Located seven miles south of the Loop near Lake Michigan, the Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer was created in 1968 by the merger of two neighboring parishes in the Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods of Chicago. St. Paul's was founded in 1859 in the new town of Kenwood, which by the turn of the century had been annexed by Chicago, together with Hyde Park, and was a wealthy neighborhood of wide lawns, large trees, and mansions complete with coach houses. St. Paul's was for many years a liturgically "low church."

In 1889, St. Paul's established The Church of the Redeemer in nearby Hyde Park, in the heart of what soon became the University of Chicago neighborhood. Its tradition was largely "high church." In 1956, St. Paul's building was destroyed by a spectacular fire. The current facility was completed in 1958. In 1968, the Church of the Redeeme sold its property and moved six blocks north to join St. Paul's.

During the mid-Twentieth Century Kenwood experienced serious decay; but in the past 20 years there has been major revitalization. During the past decade St. Paul & the Redeemer has seen dramatic growth in membership, in giving, and in mission. Our worship space was completely renovated in 2002, and two years later a fine new pipe organ, built by Martin Pasi Organs, was completed. To make room for more worshipers, in 2005 a third Sunday Eucharist was added. We continue to attract people from nearby neighborhoods, with a significant increase in the number of students and faculty from the University of Chicago; and people now come to SPR from all over Chicago and beyond.