Pastor Kolberg accepted a call to serve another church in 1959, and in that same year the Rev. W.C. Burmeister arrived to serve the congregation. The church continued to grow and an annex was completed in 1963 to alleviate the crowded conditions in the Sunday School. In that same year Pastor Burmeister accepted another call and the Rev. Edward Paape arrived with his family to minister to the congregation.

Expansion of the Facilities
In 1965 a parcel of land was purchased on Higgins Road, the site on which the church is now located. Construction began in September 1965, and a year later the building was completed and dedicated.

In 1979 the Fellowship Hall and basement classrooms were built. In the fall of 1988 construction began on a new 500-seat sanctuary, including additional facilities for education and fellowship (what is known today as “The Great Room”). That construction was completed in 1990. In 2005 a new nursery and Youth Room were created in the Great Room; the old nursery was converted into a meeting space and gathering place for brides and their bridal parties.

Pastoral Leadership Through the Years
From 1969 to 1975 Pastor Paape was joined by the Rev. Mark Knutson. In the spring of 1976 the Rev. Curt Gerald was called as co-senior pastor. Upon Pastor Paape’s departure in 1978, the Rev. Paul Ulring was then called to the staff. In 1982 they were joined by the Rev. Jay Trygstad. In 1987 Pastor Ulring accepted a call to serve at Upper Arlington in suburban Columbus, Ohio. This brought an end to the co-senior pastor model at Prince of Peace.

In 1988 the Rev. Faye Codding was called to serve as Associate Pastor of Parish Education. Pastor Trygstad’s position was changed to Associate Pastor of Outreach and Parish Life, and Pastor Gerald served as senior pastor. This staff arrangement was to be short-lived as Pastor Gerald accepted a call to become Assistant to the Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, ELCA, first under Bishop John Tietjen and then under Bishop Sherman Hicks. In 1989 Pastor R. W. (Pat) Anderson was called to Prince of Peace as an Associate Pastor with an emphasis on stewardship.

The pastoral staff underwent very rapid change in the early 1990s: Pastor Trygstad accepted a call to Hosanna! in St. Charles, IL; Pastor Anderson resigned his call and subsequently retired; in 1994 Pastor Codding moved to Washington, D.C. to be with her ailing mother, and then accepted a call with the Lutheran Office of Governmental Affairs. She has now left that position and has returned to the Chicago area.

The Rev. Paul Hayes came to Prince of Peace in late 1994 to serve as an interim pastor with Pastor Codding, and then served the congregation alone, on a part-time basis, during 1995. In February 1996, the Rev. Donald B. Myrom began his ministry at Prince of Peace, coming to Schaumburg from Dayton, Ohio, where he had been serving as Director of Development with Lutheran Social Services of the Miami Valley. In January 1997 the Rev. Jeffrey Fricke began as Associate Pastor, coming to Prince of Peace as part of the merger with Community of Christ. In February 2000, Pastor Myrom was joined by Melanie Potuznik, a 1999 graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. In April 2002, she resigned to accept a role as co-pastor with her husband at a congregation in Duluth, Minnesota. In January 2003, Karen O’Malia was called as Associate Pastor at Prince of Peace. She had previously been serving as pastor at First Lutheran Church in Berwyn, IL. In 2003 the Rev. Paul Hayes returned to Prince of Peace in an unofficial capacity for the purpose of providing Spiritual Direction for members and friends of the congregation. He has since moved on and served as interim pastor at several churches in the Northern Illinois Synod.

A Merger with Community of Christ
In the fall of 1996 the members of Community of Christ Lutheran Church, Schaumburg, IL, made the decision to close their doors and merge with Prince of Peace. The Rev. Jeffrey Fricke, who had been serving as pastor of Community of Christ, was called as Associate Pastor at Prince of Peace, a position he held until June 1999. At that time he accepted a call to Morning Star Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2002 he moved back to Illinois, having accepted a call to serve at Bethany Lutheran Church in Batavia.

Becoming a Welcoming Congregation
In February 1997, the congregation voted to become a “Welcoming and Affirming Congregation,” becoming the first suburban congregation in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod to affirm a ministry to gay and lesbian persons. This action was taken in response to a request from the national church asking congregations to take the lead on this issue.

Current Status of the Lay Support Staff
Karen Wagner serves as Director of Youth and Family Ministries; Anne Yauch serves as Director of the Preschool. In 2003 two persons were brought on to the staff to direct the music program: Scott Uddenberg, who was called as Director of Music, and Doug Williams, who was called as Organist. In 2005 Doug resigned to accept a position as Minister of Music at Trinity Lutheran in Des Plaines, IL. In 2004 Sam Cortese, Jr. began his service at Prince of Peace as Director of the Crossroads ministry. Sonia DeLuca continues as church secretary; Lois Krueger continues her role as Records Coordinator.