Mount Prospect Historical Society

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Churches of Mount Prospect

By

Trinity United Methodist Church

 

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 605 West Golf Road

Is building standing: yes

What is at site: a church

When was business founded: May 18, 1958

Is business still operating: yes

Who owned business: 

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Up until 1957, there were no Methodist churches in Mount Prospect. Motivated by a desire for a Methodist church, nine Mount Prospect residents met with the District Superintendent Rev. Dr. Birger Dahl and Rev. Richard Mellor to begin planning a church on November 24, 1957. On February 16, 1958, the first Vesper service was held. A morning worship service soon followed on Palm Sunday, 1958. Trinity’s name was chosen on March 2, 1958. The Trinity congregation was formally organized at a special service on May 18, 1958. Eighty-eight members representing about 35 families were a part of this service at the newly formed Trinity United Methodist Church in Mount Prospect. Donald Thomas was appointed as Trinity’s first pastor.

However, there was no permanent place for the congregation to meet. The congregation had been meeting at various homes, the Village Hall and Lincoln School. After much discussion with church officials, 605 West Golf Road was chosen as the permanent location for the church. The church property was purchased from Frederick and Julia Larson for $37,000 on July 29, 1958. A house on the property was used as the first parsonage.

Construction of the church started November 2, 1959, although plans had been drawn up since the spring. The cornerstone was laid on May 15, 1960 and the church was essentially complete in late August. The church has had many renovations and additions since then to account for a growing congregation. The latest one was in 2002 to convert the original sanctuary into four multipurpose meeting rooms with other miscellaneous renovations.

Events of Importance

There were two instances of disaster in church history. One instance was when the boiler on the second floor of the education wing exploded on the morning of February 20, 1979. Thankfully no one was hurt, but if it had exploded later, there would have been some injuries. The damage was covered by insurance and everything was rebuilt for $313,000. The second disaster was when a micro burst or a tornado hit the church on August 23, 2007. The roof of the entire education wing was torn off. Office personnel inside the church went to the basement when the tornado sirens sounded so no one was hurt. All damage was covered by insurance.

Faith and Service

Trinity United Methodist Church offers numerous ways to get involved with the church family and Mount Prospect community. Trinity offers or has offered in the past, vacation Bible schools, Christmas pageants, Lent and Easter services, Sunday school classes, youth programs, Saturday evening praise services, retreats, praycations, ESL classes, and Hispanic and Korean ministries. Trinity provides facilities for two Korean Methodist churches, the Northwest United Church in the 1980s and the Sam Mool Methodist Church in the present. Trinity also offers a Prayer Ground where children can learn Christian values while attending Sunday service with their families.

Trinity also offers outreach ministries. Trinity has missionaries in Africa that they regular give support to. Trinity participates in ministries such as Habitats for Humanities, Night Ministry, PADS, Feed My Starving Children, blood donor programs and much more.

Church Trivia

The church sits on land that was once a part of a farm owned by August Froemling, one of the original German settlers of Mount Prospect. When the church land was purchased, it included a 2-story frame house, a barn and a garage. The house was used as the original parsonage, the barn was removed in 1960, and the garage was moved to the east side of the parking lot in 1960 to make room for the new sanctuary addition. The barn burned in 1973 and was demolished by church members. The existing garage at the southeast corner was built that fall.

Trinity’s original sanctuary was in what is now called Trinity Hall. At the west end of the sanctuary, there was a wooden cross, altar, choir area and pulpit. Everyone sat on metal folding chairs that are still used today on many occasions. To save money, the building was largely finished by church volunteers who did the painting, laid the floor tiles and installed an acoustical ceiling in Fellowship Hall downstairs. Light fixtures came from a vacated Woolworth building.

Trinity grew almost exponentially in the first 12 years of its existence, reaching over 1,000 members by early 1972, with the Sunday services averaging nearly 500 attendees. Anticipating that the church would remain that size, or continue its growth pattern, the current sanctuary was planned and built to seat 500 guests.

The stained glass windows in the sanctuary were designed, fabricated and installed under the direction of Mr. Crosby Willett of Willett Studios from Philadelphia.

The original plans for the sanctuary included a new fellowship hall and kitchen where the courtyard is today. Lack of funds forced that part of the plan to be deferred though it is still discussed from time to time.

The present Wicks pipe organ in the sanctuary was purchased and installed in 1987. A large percentage of the organ’s pipes are located behind the northwest wall of the sanctuary.

A new parsonage was kindly offered by Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Rose who were retiring to Florida in the early 60s. The church bought the house for $60,000 and Pastor Dotson and his family moved in in August 1965. The old parsonage was sold in July 1996 and was moved to Belmont and Noyes Street in Arlington Heights, where it still stands to this day. The parsonage was updated around 2017/2018 so the new pastor Wendy Hardin Hermann could move in.

Trinity was the first choice for the name of the new church with the second choice being Calvary.

At the first meeting of the church on November 24, 1957, it was agreed that 10% of the offerings of the new church would go to benevolences to be determined at a later date. The first offering was $7.00.

More information can be found on Trinity’s website here.

(Information kindly provided by church historian Jere Teed)

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Saint Mark Lutheran Church

When was it founded: 1946

Where is it located: 200 South Wille Street

Has it moved: Yes

First Pastor or Priest: B. T. Anderson

History and interesting stories about the church:

Originally called Mount Prospect Evangelical Lutheran Church, services were first held in the Borgen home on South Edward Street, but were then moved to the basement of Central School. Following the church’s move, the congregation desired new religious leadership in the form of Reverend B. T. Anderson. With Reverend Anderson presiding, the first official service took place in 1946. By the time a permanent building was completed and dedicated in 1954, the church’s name had been changed to its current Saint Mark Lutheran Church. Throughout its years, Saint Mark has endured both change and growth. In 1957, change came in the form of a new pipe organ and a parish school; while, growth came in the form of building expansions in 1963 and 1969.

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South Church

When was it founded: 1937

Where is it located: 501 South Emerson Street

Has it moved: Yes

First Pastor or Priest: Edwin Stevens

History and interesting stories about the church:

In 1935, a group of thirteen Mount Prospect citizens gathered in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Johnson with wild aspirations of organizing a new church. They hoped to establish a community church that would serve every denomination and be affiliated with the Chicago Baptist Association. Despite initial doubts, disagreements, and a “temporary disbandment,” the first service was held in the lounge of the Mount Prospect Country Club in 1937. In September of that year, the ground was broken for the church on previously purchased lots of land. A mere three months later, on December 19, the first services were held inside the newly built church. In that same busy year, a Bible School was founded, a constitution was written, a new pastor (Reverend Edwin Stevens) was welcomed, and a name for the church was chosen–“South Church” with the sub-title “Community-Baptist” affixed to it.

In 1942, with the United States propelled into war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Reverend Stevens felt he would be better serving God and his country by enlisting in the army as a chaplain. During his absence and until his safe return in 1945, his position was temporarily filled by two other pastors.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, South Church experienced an ever-expanding congregation and numerous building additions. For instance, in 1957, a Christian Education addition was built and dedicated a year later to accommodate all church children from ages 3 to 12. In those times of seemingly expansion chaos, Marion Stevens began a Memorial Cross display in 1955 in hopes of re-emphasizing the church’s original theme of community. In this display, roughly 125 crosses from across the country and the world were assembled and exhibited. Following her death in 1962, her family graciously donated the entire collection to the church. A decade later, Reverend Stevens retired from the ministry and was replaced by Reverend John Clements in 1974.

1950s sanctuary and congregation

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Saint Thomas Becket Catholic Church

When was it founded: 1968

 Where is it located: 1321 Burning Bush Lane

Has it moved: Yes

History and interesting stories about the church:

On May 15, 1968, Father Frank E. Wachowski was appointed to establish a new parish. Despite having some initial difficulties in finding an appropriate site for a church, Father Wachowski eventually acquired some land and proceeded to organize a parish. Within the first month, over 247 families were registered as members. Because of the congregation’s high concentration of families, the church’s first organization was a CCD program–a religious education course for children. In December of that year, Cardinal Cody approved the name of “Saint Thomas Becket” for the church.

Although the garage of the parish center–purchased in 1970–had been converted into a chapel, the developing congregation experienced growing pains and needed more room to stretch. As a result, in 1975, plans were finalized for the construction of a new church, meeting hall, and rectory. Even though construction was not completed until 1979, the church held services as early as December 1978. Father Wachowski was fortunate enough to live to see the completion of Saint Thomas Becket’s expansion as well as the official dedication ceremony in 1980. Later that year, the Father passed away and was replaced by Father Ralph Mollan.

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Saint Raymond’s Catholic Church

When was it founded: 1949

Where is it located: 301 South I-Oka

 Has it moved: Yes

First Pastor or Priest: Thomas O’Brien

History and interesting stories about the church:

In 1949, the foundations for Saint Raymond’s Catholic Church were set; a house at 222 South Hi-Lusi was acquired to serve as rectory and chapel, while Central School’s basement served as the temporary house of worship. With the first mass conducted and the first baptism celebrated, Saint Raymond’s was launched. Father Thomas O’Brien, assigned to the church, started a choir in 1950 and four years later, opened a school. The school’s increasing enrollment called for the employment of more nuns, and as a result, a new convent was opened. However, the social and political atmosphere of the 1960s persuaded few women to join, and in 1976, the last sister departed from the convent.

Under the direction of Father Coggins, who served Saint Raymond’s from 1963 to 1970, a memorial park was created behind the church in honor of Father O’Brien. In addition to the creation of the park, Father Coggins supervised the construction of a rectory, the expansion of the auditorium, and the renovations to the church according to the standards of Vatican II. In 1971, also in accordance to the Vatican standards, Father Buhrfeind established the Parish Council, which helped to coordinate the activities of the parish committees–finance, religious education, school board, etc. Following the leadership of Father Buhrfeind was Father Loftus who served Saint Raymond’s from 1979 to 1996. During his term, he was responsible for assembling a committee to study how environment affects worship services. The study found that most parishioners felt the church’s interior decorations distracted from worship. As a result of those findings, Saint Raymond’s interior was renovated, and the church rededicated in 1988 by Cardinal Bernardin. In 1996, the arrival of Father Bernard J. Pietrzak brought much community attention to Saint Raymond’s in part to his work with bi-theist couples and single Catholics.