Light of Christ was founded in Epiphany of 2007, when the church began meeting in the home of Jan and Michelle Anderson.  The Andersons were traveling to Church of the Redeemer in Highland Park, IL, until William Beasley, the rector, encouraged them and another couple to begin an Anglican fellowship in Kenosha.

Father Eirik Olsen and his family, from Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, IL (where Eirik was an assisting priest), joined the fledgling congregation for Sunday morning worship services, which were soon moved across the street to a conference room in the Kemper Center.  In Eastertide of the same year, the leadership team called Father Eirik to become the mission’s first priest.

When the congregation outgrew “the Upper Room,” services were moved to St. Mary’s Chapel and later Simmons Gymnasium, also at the Kemper Center.  In Epiphany of 2011, Light of Christ officially became a parish.  In spring of 2012, Light of Christ joined with other Anglican churches and became part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). In June of 2013, we officially became the Diocese of the Upper Midwest along with congregations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, with our own Bishop Stewart Ruch.

COVID has presented challenges to many churches, and ours is no different. After several months of meeting via Zoom, Light of Christ moved to outdoor services at the Olsen home in the summer of 2020. As the weather grew colder, we accepted an invitation from The Furnace House of Prayer to hold our worship services there on Saturday nights.