A Short History of First Church

First Church of the Brethren put down roots in East Garfield Park in the mid-1920s. Through a generous gift from a Mrs. Fahrney, the congregation purchased the building at the corner of Central Park and Congress Parkway from the Presbyterians. Worship actually began in 1885 on South State Street, moving to Hastings Street in 1892. The current church home was dedicated in January 1925. Other Church of the Brethren institutions in the neighborhood, Bethany Seminary (1905) and Bethany Hospital, ensured a full house on Sunday mornings.

First Church played a vital role in developing additional ministry and worshiping groups. From 1908 to the 1960s, a Chinese congregation worshipped in the building. During the 1940s, the York Center mission began in Lombard. First Church purchased the building next door to house its growing youth ministry. During the 1950s, a Spanish-language group worshipped in the church chapel before moving to Douglas Park.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks at First Church of the Brethren in Jan. 26, 1966 public hearing on unjust housing. Left: Pastor Tom Wilson.
Photos from Church of the Brethren Messenger, March 17, 1966

When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. focused action in Chicago in the mid-1960s, First Church provided the Southern Christian Leadership Conference office space. Dr. King also preached from the pulpit. During this decade Bethany Seminary moved to Oak Brook, taking with it a number of First Church members.

In the mid-1970s, just after the congregation celebrated fifty years in Garfield Park, the boiler burned out, the pipes froze, and the ceiling fell in, forcing the congregation next door into the youth-ministry house.

In the late 1970s, after minor renovations, the congregation, numbering fewer than 30, moved back into the church building, using a Sunday school room for its sanctuary. In 1989, following an eight-month renovation, services returned to the sanctuary after surviving thirteen years in exile. The building was rededicated in March with a day-long celebration. A community garden sprouted on the corner north of the church; an empty lot in between is the subject of an architectural/ministerial competition in Spring 2006 -- signs of renewed vision for the church and community.

The Bethany Brethren Community Center (BBCC), founded in 1991, grew out of the historic relationship between the church and Bethany hospital. BBCC is currently re-envisioning efforts to bring together church members, neighborhood children, youth and elderly for life-building activities and projects. Chicago Community Mennonite Church (formerly Oak Park Mennonite) began sharing worship space with First Church in 1998. The DOOR program housed at the church provides youth from around the country an immersion in urban realities and related ministries. Other forces for change such as Crossroads Ministry (dismantling systemic racism and building anti-racist multicultural diversity), have been housed at First Church.

Choirs practice, girl scouts meet, community groups gather, volunteers tutor, gardeners glean, prophets and peacemakers bear witness and members sing and pray as the church continues to minister in East Garfield Park after more than 120 years as a believing community and eighty in the current building.