New Sunday School Program Amid Renovation Unites Chicago Community

Photos courtesy of the Chicago Family Church

A new Sunday school program, amid renovations to the Chicago Family Church building, recently began for all Unificationist youth from first grade through high school. “We’ve aimed to improve our building to meet, in particular, the needs of our young families and children,” said Rev. David Rendel in a report to FFWPU USA leaders on Sept. 13. “We have a goal of becoming a model church in America, and we’re moving forward very quickly with that.”

Rev. Rendel outlined phases of the renovation project, which is being led by Rev. Kazuo Takami, FFWPU USA Midwest regional director. He said the construction work has brought the community together, with many young people now more involved and invested. “The result has been fantastic,” said Rev. Rendel, describing a cross-generational crew of volunteers separated into two teams. “We’ve been doing a lot of demolition, expanding rooms and making new classrooms by taking down walls to extend offices,” he said.

Four years ago, in Sept. 2018, the Chicago community acquired a modern 20,000 square-foot building in Schaumburg as their new church facility after an extensive search. The building, which is located 30 miles northwest of Chicago, is in the heart of where many Unificationists live. Rev. Rendel said the renovation project spurred a community-wide prayer condition for its success. “One of our prayer points is that we can all contribute to God’s providence in a special way during this time,” he said.

Community support quickly ballooned, as crews got to work remodeling Sunday school classrooms and establishing a designated ‘toddler zone.’ “So many of the young moms in our community are engaged now,” said Rev. Rendel. “Six or seven of them with young kids are coming out to get involved, and it’s amazing ... One of them is an interior designer, so the moms are coming up with their own design for the toddler room.”

Rev. Rendel said they anticipate moving into the new space by the end of October. For now, with Sunday school underway, the focus has been on the spiritual development and connection of the youth. “The elementary teachers’ meeting [earlier this month] was full of our high school kids who wanted to become Sunday school teachers,” he said. “The engagement has been really fantastic.”

The new Sunday school program now features four core staff, and 24 teachers and assistants — 18 of which are young Unificationists, and six are community elders. “This is a big step for us in Chicago,” said Rev. Rendel. “We have never been quite this organized with our Sunday school program. I think we’re off to a really great start, and we’re eager to keep going.”

Unificationist leaders were inspired by the steady progress in Chicago. “It’s really great to see not just the renovation, but how Chicago is really engaging the community members to really be part of making that a reality and naturally bringing the community closer together,” said Rev. Naokimi Ushiroda, FFWPU USA president. “This gives them a sense of pride and ownership–and a great foundation for the growth and development of their church.”

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