Even before the village of Wilmette was incorporated in 1872, St. Augustine’s roots were being established, showing an emphasis on community, Christian education, innovation, and resiliency. In 1871, two families who were communicants at Chicago’s Church of the Ascension began meeting for Morning Prayer at a home now owned by parishioners Anthony and Lesley Green. Over the next several years, this fledgling mission started a Sunday School and began holding services at the Arcanum Hall on Green Bay Road, organizing under the name of St. Augustine in October 1893. The growing congregation moved its regular worship to the Library while enthusiastically pursuing a plan to purchase land and construct a church, opening for worship on July 10, 1898.

By 1910, St. Augustine’s mission was financially sound and was established as a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. As the congregation continued to grow, it began planning a larger church on the land adjoining their original building. However, an historic setback occurred on Palm Sunday, 1920, when a tornado destroyed the village’s business district and headed northeast on Wilmette Avenue. The Wilmette Life reported: "Worst hit was St. Augustine’s Episcopal church. A few minutes after the worshippers had departed, the roof was completely torn off and the interior was flooded with the accompanying torrential rain. Even the heavy cross above the altar was thrown down. "

Persevering and continuing to grow, the congregation began building its current Tudor-Revival style structure in 1943, again suffering a setback when a fire damaged the interior. Undeterred, the congregation held services in a nearby bank for ten weeks! The sanctuary was redesigned in the spirit of liturgical renewal, installing one of the first free-standing altars in the Chicago area, allowing priest and people to worship facing one another as a community.

Innovation and change continue to characterize the St Augustine’s community through the rest of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The parish expanded its ministry to the community during the 1960s, making outreach a priority that continues today. 1981, St. Augustine’s became the first parish in the diocese to call a woman priest as an Assistant Rector. In 1996, St Augustine’s became one of the first local parishes to adopt the Journey to Adulthood youth program and to send its young people on pilgrimage.

St A’s has a long tradition of service within Wilmette. On weekdays, Rose Hall Montessori School offers educational programs for young children. Groups who meet periodically at St A’s include Al-Anon, the North Shore Harmonizers, and the Dulcimer Society of Northern Illinois. The annual Plant Sale helps bring beauty to hundreds of homes each year.