St. Martha Catholic Church is a parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago located in Morton Grove, Illinois. German-speaking Catholic immigrants from Luxembourg had gathered for worship at least since 1866, initially traveling to Gross Pointe (Winnetka) and later to Niles Center (upon formation of St. Peter's in what became Skokie in 1868) for their spiritual activities, although Morton Grove also had a Lutheran congregation by 1903. The village initially developed as an agricultural area, with truck gardens and flower farms in rich soil along the North Branch of the Chicago River well outside the Chicago city limits. It also developed considerable night life, including activities then illegal in Chicago and the North Shore, including many taverns, speakeasies and brothels. Cardinal Mundelein recognized the Morton Grove parish in November 1919, assigning Fr. Martin Schmidt to serve both it and the upgraded mission that became Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview. Fr. Schmidt soon recognized the distances and different communities involved, and called for an additional priest from the Missionary priests of the Divine Word to serve the 43 Catholic families in Morton Grove. Since Prohibition had closed a nearby tavern, it was rented for services at $25/month, with first chairs borrowed from the village hall, then second-hand pews acquired from an Evanston parish (St. Mary or St. Nicholas). St. Martha's first resident priest, Fr. Frederick Bergs, had been a chaplain during the first World War, and was assigned in December 1922. Under his direction, the congregation built a brick church, which was dedicated on May 4, 1924, and a rectory two years later. The congregation had already become diverse, for the Poehlman Greenhouses imported many orchids from the Philippines, and the parish developed a Filipino-American fellowship in addition to heritage groups of Irish-American and German-American faithful, as well as more diverse fellowships. More information...
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