Worship at 11 a.m. Sunday. Livestream is also available on our First United YouTube channel.
848 Lake Street
Oak Park, IL 60301
708-386-5215
Pastoral Transition and Interim Pastor Search
A lot has happened in the last decade at First United Church of Oak Park. After a period of many staff transitions, a Pastoral Nominating Team selected Reverend John Edgerton as our candidate for Lead Pastor in 2019, but now John has returned to Old South Church in Boston, a church in which he served as an Associate Pastor before coming to First United. We are most fortunate to have had this time with John. During his tenure our staff and church have stabilized, and we are moving toward significant growth both spiritually and financially. John's last day at First United was August 13. Associate Pastor Lydia Mulkey, together with Lay Leadership, has continues to ably guide our Congregation as we navigate this interim time on our way to a new, settled lead pastor.
Currently, First United is seeking an Intentional Interim Pastor. Our Interim Team has created our Church profile and posted the open position with both of our denominations (PCUSA and UCC). Click here to access the Interim Search Update page that contains the job posting, some general "nuts and bolts" information about the position, and updates from the search team.
Advent and Christmas Worship
This Advent, we explore the intersection of pain and joy as we ponder the question, "How does a weary world rejoice?" with liturgy and resources from A Sanctified Art, LLC.
Advent Worship
December 3: We Acknowledge Our Weariness
December 10: We Find Joy In Connection
December 17: We Allow Ourselves To Be Amazed
December 24: We Sing Stories of Hope (Virtual Service Only at 11 a.m.)
Christmas Eve: We Make Room
5 p.m.: Family service with Christmas pageant
8 p.m.: Service of Lessons & Carols
This season, discover where joy is sprinkled through the Advent narrative. Identify the moments when joy arrives - despite trepidation, fear or grief. And consider how joy can be a companion to you this season, for our joy is rooted in the truth that we belong to God.
Helping Nuestros Vecinos: Oak Park’s Migrant Response
Oak Park and the surrounding communities have a robust network of volunteers stepping in to support the migrant families arriving from Venezuela and other countries. Community of Congregations is serving as an information hub for area faith communities to provide up to date information on the most pressing needs for the response effort. To donate money, food, or other items or volunteer your time, please click the button to access the Migrant Response Support Hub.
What’s Going On?
Here's what a typical Sunday looks like:
9:15 A.M. — Church School Check-in and the Nursery open
9:45 A.M. — Education Hour with Church School, Quest Confirmation, and Adult Education (select Sundays)
11 A.M. — Worship
12 P.M. — Coffee hour in the lounge
5 P.M. — FUSH (Sr. High) and FUJI (Jr. High) Youth Groups
For more information about a specific Sunday and weekday activities, please see the complete calendar.
Sermon
Saints: Heroes of the Faith
How fitting, fortuitous, Holy Spiritus, if you will, that this, All Saints Sunday, and its accompanying text from Hebrews, should be the punctuating Scripture and liturgical event to our sermon series on Heroes of the Faith. In a way, we have been in an All-Saints Season since the start of the program year, where we have remembered, acknowledged, and celebrated just some of our ancestral heroes.
— Alicia Reese
Sermon transcript
Evotional
Gratitude: A Different Kind of Calm
By Guest Writer Dirk Labuschagne