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Community Corner

VIDEO: Morton Grove Community Church Celebrates 60 Years

MGCC has achieved a milestone in age, and its members' faith has kept this house of worship alive.

On Sunday the sounds of cello music and quiet worship floated out the open door of the Morton Grove Community Church.

But it wasn't your ordinary Sunday service, the MGCC was celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Changing Demographics

Although the MGCC has been a Morton Grove institution since the 1950s, the church has gone through a tremendous changes in faith demographics.

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At one time, the church held two services each Sunday. In recent years, it has struggled to fill pews, according to Tim Honaker, a 35-year member.

"The big change with established religion is the decline as the population aged," Honaker said. "But we are very tightly bound together; it's a real feeling of community and family here, which is nice." 

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Potential Merger, Then Renovation

Several years ago, the MGCC was contemplating a merger with another PCUSA church because of its decline in attendance. Instead, the close knit community came together and retained their house of worship, Rev. Lolly Dominiski said.

Inside the aging church, it was common to see buckets to collect leaking water when it rained, said Barb Genge, who has been a member of the church for almost three years.

A few years ago the congregation took part in a $100,000 renovation to bring their facility up to par for the next 60 years, replacing major sections of the roof and installing new carpeting and paint throughout the MGCC.

Today's Celebration

On Sunday morning, in an act of celebration, members of the church --  some dating back to its founding -- came together and were graced by the sounds of Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Gary Stucka, who also worships at the MGCC. 

The full pews greeted the service lead by Rev. Dominski, followed by catered food and conversation, blending the two faith communities of the MGCC and the Chicago Somang, a Korean-language Presbyterian church that also uses the facilities of the MGCC on Sundays.

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