St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 9275 Bringle Ferry Road, will hold a dedication service for its new $2.1 million Family Life Center, conducted by pastor Gary Coble on Sunday. The service of dedication will be held in the Family Life Center in conjunction with the 10:30 a.m. worship service.
Historically, a fund was established by a donation of $20,000 in memory of a deceased member in October of 2000 which served as the catalyst for the Family Life Center. In April of 2006 the church voted to hire an architect to do the preliminary design. On March 15, 2009, the congregation voted to proceed with construction drawings, and on November 1, 2009, the congregation voted to proceed with construction, followed by the ground breaking on Nov. 15, 2009.
The Family Life Center, as envisioned by a survey of members early in the design phase, emphasized needs for worship, fellowship ministry, education, youth ministry, and recreation. The Family Life Center will include a common area for worship, fellowship, and recreation as well as a commercial kitchen, a parlor, a youth room, a classroom and a stage.
The building is designed so that visual, sound and technology can enhance the ministry program. A new piano will be instrumental in worship.
Church members participating in the dedication service will be Ashley Kate Kesler representing the youth, Drema Frotson representing the women of the church, Dennis Williams representing the men of the church, and Larry Thomason, president of the Church Council. The call to worship will be “What Is This Place?” and the special music will be the “Eagle’s Wings Medley” sung by the church choir.
The following were key personnel in designing and building the Family Life Center: architect – John Fuller; construction – Davie Construction owned by Carl Corney; project manger – Chris Johnson; superintendent – Ben Agner (a member of the congregation) and F&M Bank provided the construction and permanent loan. Tom Waller and Gary Huffman were building committee co-chairs.
All those who helped with the construction are invited to the dedication service. Come join us in a service of celebration and fellowship.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church was established in 1838. The existing church was built in 1884 and expanded in 1924. Sunday school wings were added to the church in 1947. The fellowship hall was built in 1959. The interior of the church was renovated in 1985. In 1990 an educational building and a connecting corridor were built. Three years later the wings of the church were renovated and a second corridor was constructed.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church has dual membership in The North American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.