The current congregation of Saint Paul’s traces to Anglican worship that began in 1837 in a schoolroom across from the Tazewell County Courthouse. We were admitted to the Diocese of Springfield as an independent parish in 1851. The foundation for our current church building was laid in 1870 and the church was consecrated in 1876.
Ours in the oldest church building in all of Pekin, and one of the oldest in the Diocese. Our church’s architecture is Victorian Gothic and its interior decoration is Anglo-Catholic, with a number of stained glass windows that celebrate the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sacraments, and other important dimensions of the Catholic faith.
In 1962, a two-story Education Building was added to the property just north of the church. It currently houses our offices and our All Souls’ Chapel that is used for weekday services, and which has our Columbarium. It also has a unique stained glass window that illuminates the Nativity of Our Lord.
Our outreach ministry includes support of Christian Civic Outreach, meals for the Salvation Army, significant donations to Church Women United, to the YWCA and to TAPS No Kill Shelter in Pekin, as well as handmade nap blankets and quilts given to those who are sick or hospitalized.
