New CARP Chapter Established in Minnesota
Photo courtesy of CARP
“The seeds to establish a CARP chapter at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, were planted at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester,” says Kai Moyongo, president of the new chapter. “We started doing a prayer walk around the campus with our local pastor and members of our community. Then we designated a prayer spot at the center of the campus, as many of us walked seven laps around the location to lay the foundation for our chapter.”
Kai and her dedicated team launched the nation’s newest CARP chapter in early March. “Our chapter Vice President, Karen, parental advisor, Denise, and core members Riki and May were important to our success,” says Kai.
The group first began coming together in late February with weekly online Divine Principle study sessions. “As we continued the sessions, it grew with the core members inviting classmates and friends,” says Kai. “Soon, we had five new participants joining our discussions.”
Kai says the group started off with getting to know one another and sharing about their faith, beliefs, and perspectives. Then they began integrating presentation videos of the Divine Principle, as well as content from CARP Las Vegas’s Tribe Talk program. “This content really stimulated authentic and meaningful discussions,” says Kai.
In mid April, the chapter’s support coordinator, Chungbom Katayama, shared guidance with the group and joined the team’s outreach efforts on campus. For Kai, cultivating a sense of family and culture of support among the group has been key.
“My brother Manny was also able to join us and participate in guidance sessions,” she says. “Through our outreach, we all met at least one person who expressed interest in learning about CARP or the Divine Principle. Our contacts have now joined our weekly study sessions.”
Earlier this year, a new CARP chapter was founded at Harper College in Schaumburg, Ill. Expanding to more campuses across the U.S. is a primary goal of national CARP leaders, who aim to create 1,200 CARP chapters and establish 30,000 CARP members in North America over the next six years. Currently, CARP has more than 30 chapters at colleges and universities in the U.S. alone, with hundreds of members from a wide range of backgrounds.
The Minnesota chapter similarly has big hopes and goals for their future as well. “We plan to take it one step at a time,” says Kai, “but right now our plan is to focus on one-on-one Divine Principle study sessions moving forward.”
Kai says the team feels immense gratitude toward the community, especially their elders. “Chungbom’s visit made a huge difference,” says Kai. “And we’re thankful for our pastor, Rev. Ha, for his steadfastness, faith, and support. Our community’s willingness to support our chapter in various ways means a lot.”
You can learn more about CARP USA here.