165 Years on Forest Avenue
First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn has stood on Forest Avenue for 165 years, and the generations who built, prayed, and gathered in this brick sanctuary left a legacy that the current congregation is proud to continue. The church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, and the congregation has long described itself with a simple phrase on its front page: "You are Welcome Here." That welcome, and the theological seriousness behind it, shapes everything the church does.
FCCGE is officially an Open and Affirming congregation. Its welcome page states plainly that the church "rejoices in our community of faith, strengthened by diversity, including diversity of culture, economic status, age, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and physical or mental abilities." Visitors are told, "Wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." Newcomers frequently hear the church described as "a soft place to land, a nutritious place to grow, and a community where it is easy to do good."
Sunday Worship at 10:00 am
A single worship service is offered every Sunday morning at 10:00 am, year-round. The service takes place in the main sanctuary, with church school and nursery care running concurrently during the program year. Visitors are told that they will not be asked to stand, to wear a name tag, or to give any contact information unless they want to. Self-serve visitor tags are available but never required, and the only thing asked of a first-time guest is that they come as they are. The church's own description of Sunday dress is simply "whatever you want."
Worship is described as "blended," even within a single service. The congregation is known for the wide variety of music presented on Sunday mornings, drawing on the talents of the adult choir, handbell choir, organ, soloists, small ensembles, and a Taizé-style ensemble for Communion Sundays. The worship bulletin and sermon series follow the liturgical year, and Communion is generally celebrated on the first Sunday of the month, with children in K-5th grade returning to the sanctuary from church school to join their families at the table.
The church describes itself as "a thinking congregation that doesn't require you to check your brain at the door." Sermons are intelligent and engaging; they "may challenge you, give you pause and make you laugh," and the hope is that they ultimately help sustain people on the journey. Lay members of the congregation read scripture as part of the liturgy through the Worship Leadership ministry.
What the Church Believes
FCCGE publishes a list of beliefs in its own voice, written in direct, even conversational language. It begins with the conviction that God loves everyone - "Yeah, even that guy." The congregation affirms LGBTQIA+ identities, holds to the Trinity of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and welcomes other religions as equally valid expressions of faith.
The Bible is described as "a beautiful collection of ancient stories, poems, history, songs, and laws" - a testimony of how one culture, Israel, encountered God. Scripture is treated as a powerful expression of faith, but the church is candid that it carries cultural and historical bias and human influence and is not necessarily historically accurate in every detail. Theology is described as "open to interpretation," and creeds are called "testimonies of faith, but not tests of faith."
The church is a self-described Just Peace Church. It teaches that justice is "God's love in action" and accepts responsibility "to help build a more just society, one that he envisioned in the Gospels." Grace is central: "We all fall short of God's desire for us, sometimes. By God's grace, we are forgiven. And by God's grace, we forgive one another." Questions, the church says, are more useful than answers. "We don't have all of the answers. In fact, we haven't got any. But our questions lead us to glimpses of truth and encounters with awe inspiring mysteries."
A Music Program That Travels the World
If a single program defines FCCGE beyond its welcome, it is the music ministry. The church has long been known in the wider UCC for the quality and breadth of its music, and the leadership has been remarkably stable. Director of Music Ministry Michele Hecht has served the congregation for more than 24 years, leading a team of professional musicians and overseeing choirs, handbells, a Taizé ensemble, a recorder ensemble, song leaders, and soloists. She holds a Master of Music from Roosevelt University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois, and has studied conducting at the Kodály Institute in Hungary, the René Clausen Choral School, and the University of Michigan Conducting Symposium.
Under Hecht's direction, with Associate for Music Ministry Jeff Haeger as co-director, the FCCGE Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall (three times, including a featured concert in 2008), the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Charleston International Choral Festival, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and most recently at the Limerick Sings! International Choral Festival in Ireland in June 2025. Twenty-two singers and fourteen guests made the trip, performing at the Redemptorist Church, at a local hospital, and together with twelve other choirs at the dramatic Cliffs of Moher.
Hecht's original composition "Bring Us Peace" was selected as a featured performance in closing worship at the UCC General Synod in 2021 and was added to the American Choral Directors Association's curated list of pandemic compositions. She has served as president of the United Church of Christ Musicians Association and chaired the Music in Worship committee for the Illinois chapter of ACDA, organizing two choral festivals.
Jeff Haeger, the Associate for Music Ministry, directs the Sanctuary Singers and the Junior High Singers, accompanies the Celebration Choir, and plays piano in services. He studied jazz piano with Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans and currently serves as chorus director at Metea Valley High School in Aurora.
Matthew Prins directs four handbell choirs at the church and has over 100 handbell compositions published. He has also composed and produced more than 250 pieces of media music used by Discovery Channel, History Channel, and CBS Sports. Shu-Hui (Janet) Tsai serves as organist.
The music program reaches into every age. The Angel Choir (ages 4 through first grade) and Joyful Noise Choir (grades 2-5) prepare a spring performance in worship, and high school musicians are invited to sing with the adult choir and ring with the handbell choir.
Children and Youth Education
Christian education is taken seriously at FCCGE, with a fully staffed program for children from infancy through high school. Catherine Curtis, Director of Christian Education, oversees the work alongside Cathy Basso (Youth Education Coordinator) and Jessi Fleming (Youth Education Associate). Tanner Spears is the Director of Youth Ministry. Four nursery coordinators - Ellison Priebe, Polly Cooper, Amy Zita, and Maggie Zita - staff the nursery during worship.
Nursery care for infants and toddlers is available during the 10:00 am service all year, staffed by church employees and supplemented with volunteers. Parents sign children in, receive pagers, and pick them up after worship.
The Preschool/Pre-K class is offered for three- and four-year-olds and pre-kindergartners, meeting on the lower level. Each Sunday, children hear an age-appropriate faith story, do a craft or activity, learn a prayer or song, and have time for play. The teaching team of four rotating teachers is assisted by adult and high school volunteers.
Kindergarten through fifth-grade church school uses two distinct curricula. Kindergarten and first grade follow the "Young Children and Worship" model, based on the Godly Play approach, with sensorimotor storytelling and time for children to respond through art, story figures, music, and kinesthetic expression. Second through fifth grade use "Lighting the Way," based on the Workshop Rotation Model, rotating through art, drama, games, computers, film, cooking, and Bible exploration workshops. Fourth graders receive an engraved Bible in worship each spring.
Children K-5 begin in the sanctuary with their families and are dismissed to their classes after the Confession Response. On Communion Sundays they return to the sanctuary to receive Communion with the congregation. Activity totes, children's Bibles, and library books are available in the Narthex.
The 345 Fellowship meets roughly once a month for third, fourth, and fifth graders, with special events sprinkled throughout the program year. Activities are led by Tanner Spears.
Confirmation and the Junior and Senior High Years
Confirmation is a three-year journey for sixth through eighth graders, meeting during the 10:00 am service from mid-September through May. There is no Confirmation class on Communion Sundays; confirmands are encouraged to serve in worship or with church school on those days.
Year One (sixth grade) focuses on the Bible itself: who wrote it, when, and why different books were included or excluded. Year Two (seventh grade) explores stories, texts, and traditions that pre-date Christianity, deepens familiarity with Hebrew scripture, and examines relationships between Christianity and other faith traditions. Year Three (eighth grade) prepares youth for church membership, exploring the Christian story, learning about the United Church of Christ, and discerning personal beliefs. Each confirmand selects a sponsor. The program culminates in a public affirmation during a Sunday service.
Our Whole Lives (OWL), the UCC's lifespan comprehensive sexuality curriculum, has been offered at FCCGE for more than ten years to youth in grades 7-12. The curriculum is taught by trained and certified staff and lay leaders and is open to youth from the congregation and friends of the church.
Junior High Fellowship gathers sixth through eighth graders, and Senior High Fellowship meets weekly as well. High school youth are also invited to serve in church school as teaching team members, song leaders, tech team members, or photographers. Each June, senior high youth travel on a mission work camp, helping communities through home repair, childcare, and other service projects.
FCCGE also hosts VOYAGE: Youth Group on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8 pm, an interdenominational gathering for 6th through 12th graders. The program, run in partnership with neighboring congregations, includes a meal, activities, small groups, and prayer.
A Community of Service: The Outreach Network
FCCGE organizes its ministry life around four "communities": Worship, Caring, Friendship, and Service. The Service community is unusually broad for a mid-sized congregation. The church maintains relationships with more than a dozen local, regional, and international partners.
The Glen House Food Pantry, located at 55 North Park Boulevard in Glen Ellyn, is an ecumenical effort of area churches. FCCGE provides two volunteers every fourth Friday of the month and runs an annual food collection in September. The pantry serves more than 33,000 people annually across central DuPage.
DuPage PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) has been a partner of FCCGE for more than 25 years. While DuPage PADS no longer uses the church as an overnight site, the congregation continues to volunteer, cook, set up, and donate. In the past year, 110 FCCGE volunteers provided 420 meals and 3,200 sack lunches to guests.
The Walk-In Ministry, coordinated through 16 Glen Ellyn area churches, provides food certificates, sandwich vouchers, gasoline vouchers, rental and utility assistance, transportation, car repair, lodging, and medications to Glen Ellyn residents and DuPage PADS clients. Volunteers work in pairs Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to noon.
The Ministry of Meals delivers food to church members during times of illness or crisis. The Kitchen Chix provides treats for church programs, serves coffee after Sunday worship, and prepares receptions for memorial services. The Flower Ministry coordinates altar arrangements; donors may dedicate flowers in memory, celebration, or prayer, with arrangements available to take home or leave at church.
Bridge Communities partners with FCCGE mentors to help homeless families work toward self-sufficiency. Mentors meet with families weekly. Rebuilding Together gathers volunteers for a one-Saturday-in-April home repair blitz. Onward House Christmas Gifts provides gifts to more than 200 children in need each Christmas. CREO DuPage pairs first-generation college-bound students from Spanish-speaking families with volunteer coaches who help them reach academic and career goals. The Computer Ministry rebuilds and repairs used PCs and laptops for local schools, libraries, and community centers.
Heifer International is supported each year by the children's annual Heifer Market, which raises thousands of dollars for the organization's mission of ending hunger and poverty. DuPage United, a non-partisan coalition, has FCCGE on its Core Team, advocating for quality-of-life issues across the county.
Racial Justice and Sacred Ground
Racial justice work is woven through the church's identity. The Racial Justice Ministry describes itself as coming to the work "with a spirit of humility" and a commitment to "educate, not just ourselves but our congregation." The group builds relationships with communities of color and Indigenous neighbors and looks for tangible ways to act.
The Sacred Ground film and dialogue series meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm in Pilgrim Hall, with dinner, fellowship, and documentary films addressing topics such as voting rights, immigration, and Palestine. The series is built around powerful documentary films and guest speakers, and registration is required for each session.
Through its Royalties for Spirituals initiative, FCCGE takes special offerings twice a year to support DuPage County ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics), a program of the NAACP that encourages high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. Fourteen local students from DuPage County earned gold medals in STEM and Humanities categories at a recent local competition, with ten FCCGE volunteers serving as judges. The initiative honors the historical origins of Negro Spirituals, songs created by enslaved Black people that are regularly sung as hymns and anthems in worship.
The Eden Project and the Green Team
The Eden Project, supported by the Green Team, helps FCCGE households plant "Giving Gardens" whose produce is donated to local food pantries. In its first year the project donated more than 402 pounds of produce; in a recent year that total rose to over 600 pounds. The Green Team, led by Katie Miley, is dedicated to environmental stewardship within the church, the wider community, and the world, focusing on education, recycling, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. The Garden Ministry maintains the flower beds and containers around the church building and organizes all-church clean-up days.
The Green Team also runs hikes in local forest preserves and supports community composting and community solar initiatives.
LGBTQ+ Welcome and Open and Affirming Identity
FCCGE's Open and Affirming identity is more than a label. The congregation affirms LGBTQIA+ identities as part of its stated beliefs and has a long history of advocacy within the UCC, which in 1969 became the first national body to affirm civil rights for LGBT people through its "Resolution on Homosexuals and the Law." The UCC ordained the first openly gay person into ministry in 1972 and declared itself Open and Affirming in 1985.
The congregation hosts an annual Pride Brunch, with the next one scheduled for June 13, 2027. Dorothy Powers, a member of the congregation and leader of the Open and Affirming Ministry, has shared her testimony in worship. The Mental Health Resources page links to Illinois organizations providing support for transgender individuals and to LGBTQ+ terminology resources.
Music Makers, Tech, Visual Arts, and Worship Support
Beyond the choirs and handbells, a number of lay ministries support Sunday worship. The Music Makers Ministry supports the music staff and finds new ways to help the music program grow. The Tech Ministry runs the sound board and live streams services on YouTube. Ushers distribute bulletins, assist with Communion, and pass the offering plates. The Visual Arts Ministry creates banners and other installations through the liturgical year and curates a gallery outside the Sanctuary featuring artists from around the world. A current installation, "Prayers Ascending," will suspend hundreds of paper doves from the sanctuary ceiling, each carrying a handwritten prayer contributed by members of the congregation.
Wedding Coordinators assist couples through rehearsal and ceremony. The church hosts weddings and is also a place for funerals and celebrations of life. Flowers in the sanctuary, music by the choirs and soloists, and receptions prepared by the Kitchen Chix can all be arranged through these lay ministries.
Small Groups and Community Life
FCCGE runs an active roster of small groups that meet through the week and across the year. The Sisters on a Sojourn women's discussion group meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 9:00 am in the Parlor, September through May, choosing religious or spiritual books and discussing one chapter at each meeting. The Book Group meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7 pm in the Conference Room. The 30s and 40s group gathers monthly in homes or at church. The Saturday Play Group meets once a month for parents and children in kindergarten and younger. The Senior Social Group meets Tuesdays at 11 am in the lobby. Heart to Heart Post-Service Reflection gathers adults on the fourth Sunday after worship for conversation about the service.
Bible Study meets on the second and fourth Mondays at 7 pm in the All Purpose Room. The Tech Ministry recruits volunteers interested in audio-visual work. The congregation offers a Spiritual Gifts Discovery Assessment to help members discern where they are called to serve.
Children and Youth Events Through the Year
The church's children and youth calendar includes events that have become traditions. The Annual Heifer Market takes place in the Narthex and lobby one Sunday each September, with children selling treats to support Heifer International. September is also Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month at FCCGE, with ribbons available at the back of the Sanctuary for members to tie on their porches in prayer. The Parables of Jesus Escape Room, hosted in the All-Purpose Room for third through fifth graders, has become a fall favorite. The Annual Harvest Celebration in October gathers the congregation to share food made from the Eden Project gardens.
Becoming a Member
Anyone interested in joining FCCGE is invited to a brief Newcomers Welcome Session, held several times a year on Sunday mornings at 11:00 am. No registration is required, and there is no commitment. Sessions explain the church, its denomination, and offer a chance to ask questions. Joining dates are scheduled roughly three times a year, and a coffee with Senior Minister Rev. Seth Ethan Carey is offered at any point.
Members may access the church directory through Instant Church Directory and can download the FCCGE app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Giving is offered online through Tithely, with stock transfer instructions also available. The newsletter, an electronic newsletter, and weekly bulletins keep members informed, and sermons are available as podcasts on SoundCloud.
Pastors and Staff
Rev. Seth Ethan Carey is the Senior Minister. A graduate of Yale Divinity School who hails from New England, he lives in Wheaton with his wife Angela and their two sons. Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck serves as Associate Minister and leads the Bible Study and Sacred Ground film series, as well as the Royalties for Spirituals initiative.
Tanner Spears (he/they) is the Director of Youth Ministry, holding a Bachelor of Science in Business from DePaul University with a minor in theatre studies and a long history of work with youth. Catherine Curtis, the Director of Christian Education, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Purdue University and has been active in church education since high school. Cathy Basso, the Youth Education Coordinator, has been a member of FCCGE since 2006 and has worked for the church since 2013. Jessi Fleming, the Youth Education Associate, was baptized and confirmed at FCCGE, holds degrees in Early Childhood Education and English Language Learning, and lives in Wheaton with her husband and two children.
Michele Hecht has led the music ministry for more than 24 years. Jeff Haeger is the Associate for Music Ministry, Matthew Prins directs handbells, and Shu-Hui (Janet) Tsai is the organist. Sherry Flugel, the Director of Communications, is a lifelong UCC member and 30+ year member of the FCCGE choir. Michelle Jones is the Business Administrator, and Laura Peccarelli serves as Administrative Assistant. Jose Beltran serves as Sexton.
Faith and Life Center, Mental Health, and Pastoral Care
The Faith and Life Center, located on the main floor off the Lobby, functions as the church library. It is open Sunday mornings and weekdays during office hours, with a wide selection of books for adults on personal and family life, social issues, church leadership, devotional life, Bible studies, fiction, and biographies, as well as children and youth sections emphasizing loving relationships, empathy, inclusion, and diversity.
The Mental Health Resources page compiles contact information for DuPage County crisis lines, DuPagePads, Glen Ellyn Youth and Family Counseling Service, Linden Oaks Behavior Health, Central DuPage Pastoral Counseling Center, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and resources for seniors, caregivers, and LGBTQ+ individuals. The church maintains a list of Stephen Ministers available through Pastor Seth for confidential pastoral conversations.
Building Use and Weddings
The FCCGE building is used by members and outside groups for events. Forms are available for Member Building Usage, For-Profit Group Building Usage, Endorsed Non-Profit Group Usage, and Non-Profit Group Usage, as well as setup forms for Pilgrim Hall and Pilgrim Crossing. The Wedding Coordinators ministry assists couples with rehearsal and ceremony arrangements.
The Building, the Garden, and the Plan Forward
The church occupies its 535 Forest Avenue building and the grounds around it, which the Garden Ministry and Green Team have cultivated over many years. Members and friends are now able to register their households for the Eden Project at any time during the year. The Forward in Faith Capital Campaign and the Annual Report are available to members through the Member Resources page, along with the church directory, tornado evacuation procedures, altar flowers, stock transfer instructions, the Safe Sanctuary policy, and family worship resources.
Standing on the shoulders of the generations who came before, FCCGE continues its work in the heart of Glen Ellyn with a simple, steady conviction: that this is a place where questions are honored, where every kind of neighbor is welcomed, and where the music, the teaching, and the service of the community all flow from the same open door.