Our History
In 1873, 43 members of the Methodist church decided to organize and provide a suitable house of worship.
At the solicitation of the appointed pastor, the First Methodist Church of Chicago gave him a small wooden structure which was then standing at the corner of Clark and Harrison Streets. The building was loaded on a raft and moved along the lake shore by rollers to a lot of land, graciously offered by Mr. Van Allen, located at Sunnyside and Winchester located then in Ravenswood Village. In 1879, the ground on which our present Church stands was purchased and the little church was again placed on rollers and moved to the new location at the corner of Sunnyside and Hermitage.
In December 1880, a Charter was obtained in conformity to the laws of the State of Illinois creating the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Ravenswood. The present Sanctuary Building was built in 1889 – 1890.
The adjacent Community House Building containing meeting spaces, church office, gym and kitchen was built in 1930. A parsonage building was built in the 1960's. A memorial garden was added between the church and parsonage in the 1980's. The buildings have been lovingly maintained over the years with major renovations and improvements in the past several years.
Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church was formed on August 2, 1987 as the result of a merger between Ravenswood UMC, whose history dated to 1872, and Christian Fellowship UMC, formed by Japanese Americans who relocated to Chicago from internment camps during and after WWII. Over the years, several beloved members of Joyce United Methodist joined our community. We grow and welcome new people regularly because we believe all are welcome at God’s communion table. We continue to be a church connected to our heritage of celebrating diversity and valuing social justice in the 21st century.
