The Minnesota Family Church

The Minnesota Family Church is a member of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), founded by Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon. FFWPU is comprised of families from around the world striving to establish a world of peace and unity among all peoples, races, and religions. We aim to embody the ideal of true love as taught in the Divine Principle, the core teachings of the Unification Movement.

Parents, children. Husbands, wives. Brothers, sisters. You, me, us, FAMILY. That’s what it’s all about here at Minnesota Family Church. We are building One Family Under God.

We believe we were all intended to mature individually, build happy families, and take care of the Earth that was created for us. Ultimately, we are meant to experience and live in joy centered on God and our families.

But what blocks us from doing so? Why don’t we see this joy in ourselves, our families, communities, and world?

At Minnesota Family Church, we address these issues that so many throughout history have been trying to solve. Through science, religion, technology, and philosophy, people have tried to answer questions such as, if God exists, why is there so much suffering, injustice, and violence in the world? What is the root of it? Is there life after death? What is the purpose of my life?

We believe that something substantial needs to change, starting with us. It’s time to come together as people of all different races and religions under one common understanding. This understanding will empower us to reach our full potential and create the life that was intended for us from the beginning – to create a life we love centered on God.

We invite you to our services, held every Sunday at 10am. Our services last about one hour. We begin with song and worship, receive a message based on our teachings, and finish with prayer and a closing song.

We also offer worship and education designed just for kids in preschool through middle school. Here, the kids will learn about God in an impactful and fun way.

We look forward to meeting you!

Our Traditions and Terminology

We are thrilled that you are interested in visiting our community.

When you come visit us, you will find that we have many new and different terms and traditions that you may not find at other churches or even other religions.

We have strong roots in the Bible, so you will find many of the same traditions that you would see at many Christian churches such as Bible stories in Sunday School and certain Christian hymns during our Sunday services. In addition, since we also have strong Oriental roots in our faith, you will often see Calligraphies and other Oriental texts in our building. We also have an altar dedicated to our founders at the front of our chapel, which is another very common Oriental tradition.

Besides the Christian and camp songs that we often use, we also have our own selection of songs, known as Holy Songs, which resonate particularly well with our perspective of God. Some of these songs were written by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, our founder, as well as some of his early disciples.

Some of the “Holy Songs” that you may hear include: When I Behold the Lord, Oh, My Little Lambs, O, Light of Grace.

You will also find that our prayers are unique. Although sometimes we will pray to “God” or “Heavenly Father,” we generally pray to our “Heavenly Parent.” This is to reinforce our understanding of God as being both masculine and feminine.

We often end our prayers with the Korean word, “Aju” in addition to the “Amen” that one usually hears. The term Aju has a very special meaning to us because of our understanding of God. We understand that God is waiting eagerly for us to fulfill our promises and commitments; He will not do it for us. Aju means “becoming the owner” or “I am the owner,” basically stating that whatever it was that I prayed for, I will take personal responsibility to make it happen.

You may also hear the term True Parents, True Father, or True Mother in our community. There is a spiritual or theological meaning behind these terms, but basically we use these terms to refer to our founders, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. It is a term of affection and respect, similar to the ways that Catholics refer to their priest as their father.

Our Pastor

Our Ministry Leaders

• Co-Pastors – Ben & Shizuka Pehling (shizukapehling@gmail.com), Elizabeth Patterson (pattersonew5@gmail.com)

• Worship & Music Ministry – Kenei Menning (menningkenei@gmail.com)

• Youth Ministry – Patricia Pard (pattybard.10@gmail.com)

• Children’s Ministry – Pastor Elizabeth Patterson (EWPatterson5@aol.com)

• Senior Ministry – Jim Bard (jlbard@gmail.com)

• Outreach Ministry – Tomoko Taira (tmktaira@gmail.com)

• Care Ministry – Aiko Stearns (astearnsavon@yahoo.com)