Episcopal Church of St. Benedict

We consider ourselves, in the words of Isaiah, “A house of prayer for all people.” (Is. 56:7)

We were named after St. Benedict of Nursia, who wrote a “rule of life” for monks and nuns that placed hospitality, community, and prayer at the center of a holy life. We seek to practice those same values. 

Sunday morning worship is at 10:00 a.m. and draws 30-50 people each week: men, women, children, older, younger, well-dressed, casually-dressed, gay, straight, Black, White, Filipino, South Asian, Nigerian, Hispanic, British, disabled, divorced, single, married, faithful, doubting, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Cubs fans, and Sox fans, — from Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Naperville, Woodridge, Romeoville, Downers Grove, and the Joliet area. St. Benedict lists itself on GayChurch.org as a church that welcomes and affirms GLBT individuals and their families and the blessing of Holy Unions.

We offer Christian Formation for adults and children. Children's classes meet twice a month, usually second and fourth Sundays, for ages 4-11. Teens often join adult classes. There is adult education almost every Sunday and a popular Wednesday night bible study, as well as other opportunities on a less regular basis.

HISTORY

A community began worshipping in a home in Bolingbrook on June 11, 1972, and successively moved to four different locations in our first nine years of ministry. There were seven different priests serving St. Benedict from that first Sunday until the first full-time priest, Father Howard Peckinpaugh, began his ministry with the congregation in 1979. "The Domes" were built while he was vicar - two geodesic domes connected by a narthex. Worship and parish activities met here for over twenty years, from 1981 to 2002.

The Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudson, who later became Bishop of Maine, succeded "Father Peck" in 1982 and was one of the first women priests serving as a full-time vicar in our diocese. 

In 2001, the congregation had to leave The Domes because a leaking roof and mold infestation and began worshipping in a storefront at Boughton Road and Schmidt. In 2002, the Domes were torn down. St. Benedict worshipped in the storefront for two and a half years, while planning and fundraising for a new building on the same site, under the leadership of Roy Hoffman and then Catharine Phillips. The new church was dedicated by Bishop William Persell in July 2004.

The mortgage was paid in full in September 2013 due to the generosity of the members of St. Benedict and the Bishop and Trustees of the Diocese of Chicago. There is a soaring, simple sanctuary space, a welcoming narthex, classroom space, and a parish hall with a small kitchen. There is a wide lawn, plenty of parking, and both old and young trees.