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When was it founded: 1937

Where is it located: 501 South Emerson Street

Has it moved: Yes

First Pastor or Priest: Edwin Stevens

History and interesting stories about the church:

In 1935, a group of thirteen Mount Prospect citizens gathered in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Johnson with wild aspirations of organizing a new church. They hoped to establish a community church that would serve every denomination and be affiliated with the Chicago Baptist Association. Despite initial doubts, disagreements, and a “temporary disbandment,” the first service was held in the lounge of the Mount Prospect Country Club in 1937. In September of that year, the ground was broken for the church on previously purchased lots of land. A mere three months later, on December 19, the first services were held inside the newly built church. In that same busy year, a Bible School was founded, a constitution was written, a new pastor (Reverend Edwin Stevens) was welcomed, and a name for the church was chosen–“South Church” with the sub-title “Community-Baptist” affixed to it.

In 1942, with the United States propelled into war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Reverend Stevens felt he would be better serving God and his country by enlisting in the army as a chaplain. During his absence and until his safe return in 1945, his position was temporarily filled by two other pastors.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, South Church experienced an ever-expanding congregation and numerous building additions. For instance, in 1957, a Christian Education addition was built and dedicated a year later to accommodate all church children from ages 3 to 12. In those times of seemingly expansion chaos, Marion Stevens began a Memorial Cross display in 1955 in hopes of re-emphasizing the church’s original theme of community. In this display, roughly 125 crosses from across the country and the world were assembled and exhibited. Following her death in 1962, her family graciously donated the entire collection to the church. A decade later, Reverend Stevens retired from the ministry and was replaced by Reverend John Clements in 1974.

When was it founded: 1968

 Where is it located: 1321 Burning Bush Lane

Has it moved: Yes

History and interesting stories about the church:

On May 15, 1968, Father Frank E. Wachowski was appointed to establish a new parish. Despite having some initial difficulties in finding an appropriate site for a church, Father Wachowski eventually acquired some land and proceeded to organize a parish. Within the first month, over 247 families were registered as members. Because of the congregation’s high concentration of families, the church’s first organization was a CCD program–a religious education course for children. In December of that year, Cardinal Cody approved the name of “Saint Thomas Becket” for the church.

Although the garage of the parish center–purchased in 1970–had been converted into a chapel, the developing congregation experienced growing pains and needed more room to stretch. As a result, in 1975, plans were finalized for the construction of a new church, meeting hall, and rectory. Even though construction was not completed until 1979, the church held services as early as December 1978. Father Wachowski was fortunate enough to live to see the completion of Saint Thomas Becket’s expansion as well as the official dedication ceremony in 1980. Later that year, the Father passed away and was replaced by Father Ralph Mollan.