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Who We Are
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Prairie Tabernacle Demolished December 27, 2005 For 60 years the Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle has been at the centre of campus life at Prairie Bible Institute. From daily chapels to conferences to summer gatherings, the auditorium with its high vaulted ceiling has accommodated thousands of events and multitudes of people. When it was first constructed in 1954 the Tabernacle had the distinction of being Canada’s largest religious auditorium with seating for over 4300 people. Amazingly the building was completed for just over $100,000 partly because the 350,000 board feet of lumber used in construction were milled by volunteers at Prairie’s own sawmill near Sundre, Alberta. Labour costs for Prairie staff came in a $1.00 per hour and the total cost of the blueprints was $8.45. One of the major expenses in the construction was that of the main curved beams valued at $15,000. Brought in by rail from Vancouver, they weighed 2000 lbs apiece. On April 13th of 1954 over 4000 people attended the dedication service for the new Prairie Tabernacle (renamed the Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle in 1986). Among them were the 675 students attending the college at that time. The student body continued to increase through the 60’s and 70’s but over the next decade Bible colleges across Canada began to face declining enrollments. With smaller student numbers, the huge capacity of the Tabernacle slowly became a liability instead of an asset. Regular events such as chapel were dwarfed by the cavernous interior. Annual events like Youth Quest still filled the building to capacity through to the mid 1990’s but then other major youth rallies in Red Deer and Edmonton took over and Youth Quest was phased out. In 1985 the building was retrofitted with new foyer space but the original auditorium with its two inches of straw insulation remained untouched. With rising energy costs this extremely low energy efficiency ultimately led to the building’s demise. An attempt was made during the legacy 2000 capital campaign to upgrade and renovate the Tabernacle but the plan did not find enough financial support to move it ahead. Another attempt was made in 2004 to create a revised renovation plan. But as costs approached $7 million the administration reluctantly agreed that rather than renovate, it would be wiser instead to build a new centre that would fit the present needs for programs and energy efficiency. The time had come to close this chapter in Prairie’s history. The demolition of the Tabernacle will clear space for the new Maxwell Centre, a 75,000 square foot building housing a 1200-seat auditorium, a 200-seat multipurpose hall and a multipurpose performance space. Phase 1, including student services, business offices and specialized training space for the new Prairie College of Applied Arts & Technology, is slated to begin this spring. Throughout the years the Tabernacle was well-known as the site of Prairie’s annual missions conference where many graduating students were commissioned for service in countries around the world. In keeping with this grand tradition and to give the old building a fitting end, the administration of Prairie has turned the salvage of materials from the Tabernacle over to a team of staff and students who will be traveling to the east coast of Nicaragua in April 2006. In the past month the team has salvaged over 10,000 pounds of copper and aluminum from the Tabernacle and also from the old windows removed from the dorm this fall after All Weather Windows donated new vinyl windows to the college. They have removed many hundreds of batts of insulation and as the building comes down they hope to salvage 200 of the 12-foot fir beams that connected the main beams in the ceiling. The sale of this material will be invested into the upcoming trip. The Nicaragua 2006 team will be traveling to an area recently battered by Hurricane Beta with the goal of constructing a community centre housing a church, school and health clinic for the village of Tasbapouni. The students are excited about the opportunity to transfer the blessing that the Tabernacle has been to Prairie over the years to a needy people in the third world. Normally a building project like the one in Tasbapouni would require at least a year to complete and the efforts of 5 or more teams. Proceeds from the demolition of the Tabernacle, however, may make it possible for the team to send money ahead to begin the foundation and then take another contribution down when they go to see the walls completed. Their hope is that the churches of Three Hills would raise up another group to follow them and put the roof and floor in place. (For more information on this project call Harold Leo in the Prairie Development Office at 443-5511 or email harold.leo@prairie.edu.) The Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle was constructed by people with a vision for the future and a passion to dream big. That same vision and passion still move Prairie as new buildings are constructed and a new vocational college begins offering programs in health care and early childhood education next fall. The Prairie School of Mission Aviation is moving forward and the Bible College has sharpened its focus for increased effectiveness in “enabling the body of Christ to reach the world with the Gospel of Christ.” The Tabernacle and its spiritual impact represented the centre of campus life in its time and as new structures take its place, the true heart of Prairie is still going strong. Prairie is a leading Canadian centre of higher education for Christians. We equip students to achieve their life, ministry and career purposes and to fulfill their role within the Body of Christ. |
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