OUR BELIEFS
The Bible
Christians look to the Bible as the foundation for their spiritual growth through worship, study, nurturing congregational life together, and caring for the world beyond their fellowship. The Bible is the most reliable human witness to the history of salvation operating in God’s covenant relationship with the Hebrews, recorded in the First (Old) Testament, as well as through the person and work of Jesus Christ and during the fledgling years of first and second century Christianity, recorded in the New Testament.
The Bible is our holiest book of faith, inspired by God but written and then passed from generation to generation by human beings. We take the Bible seriously as we prayerfully investigate it by way of the kind of cultural, historical, and literary examination that helps us discover the original context of biblical passages and discern how that context speaks to us today. Thus, we turn to the Bible to inform and illumine our ethical and theological responses to issues that challenge us in the 21st century. In our search to better understand the Bible and its meaning for our lives, we are mindful of traditional interpretations but not limited by them. We have a joyful expectation that new insights and guidance will come from carefully reflecting on texts through personal as well as group studies.
Opportunities for exploring the Bible include:
• Worship — Especially the Message (Sermon)
• Christian Education for ALL — Children, youth, and adults on Sunday mornings and special evening series
• Guest Lecturers
• Individual Study
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Sacraments
As traditionally defined by St. Augustine, a sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.” Sacraments are times of sacred commemoration when we are especially mindful of the mystery of being blessed by God’s grace in our individual and communal lives. At Flossmoor Community Church, we celebrate two sacraments—Baptism and Holy Communion.
In Baptism the gathering presence of the Holy Spirit commences our Christian life in the community of the church, which reminds us that God’s grace in Jesus Christ is what makes church happen, not our merit or status. While it is our practice to baptize infants through the sprinkling of water, unbaptized people of any age are welcomed to be baptized.
In Holy Communion (also known as the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist) we gather together for companionship at table to remember Jesus Christ, respond anew to his ongoing spiritual agency in our lives, and recommit ourselves to his redemptive activity. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month, as well as special services during Lent. Communion can also be taken by the Pastor and Elders to those unable to attend a service of worship.
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Spiritual Formation
Spiritual formation is a lifelong journey of commitment to cultivate faith, hope, and love in relationship to God and neighbor. Flossmoor Community Church has long been known as a church that nurtures and encourages people of all ages by giving them opportunities to be formed by an authentic experience of God and an attitude of concern for all humankind. Thus we intend all aspects of our Christian life together—worship, education, fellowship, congregational care, outreach to the world—to contribute to the formation of the community of faith we share.
Since spiritual formation takes place in different ways at each stage of life, our staff responds to the uniqueness of each age, providing developmentally appropriate ministries at each level. These ministries are: Children’s Ministries, Youth Ministries, Adult Ministries. An age-appropriate biblical foundation is a common thread connecting these ministries.
We believe that relationship is central to spiritual formation. A relationship to God can be found in personal spiritual pilgrimages that we share in, and find support from, our community of faith. At all ages, forming friendships and serving together allows us to experience God in and through others. By the stirring of the Holy Spirit, we are formed—and eventually transformed—by God’s presence in Jesus Christ such that we grow in our relationships not only with those we know, but also with strangers and even enemies beyond our familiar partners in faith.
Denominational Affiliation
Flossmoor Community Church is not affiliated with any one denomination. At the same time, FCC is not a non-denominational church. Instead, it is intentionally multi-denominational, which means that we both respect the denominational backgrounds that people may have experienced before coming to FCC and embrace the diverse perspectives those backgrounds bring to the table.
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OUR HISTORY
Flossmoor Community Church began in 1923 when five women organized the Flossmoor Community Sunday School in the new Village of Flossmoor. They rented two rooms and a basement in the newly built Leavitt Avenue School and on March 7, 1923 welcomed 33 pupils. In 1926 after polling the area a group decided to form a new church without a denominational affiliation and began conducting regular Sunday services along with the Sunday School. Flossmoor Community Church adopted a constitution and 107 people became charter members on February 22, 1927. In 1934 the church moved into The Community House on Hutchison Road which had been built as a social center for new home buyers and then used by the school district.
In 1945 Dr. Robert K. Bell, a Presbyterian minister, began his thirty-year ministry in Flossmoor. The church was growing rapidly and Hugo C. Haeuser, a Milwaukee architect, created plans for an L-shaped building of Briar Hill stone on property across from The Community House. The first section of the L containing the sanctuary, choir loft, and narthex and a lower level containing a stage, fellowship hall, kitchen and utility room was built in the initial phase which began in 1948. A Cassavant pipe organ was installed in 1950 and the education wing was added in 1953. In 1960 the full series of stained glass windows lining the sanctuary was completed. In 1965 the sanctuary was widened to increase seating capacity from 280 to 530 and the education wing was expanded and a choir wing added.
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The church had become a leader in Christian Education with the addition of the Weekday Preschool in 1953 and a unique youth program in 1970.
In 2006 the church embarked on Project Sacred Space to reconfigure the chancel area of the sanctuary to make it handicap accessible while creating new space for the choir and organ along with new pews and infrastructure upgrades. The Bell Chapel and Narthex area were rebuilt to create a large gathering space and a new Chapel unifying the sanctuary with the rest of the main floor. Fellowship Hall and the kitchen and bathroom areas were remodeled to better serve outreach, educational and fellowship needs and a new Spirituality Center was created in the education wing.
In 1971 Dr. Robert Worley, a professor at McCormick Theological Seminary wrote:
The Flossmoor Community Church has been characterized over the years by its openness to change, its willingness to risk and fail in the face of challenges. This is the only congregation I have studied where its leadership, both clergy and lay, are committed to the continual transformation of a congregation in order to discover the more appropriate forms of witness and service.
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