Faith Lutheran breaks ground on church addition in Andover

ANDOVER Last Sunday, the Rev. Jon Heydenreich led the congregation out of Faith Lutheran Church singing "On Our Way, Rejoicing" as they gathered in the construction area.

Thus began the ground breaking at the church for a new addition.

"Bless those who have worked and contributed to provide this site, which today we set apart for the addition to our church," Heydenreich said in his prayer.

"May this be a place where your glory dwells. May we soon celebrate your presence in this addition and in the time to come, may we praise you forever in your eternal home."

After the blessing, Heydenreich turned over three shovelfuls of dirt on behalf of the Holy Trinity father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Construction started on Monday by Northpoint Construction LLC of Hudson, N.H. Work will be done during the summer as Faith Lutheran hosts an Andover/North Andover YMCA after-school program during the academic year and the addition is scheduled to be complete by mid-September.

"There's a big sense of anticipation and fear because of the unknown," said Roberta Ede, who along with her husband Tim Ede, are co-chairs of the Building Expansion Committee.

"When you're building your own house it's one thing, but when you're building the house of God, you want to make sure everything is in order and that everyone will be happy," Ede said.

Members of Faith Lutheran have been planning the addition since 2007, which was going to be done in three phases. The economic downturn made church members scale back, scraping plans to build a new sanctuary and rest rooms.

They will go ahead with phase II of the project, which will add 1,625 square feet of space that will include the fellowship, Christian education, youth group and storage space, which Ede said the church desperately needs.

Continue reading here:
Faith Lutheran breaks ground on church addition in Andover