A Brief History of the ICC

On March 4, 1930, the Illinois Council of Churches was established during an Illinois Convocation of Ministers convened by the Midwest Committee of the Federal Council of Churches and the Springfield Council of Churches. The birth of the llinois Council of Churches reflected the ecumenical fervor of the 20^th century in the US that witnessed the creation of state, regional, and local councils of churches.  This historic act by the churches to create a state ecumenical body was rooted in a theological vision embodied in the founding constitutional document in affirming that “ . . . the time has come when it seems fitting more fully to manifest the essential oneness of the Christian churches of Illinois in Jesus Christ as their Divine Lord and Saviour, and to promote the spirit of fellowship, service and cooperation among them . . . .”

          The ecumenical movement reached a memorable milestone beyond Protestant circles at the Vatican II Council in the early 1960’s. The yearning for Christian unity, to restore broken relationships within the Christian community, became the catalyst within the Roman Catholic Church for church reforms and initiatives for reconciliation to heal the wounds of division within the one Body of Christ. One of the fruits of Vatican II was the growing participation of Roman Catholic Dioceses in state and local ecumenical organizations.