Church of Our Saviour Episcopal

Best music ANYWHERE, and such a lovely balance of tradition and contemporary reality. The Rector’s sermons are insightful, relevant, humorous, and deeply meaningful, and the Deacon is super accessible & down-​to-​earth. Kids’ programs are top-​notch!

I went to a wedding here this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. It’s an old church but not uptight. It has plenty of charm and neat ornate decorations. The kneelers look like they were decorated by different people (I took a pic, check the business photos) and they are so cute!
They seem to be friendly to same sex couples and I see that by reading other reviews. I like that! Everyone should be welcome to worship!

I’m so in love with this church that I take a 40-​minute bus ride each way for the past 8 years. The 5:30 service is AMAZING. Tradition with a twist!

This church is the «thinking person’s church.» Typically, people who describe themselves as «Christian» make me nervous. But as the other reviewers here have written, COS is open minded and community oriented. They have a great volunteer group that serves thousands of hot meals to homeless each year. They have intellectual conversations about contemporary issues. They have great programs for young kids and teenagers. And it’s all wrapped in a deep spirituality. I love this church.

I moved to Chicago with my partner in January of 2009 without really knowing anyone in the city. We fumbled around for about three months and independently discovered that we were missing the spiritual aspect that church life brought to our childhoods. I was raised in a Pentecostal Church and he was raised Roman Catholic. We each stopped going to church because we felt a lack of acceptance in the churches of our upbringings.
After an extensive online search for «gay friendly» congregations we ended up attending the Palm Sunday service at COS (which is what the congregation calls itself). What we found was a community that accepted us without needing to label us as «the gay couple.» This is what we were looking for in a church.
They are a vibrant group with a tremendous amount of community involvement including: Food for Friends (a group which provides meals to Chicago’s Homeless residents on Saturday and Monday), multiple AA meetings, children’s ministries, youth missions, a Monthly foot clinic for the homeless, a great choir, and much more. This church encourages active participation without pressure which I love.
Are there negatives? Of course, as long as us humans are involved there will always be issues but the pros far outweigh the cons.
PS — The parking lot is difficult to get too but there is a great video on the church’s website that helps navigate this problem.

I’ll try and keep it short and light on background, but my girlfriend is a Methodist’s pastors daughter, while I was raised Catholic. Its been difficult for us to find a church that fits both our needs. She liked going to Mass with me in college but tired of the consistently bland homilies and the conservatism of the Catholic church (she couldn’t take communion, anti abortion homilies, etc.), but at every Protestant church we went to I missed weekly communion and the traditional liturgy. We have attended a few other Episcopalian churches but this was the first where the homily was truly excellent, the first that had a real family small town feel where everyone was enthusiastic to be there, it was a diverse congregation and there were a good number of young adults there as well. Father Hastings gave a great homily and the mass was traditional without being overly stuffy or archaic like some of the other Anglo-​Catholic parishes we had attended. There seemed to be a lot to do and the announcements made it clear this was a church active every day and not just Sunday.
Our only objections was the difficulty of getting to the parking lot (it doesnt have a Fullerton exit and you have to find the alley entrance traversing many one way streets) and the difficulty of getting out due to so many double parked cars. Next time we go we will either take the L or a leave a little earlier from Hyde Park to get a space.

I was raised Catholic and my husband Presbyterian, but we both feel comfortable at Church of Our Saviour. In fact, we have enrolled our children in their wonderful (and free!) catechesis program. There are two main services on Sundays: The 9 AM service is unassuming, family-​friendly (but still well-​attended by singles and couples), uplifting and has fabulous, participatory music. It lasts about 50 minutes and is guided by the phrase «what is understandable to children is edifying to adults.» The 10:45 AM service is more traditional /​formal, with organ and choir music. Free babysitting is available during both services, but they also have an area in the front for kids to color, read, or just lounge on pillows. Also, both priests at COS deliver great homilies — — always a plus! Our family was looking for a friendly and diverse church in the city where we would all feel welcomed and comfortable. We found it at COS.

This lovely little church has a very warm and friendly — almost small town feel to it — which is not always easy to find in a big city. The church building itself is beautiful in an understated way, and it has quite a bit of history (est.1876.) Although I am sorry to hear that their neighbor is bothered by bustling days at the church, it sounds like they have made a commitment to serving the broader Chicago community which is just exactly what I believe a church should do. It is certainly worth a visit in my opinion!