Construction underway for MLC chapel
Filed Under: chapel, Ministerial Education, MLC
The official ground-breaking ceremony for the new chapel at Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn., was held May 16. A majority of the construction is scheduled to be complete by fall of 2009, in time for the campus' 125th anniversary.
"It will be exciting to have a visible testimony on campus that demonstrates to all, students and faculty and staff and visitors, that Jesus and his Word are at the very center of our campus existence," says Rev. Mark Zarling, president of MLC.
MLC is the only school in WELS' ministerial education system that does not have a space designated for worship. Plans for the new facility include seating for 1,000 worshipers, a pipe organ, and an unfinished basement that can have future use as a reception area, classrooms, and storage.
The $7.5 million project will be funded entirely from designated gifts given as part of the synod's 150th anniversary thank offering in 2000 and from interest earned on those gifts. The Synodical Council released these funds to the college at its meeting in November 2007.
"I am grateful for the many, many Christian people who have given thank offerings to Jesus to be used for a chapel,” says Zarling. "It is an encouragement to students preparing for public ministry to know that God's people are concerned for their growth in faith through the daily use of the gospel in chapel and worship."
Learn more about the chapel project and view proposed drawings online: www.wels.net/jump/chapel
