The Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Henry

Tom Henry is a native of western Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Anderson University, in Anderson, Indiana, in 1966, with a double major in sociology and mathematics. Prior to attending Anderson, he was a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, studying architecture. He is a graduate of the Chicago Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1969. In 1989, Tom was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree, recognizing excellence in urban ministry.

After graduation, he worked as a public affairs television producer for the Church Federation of Greater Chicago, a Protestant ecumenical organization, and later as the communications director for the Community Renewal Society, where he was the editor and photographer for a quarterly publication titled “The Bridge.” This publication won the Welfare Public Relations Helen Cody Baker Award for best periodical in 1973. From 1969-1972, he also served in a part-time position as the assistant pastor at Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ.

In 1974, Tom became an associate pastor at St. Pauls United Church of Christ. And eight years later, in 1982, Tom was elected by the St. Pauls congregation as the ninth senior pastor of the church which was founded by German immigrants as one of the first five churches in Chicago in 1843. During his tenure at St. Pauls, the congregation has more than doubled in size to about 1000 members, making it the 35th largest United Church of Christ in the country. It has also grown younger in membership, with the average age being 37.

During the late 1970s, Tom served on the Board of Directors of the Community Arts Foundation/Body Politic Theatre and was instrumental in helping the organization make a transition from a presenting house to a professional producing company.  The subsequent success of the Body Politic/Victory Gardens Theatre, (now known as The Greenhouse) complex has had significant economic impact on our community.

Throughout its history, St. Pauls has seen needs in the city and did something to meet those needs. Following the Civil War, there was concern for the children who were orphaned by the War. A children’s home was founded by the congregation and it continues today as UCAN (Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network). In 1920, the congregation considered the plight of the elderly and founded one of the first homes for the elderly in the country, St. Pauls House.

During Tom Henry’s time at St. Pauls, the congregation was one of the five founding churches of The Night Ministry, an ecumenical agency that does significant work with homeless teens. St. Pauls was one of three churches to found The Lincoln Park Community Shelter and the church building continues to be the site of some of the Shelter’s programs.  Tom played a significant role in the Shelter’s life in 2005 during a difficult time of transition. 
 
Tom was also instrumental in starting the Lincoln Park After School Center, which continues at St. Pauls on weekdays during the school year. He believes that it is an important part of the mission of a church like St. Pauls to use its building in service to the community. The Church is also the home of the Park West Cooperative Nursery School.

Tom Henry has served on the Church and Ministry Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Association of the United Church of Christ. Also, he has been a member of the governing boards of UCAN and the Chicago Theological Seminary. He co-authored, with Phoebe Anderson, a book titled, “Teach What You Preach” and wrote a chapter on St. Pauls that was included in a  book published by the UCC and titled, “Good News in Growing Churches.” Tom is also the author of a book on St. Pauls history, titled “Making a Joyful Sound in the City."