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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...

06 Feb

Come and find the quiet centerIn the crowded life we lead,Find the room for hope to enter,Find the frame where we are freed.Clear the chaos and the clutter,Clear our eyes, that we can seeAll the things that really matter,Be at peace and simply be.- Shirley Erena Murray, 1989 Beginning February 1, the Little Chapel is open to anyone who wants to “come and find the quiet center” Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The...

01 Dec

There are things I like about the word religion – and things I don’t.Here’s one I don’t: religion tends to divide the sacred from the secular.In the religious sense, sacred refers to God, Jesus, the Bible, sacraments, worship, church music, religious art, and the church itself. That which is secular is everything else: nature, science, non-religious art and music, any community that is not the church, and almost everything that is understood as “work.”Sacred tends to be understood as good, even perfect. Secular is less than....

17 Oct

WCC music director Victoria Marshall sat down with Stephen Buzard, virtuoso organist and director of music at St. James Cathedral in Chicago, to talk about his path to the organ, the recital he has curated for our Pasi organ, and what he sees as the future of the organ’s role in worship. What is your first memory of the organ? Because my parents are both organists, I don't remember a time without the organ. My mom had...

25 Apr

We sometime assume that we should be able to know how to work through the challenges in our most important relationships. We might believe an excellent education and our career competencies mean that we should be able to work through relationship difficulties in our personal lives. Then we may feel embarrassed when we are successful professionally, but feel less so in some of our closest relationships.What we may not realize is that relationship success involves...

21 Apr

Settling into my new role as acting senior pastor and designated-term pastor, it occurred to me that it might be helpful to “re-introduce” myself to you, the friends and members of Winnetka Congregational Church.You know some things about me in my role as associate pastor, but you might appreciate a fuller picture of what I bring to this new role.Here we go! .bio-list li { ...

24 Feb

There’s an earworm song in the musical Moulin Rouge that, if you aren’t careful, will stick in your head for weeks on end. In it, the two main characters are singing the beginning of a flirtation (on top of a giant elephant, but that’s not the point of this story). Hoping to convince the aloof and beautiful Satine that love is worth the risk, our protagonist, penniless poet Christian, turns to the lyrics of popular...

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