Underground Des Plaines: Church-Goers Share Faith, Fellowship and Ping-Pong

Underground Des Plaines is a new series of stories about people doing interesting, unusual and extraordinary things you may not have known about.

Members of a local church congregation speak two different languages, but that hasn’t stopped them from sharing fellowship and growing a tight-knit community.

About 50 of the 80 members of the , 530 E. Oakton St., practice their faith in the Taiwanese ministry, and the balance in the English ministry. However, there’s one language they all speak—ping-pong.

The church, one of four Taiwan Presbyterian churches in the Chicago area, has hosted weekly ping-pong competitions after Sunday services for the last 12 years. The grand prize is bragging rights, as the game serves a higher purpose than simply competition, though there is that too.

“This is just a means to bring people together,” said Frank Hsieh, an elder in the congregation. “This helps us all to accept each other, learn about each other and exchange ideas.”

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The competition is friendly, and the players schedule annual tournaments against other local churches. Recently, they held an inter-congregational tournament.

Eric Forsyth, director of English ministries, said some of the members play every week, and at a high level. The congregation also shares lunch after Sunday services, a spread of homemade dishes from members.

“I can't compete with them,” Forsyth said. “So we do ping-pong and eat great food every Sunday, Taiwanese and Chinese food. It’s very much a hub of Taiwanese culture here.”

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