According to an article which appeared in The Greendale Times, our congregation was named "unique and different" because it was home to ten different denominations which gathered in unity to worship under one roof.  Prompted by the urging of a local resident, in 1938 the Milwaukee County Council of Churches conducted a religious survey of the community.  The survey revealed that a number of community members were searching for a congregation that could be compatible with a variety of Protestant traditions.  Four established denominations, including Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian promised financial aid in establishing what would be called the Greendale Community Church.   The original charter created in 1940 included 36 founding members. 

 

        That core group of people met in a variety of places, committed themselves to weekly worship and established a Sunday School. The groundbreaking for the first church building occurred in 1953.  With about 60 families who made up the nucleus of the church family, members and friends of the congregation donated over 10,000 hours of work to the building efforts.  A special feature in the sanctuary includes curved, wooden beams which were designed and created by a local architect.  Even though the roof was unfinished, the first church service held in the building was on a Christmas Eve, as the congregation gathered to worship underneath the stars.

 

        Reading the constitution of the church, the mission and vision of the congregation is expressed as follows:

 

        Greendale Community Church is a church with an open mind and stands for freedom of thought and speech.  We extend wholehearted fellowship to all people without regard to sect, class, nationality, or race.  The object of this church shall be to help in creating a social order more in harmony with the manifest purpose of a just God and with the conscience and intelligence of sincere people.  We believe that religion should bring all men and women into a common unity under God."  In time, these ideals and an interest in being connected with a wider church body prompted the congregation to join the denomination which is now called the United Church of Christ.   The ecumenical spirit which was present at the beginning of the congregation still continues to this day, as we work cooperatively with other church traditions and welcome worshippers from many Christian traditions who find a home at Greendale Community Church, United Church of Christ.