I’m new to Carter-Westminster!
Interested in learning more about us?
Carter-Westminster (C-W) is a church that believes in and practices God’s hospitality. So, we’d like to welcome you and introduce ourselves! Whether you’ve been in pews your whole life or are new to church, read more below about who we are and how we worship and live our lives together.
Who we are
Carter-Westminster United Presbyterian Church finds its history in the merging of three Presbyterian congregations in and around Skokie — and our church family reflects this diversity! We’re intergenerational. We worship as a family made out of families. Elders, children, youth and students, and people of all ages worship side-by-side here. We have a long history in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago and have a heart for the many communities we serve.
Our current sanctuary, located on the corner Lavergne and Pratt, stands at the site of our original gathering place — the Skokie Pumping Station and then Westminster Presbyterian Church, built in 1947. Then mailing address is 4950 Pratt Ave, Skokie, IL 60077. We have one service offered Sunday morning at 10:45 AM — and we make a lot of our time together!
There is a parking lot on the north side of our building with a carport for easy access to drop-offs in inclement weather. Our sanctuary is accessible by a chair lift up a flight of stairs at the north entrance. Masks are optional, though encouraged for individuals who benefit from using them.
For our friends and members who are housebound or distanced from Skokie, we worship online with the same joy as our embodied gathering. You can find full C-W worship services online — we live-stream to our YouTube channel so you can gather in real time with us. For more about how we live into our call as a church together, read below for details about our worship and community life or sign up for News from the Pews, our weekly newsletter.
How we worship and serve together
Sunday morning worship begins Sundays at 10:45 AM. We are are faith to a high church tradition in worship — including liturgists vested in robes and traditional and classical worship. We sing out of the Celebration Hymnal and enjoy preludes and postludes of Bach, Schroeder, and Schumann.
Our people all come as they are, and the pews feel like a family reunion. We celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of the month — though we do host coffee hour every Sunday after worship. Our children have their own special moment of teaching during our worship services with a time of a play and Christian education at our Sunday school.
Christian education
C-W knows the call to follow Jesus and His teachings is a lifelong pursuit. So, we offer many opportunities for adult Christian education — from weekly Bible Study to special weekend events like our 2024 Bible Olympics.
Not only do we walk through the Scriptures together, we seek to learn through living our lives together. Gatherings like our monthly Naomi Circle address topics relevant to our community. Sometimes, we take occasional social outings/adventures into the cities! You can read more about how we learn and grow together by clicking the button to the left.
Children’s ministries
Children are vital members of our church life! They take part of our regular Sunday worship and have a space of their own. Your children are invited to join our capable and kind Sunday School staff for a time of creative play and engaging lessons on the faith.
Beyond Sunday mornings, we offer family-friendly seasonal events like Breakfast with the Elf and Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. These events are open to the community and full of exciting activities and times to connect to other local families!
Community outreach
God calls us as a local church to build a larger table wherever we are. C-W takes this as a serious and joyful call of service. We give back our community through food justice and providing safe spaces for people to gather!
C-W serves hot meals at the Niles Township Respite Center and pack sandwiches for The Night Ministry as a way of meeting weekly with friends. We know God calls us to give out of what we have been given. If you want to volunteer for food justice in your community, please contact the church office or fill out the contact form below!
Still want to know more? We’d love to be in touch!
If you like what you’ve read so far, we’d love to see you in-person sometime! You know we’re always around Sundays at 10:45 AM, but if you’d like to speak to a member of the pastoral staff or church leadership or are interested in becoming a member of our church, fill out the digital visitor card below. Someone will be in touch to speak with you shortly!