Open House Chicago - Virtual tour
Welcome to Pilgrim Congregational Church, United Church of Christ. We are a diverse faith community joining faith and action. We are committed to radical hospitality, welcoming anyone, regardless of where they are their faith journey. During non-pandemic times we gather to worship, meet, and learn in this beautiful building, the oldest continuously occupied worship space in Oak Park. If you would like to know more about the congregation or about the building, we invite you to email the church office at office@pilgrimoakpark.org.
The First Congregational Society of Ridgeland was formed in 1874, 3 years after the Chicago Fire. It met in the Ridgeland Avenue interurban rail station, now the Green Line. Ridgeland (and some of Austin) were swampy, so were settled after what we now consider Downtown Oak Park, which was located on high ground (the continental divide).
This church has been called by several names over time:
First Congregational Society of Ridgeland, 1874; Ridgeland Congregational Church of Ridgeland, 1888; Second Congregational Church, 1899; Pilgrim Congregational Church in 1918 after Rev. E. B. Allen would only accept a call to be senior pastor if the name was changed from Second Congregational.
About our building
Architects Patton & Fisher designed the original church building that opened in 1889, as well as a subsequent addition constructed in 1900.
Stone for the building was brought from a quarry at the corner of Western and Chicago Ave. in Chicago.
The building is on the Register of Historic Places.
Learn more in our Historical Profile.
Our Chapel
The original building is now our chapel.
The early congregation kept warm with two fireplaces, one at each of the entries.
Beautiful stained glass windows on the south side of the building are original. They are exquisitely balanced and can be easily opened by pushing on the bottom of each window.
Our Sanctuary
An addition was built in 1900, which included a 700-seat sanctuary. This room remains virtually unchanged from the original plan.
The interior is in the Arts and Crafts Style, natural wood and coloring, smooth painted plaster
Smooth walls and rounded corners create exceptional acoustics for musical and choral presentations.
There are catwalks above the ceiling of the sanctuary. Center of the ceiling overhead was a complete stained glass ceiling with lights. It was covered over several decades ago for fear of the glass falling.
Two main aisles allow for circular motion through and around the core of the congregation.
The curvature of the pews allows anyone seated to be able to see almost everyone else.
The tilt of the floor enables the leader of the service to be close to the mid-level of the congregation.
The original organ and pipes were built by the Austin Organ Company and installed at the front in 1908. The current electronic organ was installed in 2010.
The east wall of the sanctuary can easily be raised by a hand crank to connect Sanctuary with what is now the Parlor for overflow crowds.
The geometric design of the west-facing stained glass windows provides spectacular late afternoon light; like the windows in the original building (now the chapel) these windows can be easily opened.
Many prominent people have spoken in this sanctuary including:
1908, Booker T. Washington, the dominant leader in the African-American community between 1890 and 1915.
1912, Jane Addams, an activist/reformer, social worker, and American leader in the Settlement House movement. Also Jacob Riis, a photographer, writer, and social reformer.
1927, Knute Rockne, football player and famous Notre Dame Coach.
Most recently, Rev. John H. Thomas, Senior Advisor to the President and former General Minister of the United Church of Christ.
Our Parlor
This room was part of the 1900 church addition.
Sunday School class, the first in Oak Park, (Ridgeland) raised much of the money for this room.
The shape of the room is a style of the time called the Akron Sunday School Design. In this design two or more stories of 3-sided compartments form a horse-shoe around a central ground level rotunda. This design allowed for children of all ages to be taught without needing a staff of professional teachers. A volunteer led a class of similarly aged children in each compartment, while a professionally trained "superintendent," often a minister, led opening and closing prayers for the entire school from a platform in the central ground floor space and observed the teachers to ensure that their lessons were orthodox and to prevent inappropriate behavior.
East facing windows on the upper level let in the morning light; the light from the sanctuary also comes in from the west above the movable wall.
Also note the modern replacement stained glass windows over the main door, on the stair landing to the left of the narthex, and above the doors to the sanctuary, which were created by stained glass artist and former member, Susan R. Gilchrist in the 1990’s.
