FFWPU Vice President Discusses Vision, Growth, Faith in Milwaukee

Contributed by Sarah Keating and Joe Ferch

Mari Curry, vice president of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) USA, was invited by Sarah Keating, youth coordinator of the Milwaukee Family Church, to come to Milwaukee from May 21-22 and provide insight on growth in smaller communities.

The Wisconsin youth ministry team, consisting of six young adult Unificationists–Joe Ferch, Abigail Gilfillan, Steven Ferch, Helen Ferch, Sarah Keating, and Young Ae Ferch–working in various professions, were eager to work with a representative from the National Ministry Team to strengthen the connection between True Mother’s vision for America and the activities of their local community. Upon Mari’s arrival, one Milwaukee youth stated, “Mari’s presence has brought about a feeling of care and joy from True Mother.”

The weekend was filled with discussions with youth pastors about ways to stay connected and inspired about True Parents’ vision, one-on-one talks about Mari’s personal faith journey, and games to socialize and personalize her stay. Several Unificationist youth commented, “It felt good to meet someone from the National Ministry Team and to seem them caring for and bringing love to local communities.”

The Milwaukee Youth Motto is to “Establish our Faith Identity,” and Mari’s perspective and insights about faith helped empower Wisconsin Unificationist youth to work toward that goal. On Sunday, May 22, Mari gave a sermon along with Sarah Keating about finding God’s address in a world that has many distractions. After their joint remarks, Helen Ferch of the youth ministry team commented, “Mari Curry’s sermon was refreshing and inspiring.”

Overall, Mari left a positive impact on the Milwaukee Family Church and wider Wisconsin Unificationist community, and strengthened the faith and determination of the youth and youth pastors.

We were happy to have Mari Curry and are proud to have financially supported her stay through bake sales and the Milwaukee Youth Fund.

Pastor Marian North of the Milwaukee Family Church and District Pastor Jeff Schmidt were also there to support and welcome Mari. We thank them for helping us with this event and making it possible.

Are you interested in a member of the National Ministry Team stopping by your local community? Connect with the team on our national directory page.