618-537-4991 | Sunday Worship at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
(with a few exceptions for special services)
618-537-4991 | Sunday Worship at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
(with a few exceptions for special services)
Learn more about our church, history and team.
Welcome to St. Paul United Church of Christ of Lebanon, Illinois. I’m glad you’ve decided to learn more about who we are and what we believe!
I want you to know this right away: you’re welcome here, just as you are. At St. Paul UCC Lebanon, we’re a faith family that’s always learning to follow Jesus with open hearts, honest questions, and love that shows up in real life.
Whether you’ve been in church your whole life, you’ve been away for a while, or you aren’t sure what you believe, there’s room for you here!
We try to live out our faith in practical ways through worship, prayer, caring for one another, and serving our neighbors in our community. My hope is that you’ll find a place here where you can breathe, be known, feel accepted, and be encouraged as you explore your faith. You don’t have to have it all figured out to belong at St. Paul UCC.
No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!
St. Paul UCC began in 1868 when 42 German-speaking residents of Lebanon organized a congregation under Rev. C. W. Seaman. By 1871, they dedicated their first church building at what remains our present location. In August 1893, the congregation reorganized as the German Evangelical St. Paul Church, and in 1923, St. Paul was received into the Evangelical Synod of North America. Growth brought new spaces over time, including the Parish Hall (dedicated in 1950) and the current sanctuary, dedicated on October 23, 1960. After the 1957 denominational merger that formed the United Church of Christ, the congregation became St. Paul United Church of Christ. In 2018, St. Paul celebrated its 150th anniversary. Alongside worship and fellowship, St. Paul has kept a steady focus on practical care for neighbors, including long-term support for local hunger ministries and the formation of Lebanon Matthew 25.40 Ministries in 2015, as well as ongoing investment in young people through scholarships and other community support.
We are a come-as-you-are church for believers and nonbelievers alike looking for connection. Learn more about our mission and vision.
Here at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Lebanon, Illinois, we are a Christ-centered, mission-minded Faith Family where all are welcome at God’s table. Following in the footsteps of Jesus, we seek to grow in grace, practice compassion, and serve our neighbors with courage and care. From pew to sidewalk, we turn our prayers into action as God’s hands and feet in the world, working together for a just world for all. Come worship, grow, and serve alongside us.
To be a blessing wherever we are, and to be the Church, near and far.
We believe in the Triune God: Creator, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We trust God as the Maker of all things, we follow the risen Christ as the true head of the Church, and we rely on the Spirit to guide us and to keep God’s love and healing at work in the world.
We believe every person is on a spiritual journey. Each of us comes with different questions, different experiences, and different steps we are ready to take.
We believe that when we keep seeking God, we grow into a real relationship with God. That steady search shapes us. It teaches us how to love, strengthens our faith, helps us let go of guilt and shame, and gives our lives meaning and direction.
Click Here to Learn More About What the United Church of Christ Believes as a Denomination
We, the people of St. Paul United Church of Christ,
believe in the Living and Triune God—
the Creator of all things seen and unseen,
who calls each of us by name
and delights in who we are becoming.
We seek to faithfully follow Jesus Christ, God’s only Son,
who meets us with mercy,
forgives and heals what we cannot fix,
and shows us a love stronger than sin and death.
We trust in the Holy Spirit—
God’s still-speaking voice in the world—
moving quietly through beauty, struggle, and community,
always calling us to live with faith, hope, and love.
We affirm our shared calling to be a blessing in the world:
to feed the hungry, both in body and in spirit;
to offer water that restores both thirst and dignity;
to clothe others with compassion and care;
to open our doors and hearts to welcome the stranger;
to bring healing where there is pain;
to speak freedom where hope feels locked away;
and, to recognize Christ in “the least of these,”
wherever love and mercy are needed most.
We are called to be the Church:
gathered in love, grounded in grace,
sent with courage, empowered by the Spirit,
and shaped by the compassion of Christ.
Together, we walk by grace,
we live by faith,
and we trust that God’s love will continue to lead us forward. Amen.
We believe that in baptism, we belong, body and soul, to Jesus Christ. Baptism is a sign of God’s love and a reminder that we belong to God.
No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are part of God’s family. Race, class, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, ability, or background do not put anyone outside of God’s grace.
Baptism also connects us to the worldwide Church. That’s why we baptize in worship, with the congregation present. In baptism, the church promises to love, support, and care for the baptized, and we do not take that promise back.
We believe that everyone who comes in faith is invited to Christ’s table for Communion. Just as many grains make one loaf and many grapes make one cup, God gathers many people into one body, the Church.
When we break the bread and share the cup, we remember Jesus’ love and sacrifice, and we renew our call to follow him in daily life. In Communion, we trust that Christ is truly present with us, and we remember the “cloud of witnesses,” including loved ones and saints who have gone before us. This is a holy mystery, and we receive it by faith.
As a denomination, the United Church of Christ believes that it is called to be a “united and uniting church.”
Jesus prayed, “That they may all be one” (John 17:21), and we take that seriously. We also live by a simple guide: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, diversity; in all things, charity.” For us, that means we hold tightly to what matters most, and we make room for different views and questions where faithful people may disagree.
The UCC does not require one rigid set of beliefs or a strict attachment to creeds or church structures. Instead, we try to live by an “overarching creed” of love. We value thoughtful preaching and teaching, careful reading of Scripture, and a commitment to justice. Even with our differences, we believe love and unity are among our greatest strengths.
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