A Diverse, Reconciling Congregation in Ravenswood
Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church sits on the corner of Sunnyside and Hermitage in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood, a few blocks south of Montrose Avenue and a short walk from the CTA Brown Line. From its stained glass sanctuary built in 1889 to 1890, the congregation has spent more than a century and a half proclaiming that everyone has a place at God's table. The church's mission is direct: it is a Christian community that celebrates diversity and values social justice, and it opens its doors to all who seek God, inclusive of age, race, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and special needs.
The church is a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network of the United Methodist Church, a designation given to congregations committed to the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Members of the LGBTQ+ community, and those who love them, are welcomed and celebrated as beloved children of God. The congregation is multi - generational and multi - ethnic, and that mix is visible in every part of its life together.
A Heritage That Reaches Back to 1873
The Ravenswood story begins in 1873, when 43 members of the Methodist church decided to organize and provide a suitable house of worship. The appointed pastor received a small wooden structure from the First Methodist Church of Chicago, then standing at the corner of Clark and Harrison Streets. That building was loaded on a raft and rolled along the lake shore to a lot of land graciously offered by Mr. Van Allen at Sunnyside and Winchester, in what was then Ravenswood Village.
By 1879 the congregation had outgrown that first home. The little wooden church was placed on rollers once more and moved to a new location at Sunnyside and Hermitage, where the present Sanctuary Building was constructed in 1889 and 1890. In December 1880 a charter was obtained in conformity with the laws of the State of Illinois, creating the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Ravenswood. The adjacent Community House Building, which still holds meeting spaces, the church office, the gym, and a kitchen, was added in 1930. A parsonage was built in the 1960s, and a memorial garden was laid between the church and parsonage in the 1980s. Major renovations and improvements in recent years have kept the historic buildings in active use.
Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church as it exists today was formed on August 2, 1987, from the merger of Ravenswood UMC (whose history dated to 1872) and Christian Fellowship UMC, a congregation that had been started by Japanese Americans who relocated to Chicago from internment camps during and after World War II. Over the years, beloved members of Joyce United Methodist have also joined the community. The merger is why the congregation still refers to its 2015 anniversary as its 125th - a continuous witness to the neighborhood that began well before the merger. Thanks be to God for that long story.
Sunday Worship at 10:45 a.m.
Worship is at the heart of life at Ravenswood Fellowship. The service begins at 10:45 a.m. every Sunday in the Sanctuary, and it lasts between forty - five minutes and an hour. A weekly bulletin makes it easy to follow along, and a large print bulletin is available on request. Visitors who cannot be present in person can join through Zoom using the meeting ID 823 7514 9980, and Deacon Cody Johnson, who often works from the back of the church with a camera and computer, makes sure members participating remotely are part of the service.
The style is traditional and informal at once. Hymnals come out and the congregation sings with gusto. Prayer is frequent and honest, and every service includes the Lord's Prayer and the Doxology. The sanctuary's beautiful piano and working organ give worship its musical center, with Music Director Justin Ortez shaping the choral ensembles, instrumentalists, and congregational song. The feel is described by the church itself as traditional in tone yet welcoming and inviting in practice.
Communion is celebrated on the first and third Sundays of each month. The elements are grape juice, in solidarity with siblings in recovery, and gluten - free bread. All are welcome at the table, and communion servers will bring the elements to anyone who cannot easily move through the space to receive them.
Children and Families in Worship
Children are full members of the Ravenswood Fellowship community. Jesus welcomed children into worship, and so does this congregation. Babies are invited to stay in the service with the adults, and the All - Gender restroom has a changing station for parents. High chairs are available on request for use during meal and snack times. All volunteers who work with children participate in routine background checks, and the children's ministry follows the guidelines of Safe Gatherings.
Leadership and Pastoral Care
The congregation is led by Pastor Ji Eun "Mori" Siegel, who came to ministry out of a background in clinical psychology and a deep sense that God is the ultimate healer. A native of South Korea and a member of a devoted Methodist family, Pastor Mori completed an M.Div. at Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary, served a rural appointment at Wyanet and Red Oak UMC, and earned an M.A. in Spiritual Formation and Direction from Garrett. She has a particular focus on bringing children, parents, and grandparents together in faith, and is committed to collaborative ministry with diverse communities, colorful cultures, and all generations.
Pastor Mori shares leadership with two deacons. Gloria Grasse is a deacon in the United Methodist Church and a counselor with the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy, with research interests at the intersection of the creative process, psychological and spiritual transformation, and recovery from addiction and trauma. Rev. Cody Johnson, also an ordained deacon and a Board Certified Chaplain, serves as a staff chaplain at Ascension St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago and helps run the church's Zoom presence. He and his wife Tatum live a couple of blocks away and host the church's monthly young adult gathering.
Music Director Justin Ortez, who is completing a diploma at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, leads the choral ensembles, instrumentalists, and congregational song with a repertoire that runs from classical to contemporary.
A Building That Hosts the Neighborhood
The church's 1930 Community House, with its meeting spaces, gym, and kitchen, is as much a neighborhood resource as it is a church facility. Ravenswood Fellowship shares its building with several partner organizations whose work extends the congregation's mission beyond its own walls.
- Chicago Montessori School, the city's only AMI - accredited Montessori community, serves children from 18 months through eighth grade and uses the building for classrooms.
- Lincoln Square Ravenswood Solidarity Network used the church's space during the coronavirus outbreak to clean, sort, and distribute donations for neighbors in need, an echo of the mutual aid described in Acts 2:42 - 47.
- Chicago Books to Women in Prison distributes free paperback books to people incarcerated in women's prisons nationwide from this site.
- Center for Religion and Psychotherapy, a not - for - profit offering psychotherapy and pastoral counseling to adults, adolescents, individuals, and couples since 1965, operates out of the building.
- The Night Ministry, which provides housing, health care, and human connection to people struggling with poverty or homelessness in Chicago, has long been a partner; Ravenswood Fellowship members serve on the Night Ministry's Outreach Bus several times a year and currently give financially to support meal distribution.
- AlAnon and Debtors Anonymous hold regular meetings at the church.
- The Sansei Yonsei Athletic Association runs a free children's basketball clinic every Saturday in February and March for kids ages 3 and up, with older youth serving as coaches and leaders.
The sanctuary itself is a venue for concerts and recitals, and recent performances and rehearsals have included Jonathan Hannau, Duo Yomeno, Ursa Ensemble, Eriko and Kimiko Darcy, Lycee Francais de Chicago, Other Theater Company, and the Route 66 Theater Company. The gym sees year - round use for basketball, soccer, volleyball, and other sports, with a particular priority for youth sports teams in the early evening.
Generosity, Volunteering, and Prayer
Ravenswood Fellowship practices the spiritual gift of generosity throughout the year, both to support its own ministry and to feed those in need. Members can give by check in the offering plate, by mail, through PayPal, by Zelle sent to RFUMCFinance@gmail.com, or through the iGive shopping rebate program. The church also hosts community fundraisers such as a Rummage Sale, a Pancake Breakfast, and a Spaghetti Dinner, and volunteers are always welcome to help with these gatherings.
During the Prayers of the People each Sunday, the church reads the prayer requests submitted by members and friends. Anyone can send a request through the church's online form. The pastor sends a weekly newsletter that follows the liturgical calendar, with editions for each Sunday of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, and a special Pride Sunday edition in late June.
Accessibility, Parking, and Getting Here
There is a designated loading and unloading area on Hermitage in front of the church's glass doors, and there are no stairs to enter through those doors. Once inside, chair lifts are available, with about fifteen steps leading up to the sanctuary, gym, and restrooms. The all - gender bathrooms off the gym are wheelchair accessible.
The church is a short walk from the CTA Brown Line's Montrose Avenue stop, two blocks away, and the Damen Avenue stop, six blocks away. The CTA #78 bus on Montrose stops at Montrose and Hermitage, one block south. The Metra Ravenswood stop on Lawrence Avenue is four blocks north, and the nearest Divvy station is one block south at Montrose and Paulina. Drivers from the north can take I - 94 or I - 90 to Irving Park Road and head east to Hermitage; from the south, Lake Shore Drive to Montrose Avenue leads directly to the church.
A Welcome That Matches the Building's History
What holds Ravenswood Fellowship together is a willingness to be shaped by the neighborhood it serves. Two Methodist congregations - one tracing its roots to a wooden church floated along the lakeshore in 1873 and another born of the Japanese American experience of internment and resettlement - came together in 1987 to form a single church that takes its diversity seriously. The partner organizations that fill the Community House each week, the reconciliation work through the Reconciling Ministries Network, the free basketball clinic in February and March, and the open communion table on the first and third Sundays are all expressions of the same conviction: that the gospel is for everyone, and that a church on a corner can be a place where everyone finds a home.