New church complete

WASILLA -- On April 1, the Lamb of God Lutheran Church held a groundbreaking for a new church. Little more than five months later, services are being held there.

The church, which is located on Church Road, just past Mystery Avenue, came together quickly, thanks to the efforts of volunteers from around the country.

"We still have some carpet to lay and it will be next spring before we can get the siding up, but we are having services there already," said Mac Durgeloh, one of the organizers of the project. "We had volunteers come from as far away as St. Louis and Indiana.

"We had a regular group of at least four people working every day. I think we hired a licensed plumber and a licensed electrician, but other than that, it was almost all done ourselves," Durgeloh said.

The inside of the church contains a new kitchen area with new cabinets, several classrooms and a sanctuary that includes handmade stained glass windows and a handmade altar and lectern.

The congregation has met in the new building for services the last two Sundays, and will continue to do so. This week, the gas was scheduled to be hooked up, just in time for the coming of winter.

On Oct. 7, the congregation is formally dedicating its new church. A dinner is scheduled for 5 p.m., with evening services scheduled to follow at 7 p.m. All the Lutheran pastors in the area will be at the service, as well as Warren Schumacher, who is the president of the northwest district. He is from Portland, Ore.

The church has services every Sunday at 9 a.m.