Since 1938, Grace has served the south Evanston community. We are a diverse, intergenerational, and intersectional church made up of people from many cultures, languages, races, genders, sexualities, abilities, and backgrounds. As a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we are connected to a wider community of faith while rooted in the life of our neighborhood.

At Grace, we believe every person is a beloved child of God, made in the image of God.

Our Ministries

At Grace, ministry is something we all share. Everyone is invited and encouraged to take part in living out our vision and values in the ways God calls them. This happens in many forms—through creative Sunday School, meaningful worship, stocking our Little Free Pantry, serving as a neighborhood hub, engaging in local and global advocacy, supporting LGBTQIA+ ministries, and much more.

A Neighborhood Hub

Grace is more than a church building—we are a place for connection, action, and care in our community. Alongside meaningful worship and community life, we host groups, serve as a polling place, and gather neighbors for free weekly meals and conversation.

We also partner with local organizations to extend care beyond our walls:

• SamaraCare Counseling – providing spiritually sensitive counseling
• YWCA Alternatives to Violence – supporting people working to end abusive behavior
• Family Promise – addressing family homelessness; Grace hosts families in our building each year
• Connections for the Homeless – offering compassionate and comprehensive support for housing-insecure neighbors
• New Neighbor Support – welcoming and accompanying our new immigrant neighbors as needs arise

We are always open to new partnerships and continue to follow where God is calling us in the neighborhood and beyond.

A Reconciling in Christ Community

We are a Reconciling in Christ congregation, committed to welcoming and affirming LGBTQIA+ people and all of God’s beloved children, working for racial and social justice, and caring for creation. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, you are welcome to bring your full, authentic self here. Read our full RIC statement here.

Honoring Indigenous Land

Our community of faith, Grace Lutheran Church- Evanston, acknowledges that our church sits on the ancestral homelands of the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Peoria and Oceti Sakowin peoples. With God’s help, we endeavor to repair ongoing injustices and grow toward right relationships with Indigenous people.

We lament the broken treaties and genocide that happened and the unjust legacy that persists. We faithfully commit ourselves to interrupt this legacy as part of our pledge to work toward racial justice. We will endeavor to listen to and respect our Indigenous siblings and form relationships to work towards healing, justice, and repair. 

There is a place for you here.