Blog

18 Aug

Though he’s only been with us a short time (welcome, Wil!), he’s excited to bring imagination, laughter, and real talk about life and having a relationship with God as a young person to our congregation.A Graduate Resident from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Wil has extensive ministry experience with ages 2-18 and has served alongside volunteers and student ministry staff from Idaho to Alaska to Tennessee, working with young people and discovering how much he loves...

14 Aug

Do you ever feel like you’re being pulled in a hundred different directions?I don’t know about you, but these days I sometimes find it hard to focus on any one thing in particular. We live in a culture of endless browse mode, one that tells us that life is best lived if we’re constantly chasing the next new option, the next fresh find, the next even-better thing. The FOMO pull of whatever else is out there...

17 Feb

Have you ever found a stray kitten…? Maybe you’re taking out the garbage one evening and hear a commotion and turn and there, in the corner of your yard, a kitten. Like all kittens do, it looks adorable. So you approach, crooning, “Hey kitty kitty…what’s going on with you?” in your highest pitched and kindest voice. You reach out your hand to touch, and things get ugly…real fast. There’s hissing, lashing out, scratching, that little ball...

18 Nov

Most days, our lives feel too full for wonder.The news scrolls on, our calendars are overloaded, and our hearts are crowded with worry and noise. Yet Advent whispers, slow down. Look again. There is wonder—hidden in ordinary mornings, passed in small kindnesses, with us in the waiting and watching and longing itself. Slow down. Look again. Pay attention.As I’ve been reflecting on the year we’ve had here in Chicago, I’ve been thinking a lot about wonder....

22 May

In case you missed it, Friday and Saturday May 9-10, 2025, was our 2-Day Grand Spring Rummage Sale. One of the largest rummage sales in the area, with over 25 departments, WCC’s Rummage is so big it has to be housed in three locations – and yes, you need a map to make sure you don’t miss a single thing. First held in 1902, the Winnetka Congregational Church Rummage Sale has been going ever since....

07 Nov

The U.S. election results emphasize that we are a nation divided; some jubilant, some enraged, some hurt, some expectant. As spiritual people, we will not lose hope among our divisions.No matter how deep our divide, God is God—powerful in grace and love. We know and trust a divine constant who empowers us to graciously love our neighbor, heal our divisions, and strive for justice.To support hope in your spirit, I share a prayer of benediction....

30 Jul

Sometimes churches may seem simply physical buildings - a Sunday House of Worship - while other times they are assuredly more. Historically, both in Winnetka and throughout the country, churches have helped create the communities in which they are located. Their efforts have benefited the enjoyment, health and welfare of far more people than just the church members.  In our rich WCC history, pastors and members have been “Bringing People Together” for 150 years! In 1881, the Reverend Samuel Theodore...

23 Jul

Did you know that the first carillon at WCC was given as a gift to the congregation by Mr. and Mrs. Theron Mandeville Woolson? The electronic carillon was dedicated on December 18, 1955 to the “children of Winnetka in loving and grateful memory of June Mandeville Woolson” who had died in 1946 at age 21. The chair of the Board of Trustees (the predecessor of today’s Council) spoke these brief but eloquent words of acceptance. “Our church...

14 May

In 1873 The Liberal Christian Association (possibly viewed as Unitarians) purchased a little private schoolhouse and moved it to a southeast corner of Maple and Cherry Streets. A cupola and a cross were added and it became a church building. This building was shared with what would become the Winnetka Congregational Church. On September 29, 1874 the Winnetka Union Religious Association (later changed to The Winnetka Religious Association and five years later to Winnetka Congregational Church)...

14 May

Music has been an integral part of services at WCC since its beginning 150 years ago. Although I wasn’t born until the year our present sanctuary was built, I have enjoyed the music offered from kindergarten on! Sunday school classes were then held in the Community House and my formative memories always include the singing of a hymn in those classes. When told by a little red-headed, second-grade girl sitting next to me that I...

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