United Lutheran Church - Oak Park

11/24/2025

Interfaith service at Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Oak Park IL, by the Community of Congregations of OP F, Thanksgiving Service. The main address at the worship event was from Ethan Aronson, a faith-organizer from the Jewish tradition for Arise Chicago.

Pastor Ole from United Lutheran Church wrote an original litany for the call to worship for the event.

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"Come one and all, [and the people say] “let us turn to the good.”

Come strangers and friends,
come young and old,
come the sitting and the standing and the barely hanging on,
come neighbors with different ways of praying and diverse paths of knowing God.
Come with different ancestral languages, and with different races and memories of your peoples,
Come one and all, 'let us turn to the good.”

Come with hearts that are cold and made closed from stress and routine,
come with hearts that are filled with concern for loved ones, for the earth and for future generations, future beings
come with hearts that ache for mercy and yearn for justice and respect for even basic human rights,
for the refugee and the asylum seeker, the laborer, the immigrant, the incarcerated, the detained,
Come one and all, 'let us turn to the good.”

Come one and all, with the hunger to see food and shelter enough for all,
come with anger at all that’s wrongly hoarded and cruelly denied, come with longing for the gifts of the divine,
and for renewed thanks for one another,
and for a keen openness to see and learn together we can share and do,
Come one and all, 'let us turn to the good.”

Come let us turn to each other’s good,
to the common good,
to wider and greater good,
come not as we perfectly ought,
but as we are humbly able.
Come one and all, 'let us turn to the good.”

Amen.
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Pastor Ole wrote the text to be inclusive of all faiths or for people without a specific faith tradition, but there is a slight nod to Lutheran tradition at the very end: "not as we ought, but as we are able" is a line used in many Lutheran (and other Christian) denominations in the Eucharist liturgy, and was part of the service that same morning at United Lutheran in Oak Park.

11/01/2025

Did you miss the October 12 Second Sunday Concert? For a limited time, the live recording is available here if you'd like to watch or share with your friends!

Video Live from our Second Sunday ConcertUnited Lutheran ChurchOctober 12, 2025 3pm Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 65 (1847) Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) ...

09/09/2025

Don't miss violinist Kate Carter and pianist Louise Chan for an afternoon of music this Sunday at United Lutheran Church in Oak Park, free and open to all.

This week is the Blue Violet Duo, and mark your calendar on the second Sunday of every month for the rest of the year, too!

08/04/2025

Our inaugural Second Sunday concert is coming soon! All are welcome.

You can hear Kate and Louise talk about some of their musical projects here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16b39s2Xzr/

07/06/2025

This Fall marks the beginning of our Second Sunday Concert Series at United, with monthly 3PM concerts on the second Sunday of each month. All are welcome to share the poster and link for our upcoming concert series with friends and neighbors!

https://www.unitedlutheranchurch.org/concerts-at-united.html

06/20/2025

United Lutheran Church will bless our newly installed Memorial Garden on Sunday June 22nd at 930am. From the blessing we will use:
"We give you thanks for waters of the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers, For the Fox and Calumet and Chicago Rivers, and for Lake Michigan the waters of dew and rain that cycle and pour down upon our spot of earth on Greenfield street here, this garden. We give you thanks for waters of baptism,
that strengthen believers in faith, and for the waters
that refresh the foliage of these flowers here
for the beebalm and the geraniums, the honeysuckle
and the goatsbeard, asters, coneflower and the prairie dropseed,
and all the native grasses and flowers,
Bless and sanctify this memorial garden,
Bless the memories of ancestors and loved ones whose presence
This space holds dear; Bless the feet that walk upon these paths,
Bless the bees and butterflies and birds that pollinate these plants and flowers; Bless the hands, eyes, and hearts of all who care for this garden, And make us a blessing to our wider neighborhood. Amen"

05/28/2025

This Sunday, June 1, at 3PM, we will host the Jan Sobieski String Quartet, with Krista Halvorson and Martin Nocedal, as they perform the Brahms String Sextet in Bb Major and Florence Price Quartet in G Major. All are welcome to attend.

05/26/2025

United is hosting a free concert by the Chicago Avenue Ensemble on Wednesday, June 4 at 7:30PM. Their cellist, Christopher Ferrer, has played at United several times this past year, including Good Friday and Christmas Eve.

Come if you're able, and bring some friends!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKFzh_YyxLg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

05/11/2025

The memorial garden and landscaping renovation is underway! Working with the United Lutheran committee, Leaf and Spade Garden Design of Oak Park is undertaking the work. The overgrown shrubs have been removed! The shape of the garden has been set, and the beautiful curving path through the memorial garden area is in place. A finial from the top of the church tower has been placed along the memorial garden path. Stay tuned for updates!