Elmhurst Church Puts 75-Year-Old Building On Market

ELMHURST, IL – The two United Methodist Church congregations are looking to merge.

As part of that, First United Methodist Church has put its building at 232 S. York St. on the market. The other church, Christ United Methodist Church, 920 Swain Ave., is now worshiping at First United.

Built in 1950, the three-story First United building is nearly 43,000 square feet on a 1.6-acre lot, according to the Loopnet commercial real estate website. The building has been on the market for about a week.

The local congregations have not decided where they will meet after the building's sale, the Rev. Jim Fu said in an interview with Patch on Monday.

"We want to maintain a United Methodist presence in Elmhurst. We believe Elmhurst is a great town," Fu said. "How do we best make use of the resources that God has given us?"

Since 2017, Fu has been the pastor of Christ United. He was appointed to lead First United in June. He is now both congregations' pastor.

The Loopnet site indicates Foundry Commercial is the real estate agency for the First United property. A listing could not be found on Foundry's site on Monday morning.

In 2023, the two local United Methodist Churches stayed with the national conference during the controversy over LGBTQ issues. The national group is open to a larger role for the LGBTQ community, particularly on same-sex marriage and the ordination of gays.

Faith Evangelical United Methodist Church left the conference, joining the Global Methodist Church, which takes the opposite stance on LGBTQ issues. It is now called Faith Church of Elmhurst.

Built in 1950, the three-story First United Methodist Church building in Elmhurst is nearly 43,000 square feet on a 1.6-acre lot, according to the Loopnet commercial real estate website. (Google Maps)