Staff and Church Leadership
The Reverend Greg Sabetta was called as our pastor in February of 2023. He is a graduate of The Chicago Theological Seminary and was ordained at St. Pauls UCC in Lincoln Park in 2009. In a previous life, he was a professional musician and has been directing the music for the Jewish High Holy Days at Emanuel Congregation for over 20 years. Greg’s employment history includes arts administration, marketing director for a music publisher, and director of community relations for The Night Ministry, where his call to ministry awakened. He convenes a knitting group for men and his knitwear has been featured in an art gallery. Pastor Greg takes an incarnational approach to his sermons and ministry in general, constantly attempting to understand how the ancient narratives we’ve inherited can be faithfully applied to our living today. Favorite quote: “Pray as if everything depends on God. Act as if everything depends on you.” (Attributed to both the Talmud and Augustine of Hippo)
Robin Smith is our office manager and has been with us for over 20 years! She is the friendly, welcoming, efficient face of our congregation and she has all the answers!
Dr. Michael Finlay began his ministry of music with us in December of 2023. Michael is a highly acclaimed solo pianist and chamber musician, having recently performed at the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. He is a 2022 recipient of The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award. At the age of 15, he attended the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy on a full scholarship. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Master’s from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Doctorate from the University of Montreal.
CHURCH COUNCIL OFFICERS
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month
Christine Jorns, president
Don Weiss, vice-president
Randy Putman, treasurer
Linda Zilner, recording secretary
Upcoming Events
Snack & Chat
Join us after worship in Dettmann Hall for… snacks and chat
Members and friends volunteer to host our time together.
If you’d like to volunteer, there’s a sign-up on the Great Hall bulletin board
or see Cheryl Ruchti.
Food Pantry Sunday
Food Pantry Sunday is the third Sunday of each month. We are proud to house and support the Bensenville-Wood Dale Food Pantry in our facility.
Greetings from Rev. Greg Sabetta
Early church reformer John Calvin said that we’re all ministers and the pastor’s function is to restore God’s people to ministry. Sunday morning is a sacred space where the scriptures, our prayers, our hymns remind us who we are, whose we are, and call us to practice “getting it right.” Church is the place where we treat each other better than we’re treated anywhere else. The Lord’s Table is one of thanksgiving where we are nourished for the task of taking Sunday morning out into the world. In his last days, Jesus told his followers, “I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” Nowhere else in the Christian Scriptures are we commanded to do anything. We are, of course, called to follow Christ’s loving example, but we are commanded to love one another, which is not always easy to do. And that’s where we come together to hear the Word, to gather at the Table, to love one another–and ourselves–more and more so that, when we go into our week, we are strengthened to be a force for good, and to be God’s hands of compassion and healing in our community and in our world. Together we can continue to do great things!
Moments from the Celebration of our Mutual Ministry
October 15, 2023
Worship Leaders
Cantor Friedman and the Emanuel Congregation High Holy Day Choir
Double blessings from Cantor Shelly and Pastor Greg
Here’s where you’ll find us
Faith Community United Church of Christ
192 South Center Street | Bensenville, IL 60106
630-766-1141 | office@faithcommunityucc.com
Holy Welcome
Welcome to Faith Community Church,
an Open and Affirming Congregation of
The United Church of Christ
Welcome to those whose hearts are on fire with faith,
and to those who bring their doubt inside our doors.
Welcome to our first time guests and our longtime members.
Welcome to single people, tiny children,
grandparents and families of all configurations.
Welcome to those who rejoice and to those who grieve.
Welcome to LGBTQ+ people.
Welcome to each and to everyone.
We are blessed by your presence and
we are glad you are here.
Faith Community United Church of Christ
is an Open and Affirming congregation of the
Fox Valley Association of the
Illinois Conference of the
United Church of Christ.
E-Giving
You can now set up your offerings to be made directly to the church from your checking or savings account, eliminating the need to write a check. Offerings can be made at any time and to whatever ministry of the church that you choose (i.e., General Fund, Building Fund, Christmas, Easter, church missions). You can set up your offerings weekly, monthly, or at any interval you choose.
Our partner in e-giving is Vanco Services. Vanco is the financial technology company that has been chosen by the United Church of Christ. It provides secure electronic giving to more than 10,000 churches. Your information provided to Vanco Services is safe and is kept strictly confidential.
Vanco is integrated with our church software, and your offerings are automatically recorded in your giving record. It eliminates the need for our church office to manually record your offerings.
If you have any questions, please call the church office at 630-766-1141