Ground Broken on Children’s Academy at Resurrected CDC in Allentown, Pa.

For the Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards and Pastor Denyse Edwards—co-founders of Resurrected Life UCC and Resurrected Community Development Corporation (RCDC) in Allentown, Pa.—Aug. 12, 2025, was a momentous day. After five years of both arduous and inspiring work and prayer, ground was broken on renovations to Resurrected CDC’s Children’s Academy.

The Academy is a Pennsylvania Department of Human Services licensed, Keystone Initiative Star 4, best-in-class and practice early learning center, and is the flagship initiative of Resurrected CDC.

“We serve infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers (3-5 years old), and provide before and after school programming opportunities for school age children up to grade 8,” said Dr. Gregory Edwards. “We currently serve 160 children, students, and their families at our downtown [Allentown] campus … and employ 25 full-time staff, including 20 full-time teachers.”

The vision of the academy is grounded in inclusivity. “Our vision is to create a unique, culturally responsive, inclusive early learning center which wholistically provides all children, students, and their families with the necessary tools and experiences to be successful in learning and life,” said Pastor Denyse Edwards.

The groundbreaking was the culmination of the church and many partners, including the UCC’s Church Building & Loan Fund (CB&LF), who worked with Resurrected Life UCC through its Partners in Vision program. The Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan, chief divisional operating officer of CB&LF, attended the groundbreaking.

“After more than five years of productive predevelopment work in our Partners in Vision (PIV) program with CB&LF staff and our consultants from AIM Development Group, we were excited to join Resurrected Life Community UCC in celebrating the groundbreaking of the RCDC Children’s Academy,” said Duggan. “We are so pleased that construction is now underway!” 

Dr. Edwards said the project would not have been possible without CB&LF’s guidance. “CBLF has been a lead partner in helping the church and the CDC navigate the often-difficult waters of planning, site development, and resource procurement,” he said. “This project would not be possible without their professional expertise and guidance.”

Resurrected CDC—which became a CHHSM member in 2023—was founded in 2011 as part of Resurrected Life UCC’s response to ongoing issues of racism, poverty, structural inequities, and institutional oppression. Its mission is to advance the social, educational, economic, and physical well-being of individuals, children, and families in Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley. It was formed, said Dr. Edwards, “to address the glaringly visible educational and economic inequities that existed in the church’s ministry ‘footprint.’ RCDC provides a non-sectarian pathway for a diverse cross section of people to be involved and participate in the entire ministry and vision of the church.”

In 2023, Resurrected Life UCC acquired the recently closed, historic Zion’s Reformed UCC in the Old Allentown area of the city (where the Liberty Bell was hidden under the floorboards during the American Revolution) to serve as the new location of RCDC.

According to RCDC’s website, the $8 million renovation will transform the space into a safe, green, aesthetically appealing, and culturally relevant early learning center where children, families, staff, and members of the community can experience love, belonging, learning, and hope. 

The renovated campus will house not only the Children’s Academy, but RCDC’s James Lawson Freedom School (part of the Children’s Defense Fund’s summer Freedom School program) and its Pre-K Counts program.

The groundbreaking “is historic because it represents the largest community development project undertaken by a Black-led, community-based nonprofit in the city of Allentown,” Dr. Edwards told the crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Upon completion of the project, RCDC … will be able to expand its current programs and initiatives … [The investment] will totally renovate our early education facility into a state-of-the-art, over-resourced early learning and family center that will expand our education programs, create employment opportunities, and extend our family support initiatives, including food programs and our resource and referral services.”

Both co-founders see the Old Allentown campus of RCDC as essential to the community. “The neighborhood and community immediately surrounding our original church properties have the highest unemployment and poverty rates and one of the lowest literacy levels in the Lehigh Valley,” Dr. Edwards said. “We clearly understood that effective ministry done by any congregation must meet the real, relevant, and immediate needs of the community in which it resides.”

Since the groundbreaking, the renovations have quickly moved forward. “Renovations began almost immediately, on Aug. 20,” said Dr. Edwards. “Thus far, everything is on track, and we anticipate completion of the project by May 1, 2026, and a ribbon-cutting on June 19, 2026.”