Preston Bradley and the Peoples Church of Chicago
The congregation was described in the 1924
edition of the "Western Unitarian" as "one of the most largely
attended liberal churches in the world, its Sunday morning attendance being
upwards of two thousand." Dr. Preston Bradley, who was 24 years old when
he took over the congregation in 1912, moved the church to progressively
larger spaces as his oratorical skills attracted more and more people, finally building the
Preston Bradley Center to house it, a huge building of six floors with two
balconies and a wide stage, where the congregation continues to worship.
Bradley's dream, as published in a 1942 press
clipping, was that this congregation would have "a prophetic voice and
civic conscience," and it grew to have a membership of over 4,000 in the
1940's, along with a distinguished social action program. Bradley's ministry
included several church services each week, radio broadcasts reaching several
million listeners, and an active community relief effort serving hundreds on
the north side.
As urban flight and the general decline of
mainstream denominations took place over the last four decades, membership in
the congregation dwindled dramatically, and the congregation nearly closed its
doors. A decision was made to jointly affiliate with the United Church of
Christ while maintaining Unitarian Universalist Association membership, and
the congregation today has a membership of about thirty adults, maintaining an
active social justice outreach ministry. Though the congregation is small, the
building hosts a number of organizations, including Residents
for Effective Shelter Transitions, or REST, which is the largest
homeless service provider on the north side of Chicago, housing sixty-five men
downstairs in Anderson Hall, and providing social services and a medical clinic
on the 4th floor. REST also runs a women's shelter and a warming center
off-site. The 5th floor houses the Christ Pentecostal Church, a
lively congregation of people who've migrated from Ghana. The third major use
of the building comes from Playing
Out Productions, an organization of gay musicians with music groups ranging from a
60-piece band to quintets.
The congregation runs a meals program, 2
Li'l Fishes, serving a free lunch four times a week to people from
local shelters and the nearby community, and hosts an annual Labor Day Picnic
for the homeless, with 400-500 people coming for barbequed chicken and ribs,
as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
The Peoples Church of Chicago
