Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church

41°51′46″N 87°56′27″W / 41.8626444°N 87.9409539°W / 41.8626444; -87.9409539

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church
ECRC's present home in Elmhurst
Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church
Location149 West Brush Hill Road, Elmhurst, IL 60126
CountryUnited States
DenominationChristian Reformed
Websiteelmhurstcrc.org/
History
Founded1924 (Organized as a CRC congregation in 1949)
FounderKatherine Lubben Tessman
Architecture
ArchitectGoss/Pasma Blomquist Architects
StyleModern
Years built
2009
Administration
DivisionRegion Nine

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church is a congregation of the Christian Reformed Church in North America located on the southern edge of Elmhurst, Illinois. It was founded in 1924 as a Baptist mission in Bellwood. After moving to Elmhurst in 1964, the congregation constructed a large building just off Roosevelt Road.

History

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church was founded in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood.

The building where the congregation first meet in Bellwood, Illinois.

Land was later purchased on the corner of Kent Avenue and East Van Buren Street in Elmhurst. Jay De Vries was the pastor of the congregation when it moved to Elmhurst in 1964. The congregation of about sixty families renamed itself Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church. De Vries was followed by pastors Garrett Stoutmeyer, Wayne Leys, and Bert De Jong. Peter Semeyn took over as the senior pastor in 2011. On June 14, 1990, the church's steeple was struck by lightning igniting a fire that caused severe damage. The congregation met in several other facilities until it rebuilt. The church had around 1,000 members in the mid-1990s. By the late 1990s and early 2000s the church had annexed several nearby properties. In 2009 it moved again to a new building a few blocks to the south. The original Elmhurst property was sold to the Diocese of Southwest America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church for use as a new parish church building. By 2012 the church had a membership of 1,542, making it one of the largest congregations in the denomination.

Current and former locations

References

  1. ↑ Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church. "Our Story - Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church". Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  2. ↑ Swierenga, Robert P. (2002). Dutch Chicago: A History of the Hollanders in the Windy City. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans (The Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America). p. 236. ISBN 0-8028-1311-9.
  3. ↑ Heritage Hall Archives, Calvin College. "Christian Reformed Church Ministers Database - ID 527". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Church New in Building Only". Chicago Tribune. April 19, 1964. p. W3. Retrieved May 28, 2013 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. 1 2 Swierenga, Robert P. (2002). Dutch Chicago: A History of the Hollanders in the Windy City. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans (The Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America). p. 240. ISBN 0-8028-1311-9.
  6. ↑ Heritage Hall Archives, Calvin College. "Christian Reformed Church Ministers Database - ID 1970". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  7. ↑ Heritage Hall Archives, Calvin College. "Christian Reformed Church Ministers Database - ID 1359". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  8. ↑ Heritage Hall Archives, Calvin College. "Christian Reformed Church Ministers Database - ID 448". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church. "Staff - Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ Comerford, Mike (June 15, 1990). "Lightning Burns Church". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 28, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ↑ Linke, Denise (September 6, 1999). "Hearings Set for Annexation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 28, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ↑ St. Gregorios Church, Elmhurst, Illinois. "St. Gregorios Church, Elmhurst : Home". Retrieved May 28, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Christian Reformed Church in North America. "Elmhurst CRC - Church - Christian Reformed Church". Retrieved May 26, 2013.