HELP CELEBRATE OUR 125TH!!!

Sept. 27th Outdoor Birthday Bash [note new date]

12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m.
(St. Paul's festivities start 2:00 p.m.)


Sunday, Sept. 27th, we're throwing a do-not-miss party on our block, the 1000 block of Greenwood Street.  Along with our neighboring church - Emmanuel Methodist - at the other end of our block, we'll be celebrating two big birthdays:  St. Paul's 125th and Emmanuel's 135th.

It'll be a blast - all the usual block party fun:  music, games, fire truck, bouncy house, etc.  Plus ...a chance to look around our historic, architecturally significant sanctuaries, and see St. Paul's organic/sustainable/pollinator-welcoming garden.  And of course, outdoor feasting at both churches -- Emmanuel starting 12 noon, St. Paul's at 2 pm.  

I'M NEW

So glad you found us. Best way to learn about us is to come to worship, meet people, and find a group.

Events

Learn more about how we grow and serve our neighbor!   Hope you'll join us!


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Pr. Jeanie Reardon

Pastoral FellowS


Pastor Peg Otte

We are thrilled to have Pastor Peg return a second time to St. Paul's this year as Pastoral Fellow. She will lead us through the Season of Creation (some new twists this year!) and be with us from September 13 though October 11. 

Pr. Peg is well-known and greatly loved at St. Paul's, having led us as pastoral fellow multiple times over the years. Most recently, she led us through the Epiphany season. She has previously led us as fellow for Lent-Easter (2025), Eastertide (2024), and for Season of Creation (2023). Prior to that, she served as our interim pastor during 2019 after Pr. Tim McKenzie moved to North Carolina. 

Pr. Peg and her husband Randy are long-time Evanston residents who raised their three now-adult children here. Pr. Peg previously served at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Prospect Heights and St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wilmette, has served as an interim minister in this synod, and for many years, served during winter at Shepherd by the Sea. She is delighted to return to St. Paul’s this year for the beloved Season of Creation.    





Pastor of care & engagement

Pr. matt holmes

It is a great joy to have the Rev. Matthew Holmes as our longterm Pastor of Care & Engagement at St. Paul’s. In that role, Pr. Matt provides us pastoral care & counseling, clergy leadership for our ministries engaging with the St. Paul’s and larger Evanston-area communities, and weekly worship leadership in our Sunday morning services and Wednesday evening prayer. Pr. Matt is a 2010 graduate of The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and is ordained to Word & Sacrament in the ELCA.  After seminary, Pr. Matt worked as a chaplain, pastor and grief support specialist in several settings. He continues to serve (in addition to St. Paul’s) as an adjunct instructor of religious studies at Triton College and a paid-on-call firefighter/EMT with the village of LaGrange Park.


Matt is married to Rachel Wind, a former St. Paul's MIC student and another graduate of LSTC who works in development for the ELCA. They have two children, Hugh (12) and Louisa (9). In his free time, Matt is a prolific if rarely published writer and an avid amateur scholar of philosophy (his undergraduate major). Matt is the author of two published books Breath: 52 Reflections for those who Care for the Dying (Avenida Books, 2017), and coauthor with Rev. Thomas Gaulke of Everyday Armageddons: Stories and Reflections on Death, Dying, God and Waste (Cascade Books, 2023).

Formerly, Matt has worked as a commercial fisherman, nervous bouncer, short order cook, carny and plenty more.


Dr. Kurt westerberg, director of music

Kurt Westerberg has been privileged to serve as Director of Music at St. Paul’s since 1998, performing on piano and pipe organ, directing the St. Paul’s chancel choir, and arranging music for the choir as well as instrumental and vocal soloists.   He recently retired from the DePaul University School of Music, where he served as an Associate Professor of musicianship and composition and held several administrative posts.  He holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Northwestern University and has been active as a composer of modern classically-oriented music. 


Kurt, soloists, and choir aim for a blend of classical, gospel, and global music to meaningfully enhance the worship experience at St. Paul’s like

Come and Fill Our Hearts With Your Peace featuring soloists, choir, and cello.

Thank you for your generosity

Clicking the "offering plate" photo fuels St. Paul's and our ministries - learn more about them!


We believe our search for meaning in life falls hand in hand with a purposeful life.  At St. Paul's we believe that our work, worship, and prayers together allow the living Christ to meet us where we are and transform our lives.  Come join us as we discover ways to publicly share and live all of our gifts through God's Living Word.