Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

SUSSEX - An endeavour that began almost three years ago came to a finish on Friday as the copper-clad steeple at Bethany Bible College's new Saunders Irving Chapel was raised to its resting place, reaching more than 34 metres toward the sky.

Enlarge Photo

The new Saunders Irving Chapel at Bethany Bible College was crowned with a copper steeple Friday. A small crowd gathered to watch as the 34-metre spire was lowered into place with the help of a massive crane.

"For the people of God in New Brunswick, this is a special day," said college president David Medders. This is the day it's coming together."

Despite the rain, the first lift took place at 8 a.m., followed by a community barbecue at 6 p.m. which included chapel tours, an open house and a steeple lighting at sundown.

The new building will, according to the college's website, "serve as the heart of campus and centre for spiritual life."

Medders added to this statement, while pointing out a block on the side of the building that depicts a pair of hands praying, by saying it won't only be Bethany students who benefit from the new chapel.

"Down below the hands is Luke 19:46, ‘Christ went into the Tabernacle of his own Synagogue and said, My house should be called a house of prayer for all people,' and that's what this is. It's a place for students and people from across the province and beyond," explained Medders.

Medders points out another message hidden in the architecture of the church. The steeple, which crowns the top of the sanctuary, is actually an eight-sided lantern topped by a 12-inch copper globe and a 2.7 metre Celtic cross.

"All of that together represents the mission of the church and it's the purpose of the college, of going out and bearing witness to Christ," said Medders.

The chapel's main floor will seat 650 people with an extra 60 seats for choir members and instrument players. After the second phase balcony is completed, the chapel will have the capacity of over 1,000 people.

A Service of Consecration will take place at the chapel Sept. 7 at 3 p.m during the Festival of Consecration.

On that morning of the first service, the congregation will gather in the parking lot of Nicholson Hall, where the old chapel used to be and, as Medders explained, "with the assistance of bagpipes leading the way, we'll come up here and hold our first chapel service."

Ground was first broken for the new chapel Sept. 13, 2005, during a ceremony where co-chair of the "Decade for Redevelopment" campaign, Dr. John Maxwell spoke along side his colleague, Jean Saunders Irving, after whose family the chapel is named.

The "Decade for Redevelopment" is an initiative that stemmed out of the need for new facilities at the college as enrollment numbers continue to grow. It includes the Saunders Irving Chapel, a new library and Bethany's first athletics and fitness centre.