About Us
God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as a community of grace, joy, and peace, so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world.
We are a family of Christ's disciples coming from many different cultural and economic backgrounds. We come together to praise, worship and serve God.
Looking to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and the scriptures for wisdom and inspiration, it is our heartfelt desire to model Christ's example of faithfulness, service, healing, and stewardship. As a congregation of an historic Peace Church we work as agents of change to bring love, reconciliation, and justice to our world.
We invite all, recognizing each will come with unique gifts, talents, and blessings as well as desires, disabilities and deficencies. We seek to identify and utilize our individual talents as we encourage others in theirs. We strive to celebrate our differences rather than letting these be a source of division. In everything we do and everything we are, we hope to bring glory to our loving God, the Creator of all.
Our Mission God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as a community of grace, joy and peace, so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world.
Our Purpose The purpose of this church is to participate fully in God's Work of setting things right in a broken world, redeeming and restoring all things in Christ to God's intended design as we live into God's future that has already begun.
Our Vision To participate fully with God as we share with others the gift of God's love through our worship, witness and life together.
We are a family of Christ's disciples coming from many different cultural and economic backgrounds. We come together to praise, worship and serve God.
Looking to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and the scriptures for wisdom and inspiration, it is our heartfelt desire to model Christ's example of faithfulness, service, healing, and stewardship. As a congregation of an historic Peace Church we work as agents of change to bring love, reconciliation, and justice to our world.
We invite all, recognizing each will come with unique gifts, talents, and blessings as well as desires, disabilities and deficencies. We seek to identify and utilize our individual talents as we encourage others in theirs. We strive to celebrate our differences rather than letting these be a source of division. In everything we do and everything we are, we hope to bring glory to our loving God, the Creator of all.
Our Mission God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as a community of grace, joy and peace, so that God's healing and hope flow through us to the world.
Our Purpose The purpose of this church is to participate fully in God's Work of setting things right in a broken world, redeeming and restoring all things in Christ to God's intended design as we live into God's future that has already begun.
Our Vision To participate fully with God as we share with others the gift of God's love through our worship, witness and life together.
On Inclusivity
We affirm that LGBTQIA+ people are made in the image of God. We believe that God created LGBTQIA+ people good, and we are called to welcome and nurture the wholeness of all human beings as precious parts of the body of Christ.
We lament that society, culture, religions, and individuals have brought particular dangers and harms to LGBTQIA+ folks, and we repent for our passivity and cowardice in confronting religious brutality. We denounce any usage of scripture that would clobber, crush, stifle, or otherwise exert violence on the very personhood of LGBTQIA+ folks.
We observe that the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the New Testament, including the ministry of Jesus, consistently ascribe special care and protection for the vulnerable, for the marginalized, and for the oppressed. We are commissioned to be apostles of Christ in liberating and loving God’s people, and believers cannot fulfill this commission without full inclusion of and communion with LGBTQIA+ kindred.
As we make space for God’s Kingdom to draw closer in these ways, we are convinced that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The days are surely coming, when God shall execute justice in the land.
We affirm that LGBTQIA+ people are made in the image of God. We believe that God created LGBTQIA+ people good, and we are called to welcome and nurture the wholeness of all human beings as precious parts of the body of Christ.
We lament that society, culture, religions, and individuals have brought particular dangers and harms to LGBTQIA+ folks, and we repent for our passivity and cowardice in confronting religious brutality. We denounce any usage of scripture that would clobber, crush, stifle, or otherwise exert violence on the very personhood of LGBTQIA+ folks.
We observe that the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the New Testament, including the ministry of Jesus, consistently ascribe special care and protection for the vulnerable, for the marginalized, and for the oppressed. We are commissioned to be apostles of Christ in liberating and loving God’s people, and believers cannot fulfill this commission without full inclusion of and communion with LGBTQIA+ kindred.
As we make space for God’s Kingdom to draw closer in these ways, we are convinced that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The days are surely coming, when God shall execute justice in the land.
Pastor
Suzanne Ford
Who Are Mennonites?
A Historic FaithOne of the first protestant denominations (Europe 1500's) prizing the Bible and faith in Jesus Christ; named after a Catholic priest, Menno Simons (like Lutherans with Martin Luther).
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A Distinct Faith
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The Story of The Big Barn
The Big Barn Preschool, located at 888 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg, IL, was begun in 2006, but it has a history that goes back many years. Before the building housed a church and preschool, it housed cattle and other animals. It was an actual barn on a working farm. Although it is not clear exactly when the farm first started, it is known to have existed before 1913. At that time it was home to Guernsey dairy cows. It was around that time that a man named Levy Mayer bought the farm. Mr. Meyer was a prominent Chicago attorney and real estate mogul. Most notably he was part owner of the Stratford Hotel in Chicago. It was from that hotel that came the inspiration for the rural property’s new name, “Stratford Farm”. These two properties shared more than just their names. They also had a unique reciprocal relationship. Each day food waste from the hotel would by sent via train the the farm to feed the pigs. Likewise, chicken, eggs, and milk from the farm would be sent to the hotel to be used in their kitchen.
Levy Mayer was not the only famous Chicagoan to own the Stratford Farm. After having been sold two more times, it had a new life as a ranch to the famous big band leader and television personality Wayne King (known as America’s Waltz King) who bought it in 1951. He built the sprawling ranch house in front of the barn which now contains the Gifts of the World gift shop and Transitions Counseling Center. During those years the area was still rural, believe it or not, and this was Mr. King’s country retreat. It was here he rehearsed with his band in the house’s large living room and here, it is said, that he even recorded some of his records. He used the barn for a different kind of cattle called Black Angus which are bred for beef. The stalls for these massive animals were in the section of the barn that is now the preschool and the upper level, in what is now the church sanctuary, was the haymow where hay was stored to feed them.
Years later, in 1988, the house was being used as a home and chiropractor’s office and the barn was neglected and deteriorating when the property was purchased by Christ Community Mennonite Church. For over 10 years, the house served as the church building, but this young small congregation hoped that something could be made of the historic barn, one of only a couple left in the community that had been settled long ago by farmers from Schaumburg, Germany. The church had several engineering studies done to determine if the barn was structurally sound enough to be renovated. The good news came back that the project was plausible and in 2000 the renovations began.
The vision for what could be grew out of Mennonite beliefs about equality in education. In addition to providing a place for worship and Sunday school, it was also important to serve the community in whatever ways the church could. Because the need for safe, wholesome, and affordable preschools is always a concern and because there is nothing more precious than our children, the choice was made. The idea for The Big Barn Preschool was born.
But first there was a barn to renovate. Architect Jeff Whyte of Schaumburg created for us a design that was not only good and practical, but also beautiful. A call for help went out and, in true Mennonite fashion, people came together to “raise a barn”. A Mennonite men’s organization awarded $50,000 to the church to help with the building project. A Semi-retired Mennonite building contractor in Albany, Oregon volunteered to come to Schaumburg to be the Project Manager. He spent nearly three years supervising the work. And then there were more volunteers. People from the local community as well as others from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Kansas came to help as well. It was a big job, but in 2005 our doors opened and a very old barn had a new lease on life.
Now we could get down to organizing a preschool. A board was formed of persons who shared the vision. I was important that this non-profit enterprise would be affordable for families and that our staff would be outstanding. We looked forward to welcoming children from all religious, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. We would treat them and teach them to treat others with respect and caring, and how to resolve conflicts with peaceful solutions, as is the Mennonite way. All the children would be given a head start in life both academically and socially in a nurturing environment to help them ultimately achieve their full potential. As we approach our 20th anniversary, we are blessed to say that The Big Barn Preschool is everything we had hoped it to be and more. We thank God for blessing the development of The Big Barn and for all the persons: staff, board, and volunteers, who have helped to make it such a wonderful place for children.
The Big Barn Preschool, located at 888 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg, IL, was begun in 2006, but it has a history that goes back many years. Before the building housed a church and preschool, it housed cattle and other animals. It was an actual barn on a working farm. Although it is not clear exactly when the farm first started, it is known to have existed before 1913. At that time it was home to Guernsey dairy cows. It was around that time that a man named Levy Mayer bought the farm. Mr. Meyer was a prominent Chicago attorney and real estate mogul. Most notably he was part owner of the Stratford Hotel in Chicago. It was from that hotel that came the inspiration for the rural property’s new name, “Stratford Farm”. These two properties shared more than just their names. They also had a unique reciprocal relationship. Each day food waste from the hotel would by sent via train the the farm to feed the pigs. Likewise, chicken, eggs, and milk from the farm would be sent to the hotel to be used in their kitchen.
Levy Mayer was not the only famous Chicagoan to own the Stratford Farm. After having been sold two more times, it had a new life as a ranch to the famous big band leader and television personality Wayne King (known as America’s Waltz King) who bought it in 1951. He built the sprawling ranch house in front of the barn which now contains the Gifts of the World gift shop and Transitions Counseling Center. During those years the area was still rural, believe it or not, and this was Mr. King’s country retreat. It was here he rehearsed with his band in the house’s large living room and here, it is said, that he even recorded some of his records. He used the barn for a different kind of cattle called Black Angus which are bred for beef. The stalls for these massive animals were in the section of the barn that is now the preschool and the upper level, in what is now the church sanctuary, was the haymow where hay was stored to feed them.
Years later, in 1988, the house was being used as a home and chiropractor’s office and the barn was neglected and deteriorating when the property was purchased by Christ Community Mennonite Church. For over 10 years, the house served as the church building, but this young small congregation hoped that something could be made of the historic barn, one of only a couple left in the community that had been settled long ago by farmers from Schaumburg, Germany. The church had several engineering studies done to determine if the barn was structurally sound enough to be renovated. The good news came back that the project was plausible and in 2000 the renovations began.
The vision for what could be grew out of Mennonite beliefs about equality in education. In addition to providing a place for worship and Sunday school, it was also important to serve the community in whatever ways the church could. Because the need for safe, wholesome, and affordable preschools is always a concern and because there is nothing more precious than our children, the choice was made. The idea for The Big Barn Preschool was born.
But first there was a barn to renovate. Architect Jeff Whyte of Schaumburg created for us a design that was not only good and practical, but also beautiful. A call for help went out and, in true Mennonite fashion, people came together to “raise a barn”. A Mennonite men’s organization awarded $50,000 to the church to help with the building project. A Semi-retired Mennonite building contractor in Albany, Oregon volunteered to come to Schaumburg to be the Project Manager. He spent nearly three years supervising the work. And then there were more volunteers. People from the local community as well as others from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Kansas came to help as well. It was a big job, but in 2005 our doors opened and a very old barn had a new lease on life.
Now we could get down to organizing a preschool. A board was formed of persons who shared the vision. I was important that this non-profit enterprise would be affordable for families and that our staff would be outstanding. We looked forward to welcoming children from all religious, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. We would treat them and teach them to treat others with respect and caring, and how to resolve conflicts with peaceful solutions, as is the Mennonite way. All the children would be given a head start in life both academically and socially in a nurturing environment to help them ultimately achieve their full potential. As we approach our 20th anniversary, we are blessed to say that The Big Barn Preschool is everything we had hoped it to be and more. We thank God for blessing the development of The Big Barn and for all the persons: staff, board, and volunteers, who have helped to make it such a wonderful place for children.