Groundbreaking held for new chapel at Union University
NORTH JACKSON, Tenn. — Union University leaders and supporters celebrated a groundbreaking on Friday afternoon for what they’re calling one of the largest single projects in the school’s history.
The excitement was centered around an all-new freestanding chapel, the new building will replace the previous chapel, which has served the campus for decades.
Demolition of the current chapel is scheduled to begin in May, with construction on the new facility expected to follow shortly after. University leaders say the goal is to create a larger space that better fits the campus community and future events.
“This facility seats about 900, the new building will seat 1,500 so it will be significantly larger for capacity,” said President of Union University, Dub Oliver.
President Oliver says the expanded capacity will support weekly campus worship services and provide more room for major gatherings throughout the year.
“Well of course we’ll host our chapel in there, which we have chapel twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays. We’ll also host different activities and events, sometimes graduations, but we’ll also host local events. I’m imagining there will be different speakers that come in, different musical groups hopefully, maybe even the symphony will have an opportunity to do different programs in there,” shared President Oliver.
The university expects the new chapel to become a centerpiece on campus, not only for students, faculty, and staff, but for the broader community as well.
