JOPLIN, Mo. —
One week after the May 22, 2011, tornado, members of Peace Lutheran Church in Joplin gathered in the parking lot near what remained of their sanctuary at 20th Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
The altar — one of the few things recovered from the church — was set up outdoors and covered with flowers that Sunday.
“Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the gloom of doubt away,” members sang from “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” to the tune of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” “Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.”
The occasion marked a covenant among members of the church, who pledged it would not be the end of Peace Lutheran.
Nineteen months and 15 days later, on another Sunday, many of those same church members gathered outside once again, this time at 3100 N. St. Louis Ave. They came to break ground for what will become their new church.
Marda Schroeder, president of the congregation, marked the progress the members have made in her opening remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony.
“On that day, the skies opened up and it took our home, but it didn’t take our church,” Schroeder said of the tornado. “Our church is our members. Our faith is in the Lord. That storm just took our walls.”
Seven members of the church, representing different generations, helped break ground at Sunday’s ceremony.
Three-year-old Aleah Dube represented the future, and her mother, Stephanie, said they were proud to participate.
“It’s going to be great to have another space we can all be together again in,” she said.
Don Wiese and Leo Winchester also helped break ground. They were on hand for the church’s original groundbreaking in 1965.
Peace Lutheran pastor Kathy Redpath said other charter members have contacted her since the church announced its plans to rebuild at a new location.
“We’ve had a lot of people come back into contact with us who aren’t with the church anymore,” Redpath said during her opening remarks. “Its speaks volumes about the community that this church has helped foster over the decades here in Joplin. That’s why the church has kept going and will keep growing.”
The congregation plans to have its $1 million church open by the end of the year, Schroeder said.
“We’ve still got a ways to go until we will be in our new home, but today marks another step to getting into that home,” she said. “We have been blessed to share Bethany Presbyterian with their congregation, but we are excited at what we will be able to do with a new facility. It will be a place to invite others in so that they can share our worship with us and to share fellowship.”
Since the tornado, Peace Lutheran members have been meeting at Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1930 S. Virginia Ave.
The two congregations’ services have included joint sermons every month, said Redpath, who came to Peace Lutheran in August 2011 and has served as pastor despite the church not having a building of its own.
“I knew what I was coming into and what the future had in store for this place,” Redpath said. “I felt like I was called here to be a part of this congregation and to help them find their way after what happened. It has been exciting to witness all of the good that came out of something so terrible.”
The 60 members on hand closed Sunday’s ceremony much like they did on that first Sunday after the tornado.
Gathering close together with no walls around them, the members closed with the hymn “All Are Welcome.” The lyrics — “Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace, let this house proclaim from floor to rafter ... all are welcome in this place” — rose to a cloudless sky overlooking the church’s new site.
Staying together
SARAH JO RADCLIFFE, secretary of Peace Lutheran Church, said that despite losing its building on May 22, 2011, the church has not lost any members. “It was a struggle getting everyone back together then, to find out where everyone was,” she said. “It was really a group effort.”
Local News
Related Photos
-
Members of Peace Lutheran Church gather at the end of Sunday’s groundbreaking ceremony to close with the hymn “All Are Welcome.” The ceremony marked the congregation’s 19-month journey to its new site after the former building was destroyed in the 2011 tornado. GLOBE | RYAN RICHARDSON
-
One week after the May 22, 2011, tornado destroyed Peace Lutheran Church, Gary Nelson arranged an altar for an outdoor service at the site. Members broke ground Sunday for a new church building. GLOBE FILE | ROGER NOMER
-
An architect’s rendering shows the new Peace Lutheran Church on North St. Louis Avenue. COURTESY | PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH
Discussion
Peace Lutheran breaks ground for new church
- Local News
-
-
Sheriff’s funds to pay for two building projects
Jasper County’s general fund budget may pay some initial costs for renovating and constructing two county buildings, but the final bill for the projects will come from law enforcement sales tax funds.
-
Pittsburg crews work to repair storm damaged Schlanger Park
City crews using heavy equipment spent Thursday cleaning up Schlanger Park after a storm tracked through Monday night.
-
No charges to be filed in Joplin shooting case
The nonfatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a Joplin residence on May 13 has been deemed justified by authorities. Jacob B. Boykin, 21, of Joplin, shot Justin S. Johnson, 25, of Carterville, once in the chest with a small-caliber handgun at 5260 E. Sunny Acres Lane.
-
Mike Pound: DVD smells like pizza; how great is that?
Just when I think the rest of the world is passing us by, this great country does something that renews my faith in innovation. It does something that renews my faith in that can-do spirit that led Charles Lindbergh to fly nonstop across the Atlantic, thus leading to the invention of the airplane bathroom.
-
Joplin Board of Education to decide fate of East Middle School teacher
After hearing nearly 10 hours of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses and accepting more than 45 exhibits into evidence, members of the Joplin Board of Education voted to move behind closed doors Thursday night to decide whether Randy Turner, a communication arts teacher at East Middle School, will continue to teach.
-
Memorial Day travelers bemoan high gas prices
Norm Hayward and his wife, Claudia, have a couple of things going for them as they continue their increasingly expensive motor home trip around parts of the United States. For starters, the Phoenix, Ariz., couple are saving on hotel costs.
-
Cunningham Park vandalism estimated at $4,000
Vandals caused an estimated $4,000 worth of damage in Cunningham Park, draining the pool in the aquatic center of about 200,000 gallons of water and throwing some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.
-
Joplin team drove through storm to get to Moore
It was a long drive in the middle of a severe thunderstorm that had earlier produced a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. With the two-year anniversary of Joplin’s deadly twister approaching on Wednesday, a team of 14 Joplin emergency workers was ready to risk the trip in order to get help to a hurting Moore.
-
Cunningham Park vandalism bill estimated at $4,000
The city estimates that vandals caused about $4,000 worth of property damage in Cunningham Park, draining the swimming pool of 200,000 gallons of water and moving some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.
-
Content of book, students' access to it at issue in hearing for suspended teacher
A standing-room only crowd is present at the hearing this morning to decide the fate of suspended Joplin Middle School teacher Randy Turner, who has asked for the hearing before the board of education.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Sheriff’s funds to pay for two building projects
