Local congregation celebrates groundbreaking of new school building
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IDAHO FALLS — About 100 people met at Hope Lutheran Church at 2701 12th Street in Idaho Falls Sunday morning for a worship service and a groundbreaking ceremony for its new school building.
Construction on the 8,700-square-foot building is already underway. It’s an expansion project that will add six new classrooms to the existing building on the east side of the campus. Contractors will also remove two walls that divide classrooms in the current building, creating a large common area for early childhood education.
It’s slated for completion this fall, just in time for the new school year.
Although the congregation has been raising funds for the project for several years, Pastor Garen Pay says it has been in the works much longer. He held an official groundbreaking ceremony with church members at the end of the Sunday worship services.
At the beginning of the service, Pay called it “a monumental day” for the 69-year-old congregation.
“Thank you for being here to celebrate with us. This is a good day and was years in the making,” Pay told those in attendance. “We’re not the first to believe and call on the name of the Lord, and unless the Lord comes back first, we won’t be the last. This is a monumental day in setting the groundwork, literally, for being able to share this message for a long time.”
The current building was built in 1981, but the church and school date back to the 1950s. Pastor Robert Thoelke held the first worship service for Hope Lutheran at the YMCA on Aug. 18, 1957, according to church historical records. Ground was broken for a new church building at 1300 East 17th Street in April 1958. It was completed in 1960. Jeanine Lange helped establish the school while the building was under construction.
By 1979, the congregation had grown to 659 members. That led to the construction of the current building on 12th Street.
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Earlier this week, Pay told EastIdahoNews.com the need for the new school building is due to several factors. One of them is the result of a growing student body and regulations limiting the number of students in a confined area.
The 45-year-old building is also showing signs of wear and tear, and Pay says it’s time for an upgrade.
Pay elaborated further on the need for the new building during his sermon.
“Do we need grand temples made with hands to worship the Lord, who has promised to be where two or more are gathered? The answer is no. But can we use the gifts that God has given us to set aside reverent spaces for receiving God’s word? Yes,” Pay said.
Among those in attendance Sunday was Rev. Jonathan Dinger, vice president of the Northwest District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the umbrella organization that oversees the Idaho Falls congregation.
He offered a few remarks at the end of the service.
“Groundbreakings are awesome! I love building buildings,” Dinger said. “May God bless you now and always.”
At the conclusion of the worship service, a young boy held a cross as Pastors Pay and Robert Carabotta led the congregation outside for the groundbreaking ceremony. Several prayers were offered and the group sang a hymn after turning shovels.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.