1,200 tour Christ Church to see new auditorium, attend dedication service

Finding a large crowd gathered at one site on the Saturday after Thanksgiving usually means you are at a shopping venue.

But this past Saturday afternoon, more than 1,200 people poured through the doors of Christ Church in Oak Brook to tour the church and see its new auditorium and other updates during an open house and dedication service.

From energetic young toddlers with their parents to seasoned seniors, the crowd buzzed around the Oak Brook church asking questions of tour guides along the way.

A Brookfield family attending the event wanted to see the changes to the church after having attended services a few years ago, seeing the construction over the last two years, then learning of the open house.

"It's great to see a thriving faith community," said Angie Runyan. "We have attended some churches in the past then stopped attending. Finding a community that offers enough for everybody and keeping people engaged is a trick. Not that you need bells and whistles but that you are addressing many needs."

She called the new space and entire church "inspiring" and remarked that her two sons when younger would have enjoyed the indoor play area at the church's Discovery Center.

Instead of shopping, 17-year-old Adah Runyan-Randrüüt asked her father Avo Randrüüt to bring her to the open house. She said she likes the new auditorium and the diverse services Christ Church offers.

"I think it's really cool. It has different services for classic and contemporary styles so people have the options here for both," she said.

Raul and Priscilla Dewelde of Melrose Park, whose son William Rich is a 20-year member of Christ Church, attended the open house and dedication to see the new space and take a tour of the church.

"We love the church and the music and orchestra," Raul Dewelde said. "We also love to listen to Dan (Meyer) preach."

Priscilla Dewelde said they also like the nondenominational aspect of the church which welcomes people of different faith backgrounds.

"My husband is Catholic and we have a Lutheran friend who wants to visit," said Dewelde, who also brought one of her tenants, Kathleen Irving, to the event.

Avid Christ Church radio broadcast listener Goldie Hawn, 89, of Riverside, said she had to make it to the open house and dedication service but didn't have transportation. So she asked former neighbor, Joan Schmidt, who lives in Portage, Indiana, if she could take her. Schmidt agreed.

Schmidt said she also listens to Christ Church on WGN radio and believes the church offers more to the community beyond a nice building for services.

"When you leave church, you want to feel good, not like you did something wrong," Schmidt said. "You want a message that inspires you. This is a special place."

Longtime Christ Church Trustee Victor Warren said serving the community and inspiring others to serve is exactly what the church should be doing.

"We are designed to live in community and one of the benchmarks of the health of a community can be seen through the health of its local church," Warren said. "Our desire is to service the larger community around us any way we can and to love on as many people as we can."

At the 5 p.m. dedication and worship service in the new 1,100-seat auditorium, the room was at capacity and overflow seating options were offered to an additional 100 people in the church's atrium and Garden Chapel, which both had large screens available for viewing.

Christ Church Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Daniel Meyer expressed a multitude of gratitude to God and others for the opening of the new space and other updates, including new entrances, glass sanctuary doors and a hospitality atrium; lobby improvements; a raised parking lot for better accessibility; new outdoor light fixtures which require less power; stone pavers for managing rainwater; and landscaping improvements.

"I am proudly aware that God has brought this all to fruition," Meyer said.

For more information about Christ Church, including its classic and contemporary worship services, Oak Brook and Downers Gove locations and the many ministries that provide services to all who seek them, visit ChristChurch.us.