About Our Church

St. John United Church of Christ in Arlington Heights, Illinois was founded as an Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1902 by German-Americans in what was then the small farming town of Arlington Heights.  Today Arlington Heights is squarely in Chicago's northwestern suburbs and we come from all over the United States and the world.

St. John UCC embraces the United Church of Christ practice of an extravagant welcome to all who enter our doors. No matter where one is on life’s journey, we believe they can find a church home with us. At the same time, we also believe that there are some segments of our society that may still need a special

invitation to feel welcomed since their past experiences have not always been positive. One such group is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (“LGBT”) community. The United Church of Christ has a designation of “Open and Affirming” for churches that have studied, prayed, and publicly voted to openly and unequivocally include GLBT persons within their congregational life.

 

St. John UCC became an Open and Affirming church on January 8, 2012. The following is the motion: 

 

MOTION DECLARING ST. JOHN UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL TO BE AN OPEN AND AFFIRMING (ONA) CHURCH

 

St. John United Church of Christ, Arlington Heights, Illinois is an Open and Affirming (ONA) congregation and the following statement is adopted:

 

The congregation of St. John United Church of Christ rejoices that our community of faith is strengthened by diversity. We declare ourselves to be an open and affirming congregation, extending God’s extravagant welcome to all people regardless of culture, economic status, age, sex, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, marital status, or physical/mental condition. We invite everyone to join our journey of faith and participate fully in the life of our congregation.

 

By adopting this resolution, the members of St. John United Church of Christ are making it known that all are safe to worship and serve God in our faith community.

Adopted by St. John United Church of Christ                         Date: 1/8/2012

 

Mission

Briefly Stated:  We are a family of Christians raising children in Christian faith.

Our Full Mission Statement (1998)
St. John was founded to raise children in Christian faith. We are a family of Christians. We are made part of this universal family through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We seek the unconditional love that is offered through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Along with our ancestors, we make our church a fertile base for spiritual growth. We lovingly accept each person and gently set boundaries to demonstrate how to grow in Christian faith. We worship together celebrating the glory and majesty of God to strengthen our faith. We share with others God's gifts to us to demonstrate faith. We educate our children so they grow in their own faith. We contribute our love and time to anyone in need so that no child of God will ever be alone. In a constantly changing world, St. John will change with the times. As we move into a second century of ministry, we rededicate ourselves to raise more children in Christian faith.

About the UCC

Intelligent dialogue and a strong independent streak sometimes cause the United Church of Christ (UCC) and its 1.2 million members to be called a “heady and exasperating mix.” The UCC tends to be a mostly progressive denomination that unabashedly engages heart and mind. And yet, the UCC somehow manages to balance congregational autonomy with a strong commitment to unity among its nearly 5,600 congregations—despite wide differences among many local congregations on a variety of issues.