Gloria Dei Church to Reopen April 14th

Church has been closed for more than three years after the building was destroyed by a fire

DULUTH, Minn. – “I remember having a conversation, an interview, outside the day of the fire and I was telling the interviewer this is not the end. We are people of faith. We believe in the resurrection,” said Pastor David Carlson of Duluth’s Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.

A devastating fire gutted the central hillside church three years ago. It’s been closed ever since.

But the church is now expected to reopen in April.

Natural light through stained glass windows is what you see at the Gloria Dai Lutheran church, but it was a different scene in February 2016 when fire destroyed the building.

“It was actually pitch black in here. We were going in with flashlights and we were told you can go here and here but not there because you might step into a hole and go right into the basement,” recalled John Pierce, who walked through the church days after the fire and found the old piano beyond repair.

Pierce, the owner of Duluth Fine Pianos, is back with a new piano for the congregation’s new beginning.

“We actually have a hole where a stained glass window is going to go that’s big enough to put this piano through with a forklift,” explained Pierce.

Church renovations are almost complete. Its doors are expected to open to parishioners in less than a month.

“For all of us actually it’s going to be a new chapter in the life and ministry of Gloria Dei,” said Carlson.

He remembers the fire as being devastating, but says good things have come from the disaster like relationships built with churches across Duluth.

“We’re grateful for the support, the generous solidarity and hospitality that people have expressed to us and so we also want to be there for others,” said Carlson.

The restored church will have new features like an elevator to every floor, a commercial kitchen, and a new layout.

“We reoriented the altar so that the altar is closer to third street. It used to be the other direction,” explained Carlson.

Bright colors ware ready to greet church-goers when they reenter Gloria Dei this Easter season, a time that fittingly symbolizes rebirth.

“Christ’s death and resurrection brings new life to everyone and for us in this case, God is bringing new life to our congregation,” said Carlson.

The first church service in the new space is scheduled for Palm Sunday, April 14th.