About
About Kenilworth Union Church
Kenilworth Union Church is an ecumenical church community. The church gathers to worship in search of God’s guidance and inspiration, and is sent out to love and serve God and others. Independent of any particular denomination, the church’s identity is formed by its devotion to God. The church actively supports outreach efforts; children, youth and family ministries; and caring ministries across all life’s struggles and uncertainties.
What We Believe
While we are not a church that subscribes to a particular set of creeds or confessions, we do share in the theological tradition of Protestant faith.
Theology of Kenilworth Union Church
God is active in the world and in each of our lives. We believe in the living God who creates and sustains us and all life by God’s power and God’s love.
By God’s grace, we are loved, forgiven and strengthened to respond to God’s call on our life to live by the great commandment: “To love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and our neighbors as ourselves.”
In the person of Jesus Christ we know what God is like and who we are to be like. The same Holy Spirit that empowered and guided Jesus in his ministry and teaching, continues to be present among us, encouraging us to work for peace, justice, and reconciliation in our broken world.
The Bible is the Word of God (not words of God) written by different people influenced by their particular time, place, and culture. This sacred book is a collection of diverse voices that tell of the experience of God. The Bible is a record of faith, a source of values, a witness to the person and power of Jesus Christ. It contains enduring truths that remain relevant today.
All of us are on a faith journey that continues throughout our lives. Through scripture, study, prayer, and worship our journey finds its focus in the teachings and example of Jesus. In the community of the church, we share both our understandings and our questions as we seek to grow deeper in faith.
In response to the gift of God’s loving kindness, we have a responsibility to live out what we say we believe…in our homes, in our workplaces, in how we treat others, in sharing what we have, in the ethics we practice, and in the priorities we hold and live by.
History
Kenilworth Union traces its roots back to the original plan of Joseph Sears for the Village of Kenilworth. Sears took steps to start a church in mid-1892, four years before the Village was incorporated. The organizing vision for the church was to be a Christian community that welcomes persons and families of all denominational religious backgrounds.
Today, Kenilworth Union invites all to join on a faith journey to worship God through Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. We aspire to serve the world, to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God and with each other.
As such, the church remains true to its founding vision and fulfills a unique position within the network of Christian churches on the North Shore of Chicago.
The original church building was designed by architect Franklin Burnham, who also designed a number of local homes and the Kenilworth train station.
The church both serves families that have belonged to the congregation for generations, and welcomes new members each year.
