By Richard Anderson, Ph.D.Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran in America, located in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side. Founded by Swedish immigrants in 1853, the congregation now serves one of the most diverse communities in the United States.As the first Swedish Lutheran church in Chicago, Immanuel has served as a ‘Mother Church’ to many other congregations in the city, suburbs and in other states. No less than 17 congregations have received support and encouragement from Immanuel in their early development. St. Elias Christian Church, an Arabic Lutheran congregation, is the most recent example of this partnership in mission. In 1871 Immanuel’s brand new building was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire leaving 90% of the membership homeless and an outstanding mortgage of $30,000. The congregation rose in faith to rebuild and repay that mortgage.
In caring for its membership and its community, Immanuel was instrumental in the creation of Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois; Augustana Seminary, which merged into the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago; Augustana Hospital, now part of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital; a publishing house; and several social service agencies.
Immanuel has been a strong supporter of ecumenical efforts and has developed especially strong relationships with St. Gertrude’s Roman Catholic Church and Emanuel 
Congregation, its partners in an ongoing Jewish-Roman Catholic-Lutheran dialogue. As a member of the Edgewater Community Religious Association (ECRA), it maintains ties with many other congregations and denominations.
Through innovative programs, such as Together, which provides support for young children and their caregivers; an intensive ministry group for youth; and a weekly tutoring program for neighborhood children, Immanuel seeks to serve many groups of people outside its membership. The church’s extensive physical plant is also home to a cooperative pre-school program, a Vietnamese community organization, neighborhood clubs, and substance abuse programs.