Church History

In 1837 an Evangelical Church congregation formed in Naperville, beginning the rich history of what is now known as Community United Methodist Church. Enjoy this selection of scans of material from our church archives.

1925 Church School Dedication

Program of Dedication, Church School Building was produced for the November 22, 1925 dedication of the church school, constructed on the south side of the 1912 Sanctuary building. The program includes a brief history of the congregation from 1837 through 1925; the orders of service for morning worship, the afternoon dedication, and evening worship; and the school staff.

1946 Woman’s Missionary Society

History of the Illinois Branch, Women’s Missionary Society of The Evangelical Church was published in 1946. This includes sections on the WMS of the Evangelical Association, of the United Evangelical Church, and of the Evangelical Church. Appendices list missionaries and officers from Illinois for the period from 1878 through 1946.

1962 Church History

A Time For Remembrance, a history of the first 125 years of the Community UMC congregation (at that time part of the Evangelical United Brethren denomination), was published in 1962. The files are in Adobe PDF form, and you will need the free Adobe Reader to view them. The files are all between 1 and 3 MB.

  • Cover, preface, and table of contents TFR-0
  • Chapter 1: Beginnings TFR-1
  • Chapter 2: Environmental Settings TFR-2
  • Chapter 3: Schismatic Reverberations TFR-3
  • Chapter 4: Unions, Organizations, and Buildings TFR-4-1 TFR-4-2
  • Chapter 5: Social Gospel TFR-5-1 TFR-5-2 TFR-5-3
  • Chapter 6: Liturgical Leanings TFR-6-1 TFR-6-2 TFR-6-3
  • Plates 1 (originally bound with Chapter 2)  TFR-P1
  • Plates 2 (originally bound with Chapter 4) TFR-P2
  • Plates 3 (originally bound with Chapter 5) TFR-P3

1981 Expansion Consecration

The Consecration of the Building on September 13, 1981 [EXP-cons] marked the completion of a major expansion project, with the filling-in of the space between the 1912 Sanctuary building and the 1925 Church School building. The project also made renovations and repairs to other portions of the building.

2000 Accessibility Project Consecration

Opening Doors to Community on October 1, 2000 rededicated the building following the 2000 Accessibility Project, which updated Community’s classroom space, added an elevator, and improved the front entrance, among other renovations.