The Community Renewal Society was established in 1882 by ministers and laymen of the Congregational Churches to provide a faithful Christian structure for the renewal of the quality of life in the Chicago metropolitan area. For 100 years, the Society has been primarily concerned with carrying out the Christian Mission to the poor and the oppressed.
The Society functions as a private, not-for-profit, tax-exempt urban mission agency integrally related to the United Church of Christ.
The Society ministers to the rich and poor and the powerful and powerless in the Chicago metropolitan area, works to advance justice, and serves as a bridge of communication and understanding between diverse persons and groups. Its programs are altered from time to time to meet the ever changing needs of society, but its continuing mission is to work with persons, groups and private and public institutions in the pursuit of justice and equity in the metropolitan Chicago area on the basis of the Christian imperative. [Adapted from Statement of Purpose of June 29, 1976]