of the original sanctuary as the Founder’s Assembly Room in 1966.
In 1999, the congregation boldly affirmed its commitment to inclusion and justice by becoming an Open and Affirming church, followed by the adoption of a land acknowledgment honoring the unceded, traditional, and ancestral lands of Native peoples.
Through generations of worship, service, and community life, First Congregational Church of La Grange has remained a free and independent congregation affiliated with the United Church of Christ. We give thanks for our rich heritage and look forward in faith—continuing the living tradition begun by a handful of devoted founders who first met at a local railroad station.
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