BY MEGHAN CALLAHAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
GREEN BAY – St. Paul Lutheran Church and School of Green Bay recently completed its much needed and deserved update; an addition to the side of the church.
Staff Minister, Worship Director and part-time Bible Teacher Peter Schaewe said that the addition is “a blessing” and very necessary in order to accommodate the influx of students entering St. Paul Lutheran Church.
“The student population is going to basically double next year, we’re going from 98 kids to about 180.”
St. Paul Lutheran Church has been part of the Green Bay community since 1882 and has been at the corner of Mason St. and Webster Ave. since 1953.
The addition of the new wing of the church will allow for some office spaces to be freed up and used as classrooms as well as an extension of the 3k-5k program.
The addition also houses a community center in the basement.
“This is mainly for church activities and volunteer drives, such as the food pantry or the diaper drive,” Schaewe said. “We wanted more space for community.”
The addition has a square footage of 15,187, more than enough room to build community and create enough space for incoming students.
Specifically, the new building houses eight classrooms.
Not only does Schaewe hope the new add-on will bring the community together, he also hopes that it will make the building easier to find and to navigate.
“Before the place was kind of a maze,” he said. “You had to go through many different hallways and doors in order to find the Chapel.”
In addition to a more accessible front entrance, there is hope that visibility for the church will increase and it will be simpler to find and access.
“Sometimes people get confused distinguishing us from the church right next to us,” Schaewe said. “We’re hoping the new building allows for us to be found more easily.”
This project has been in the works for six years now and was much anticipated by community members and staff alike — so much so that the church hosted a dedication rite for the new building.
It was held on Sunday, April 14, right after a special service and consisted of scripture and prayer and was followed by a lunch downstairs in the new community center.
St. Paul Lutheran encourages others to come and worship with them on Sundays and check out their brand new building.
For more information, visit stpaulgreenbay.com/church.