Seminary, synod make
‘mission possible’ Renovation effort warms homes and hearts
By Elizabeth Hunter W
artburg Seminary senior Joshua Johnson jokes, a bit seriously, that only
a year ago you could stand in the middle of his living room to figure out the wind’s direction. Likewise, senior Hannah Bene- dict said that she, her husband Josiah and their daughter Eve used to “pile on blankets and crank up the heat.” Until October 2014 draſty windows and doors were a
COURTESY NORTHEASTERN IOWA SYNOD/WARTBURG THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
given with the seminary’s family housing, made up of 10 units built in 1968. “While the houses had been kept up very well by our maintenance staff, time was beginning to take its toll,” Johnson said. Enter “Mission Possible-Wartburg Teological Semi-
nary,” a joint renovation effort of the Dubuque, Iowa, seminary; the Northeastern Iowa Synod; and several congregations, including Nazareth Lutheran, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Tanks to synod volunteers, this past winter students
and their families were not only more comfortable in energy-efficient homes, but they and the seminary saved money. Johnson said his portion of the costs for elec- tricity, aſter a subsidy from the seminary, dropped from $40 to $73 a month to $0 to $12 a month. An added bonus: they no longer hear the train go by in the middle of the night. Benedict agreed: “Everyone’s been blown away by
how comfortable the homes are, how beautiful they look … and how much light and warmth there is.”
Meeting the need Nazareth and its pastor, Brian King, a Wartburg alum- nus, played a major role in the project. As soon as they heard of the need for renovations, the congregation and its all-volunteer “Naz Builders” were on board. Nazareth also made an initial giſt of $20,000 toward materials. Knowing more funds were needed for supplies,
project coordinator Hank Wellnitz, who co-chairs the Naz Builders with Del Carpenter, spoke at the 2014
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www.thelutheran.org
Volunteers renovate Wartburg Theological Seminary’s student family housing in Dubuque, Iowa.
synod assembly, asking congregations to help. Mark A. Anderson, assistant to the synod bishop, followed up aſterward with many calls to pastors. And people responded. Nazareth’s giſt was more than
matched by individuals and congregations, as well as by seminary alumni. From January to October 2014, 26 volunteers from the Naz Builders and other congrega- tions gave a total of 2,680 hours of labor. “We’d take one house at a time,” Wellnitz said. “We’d
replace all of the windows and [exterior] doors, apply sheet insulation to the outside of the house, put on new vinyl siding, and [install] soffits and fascia.” In return the seminary provided morning devotions,
two meals a day and overnight housing for the volun- teers. For their part volunteers received a tour of the campus and a meal at the seminary president’s home, “so a whole new group of seminary supporters was developed,” Anderson said. Te project “strengthened ties with the seminary, the
synod and the broader ELCA,” said Wellnitz, adding, “[ELCA congregations] can lead beyond our walls. At Nazareth we try to be the hands of Christ wherever we can. It’s a blessing to use our giſts to help others and give back.”
Author bio: Hunter is an associate editor of The Lutheran, and a member of Holy Family Lutheran Church, Chicago.
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