Center for Faith and Life

“The Center for Faith and Life is envisioned as the center of the college, designed to serve the whole community, to nurture and strengthen it, and to give a larger dimension and focus to what we do at this institution.”

—Bartlett Butler, music emeritus, building committee

The Center for Faith and Life, dedicated in October 1977 and completed in the summer of 1978, serves as a worship center and a performing arts auditorium.

As a center for the performing arts, it accommodates a host of concerts, performances, and special events presented by Luther College faculty, solo artists, choirs, bands, orchestra, chamber orchestra, theatre, opera, and dance groups. In addition, the Office of Campus Programming, located in the Center for Faith and Life, presents the Center Stage Series, an extensive series of visiting guest artists.

The Center Stage Series exposes the campus and the surrounding community to renowned artists of international caliber. In addition to this generous performance schedule, the campus community is priviledged to have access to public lectures by nationally know speakers on current topics, some as part of the Luther College Distinguished Lecture Series.

The Center for Faith and Life is also the center for worship life on campus; it houses the College Ministry offices. Daily chapel and Sunday services are held during the academic year, with an average of 300-400 students and faculty in attendance.

Weavings throughout the Center for Faith and Life and the paraments of worship were handmade by Marjorie Ford Pohlmann of Minneapolis. The design of the large weaving on the auditorium's front wall, with strong vertical accents, is intentionally universal, to provide a visual focus and yet not intrude on the variety of activities which occur on the stage.

Auditorium

The main level has 746 fixed seats and 134 moveable chairs, and the balcony has 548 fixed seats, for a capacity of 1, 428 with some space for overflow seats available.

Because of the many ways in which the auditorium space is utilized, it's imperative to have a versatile stage. The Center for Faith and Life's thrust stage consists of a stationary platform and a hydraulic lift. The platform and lift together are large enough for an orchestra of 85 and a seated choir of 200. The lift can be positioned at the stationary platform level for maximum stage area, at the auditorium floor level for additional seating, or lower than the stationary platform as an orchestra pit. The lift also serves as an elevator for moving equipment to and from the basement.

The moveable platform, at the front of the lift, is a seating area with variable position. It can be set below the stage or at the stationary platform level for a level floor from cross aisle to front wall.

The three canopies with transparent acrylic panels suspended above the stage are a part of the acoustical design of the hall and can be raised or lowered as preferred by various performance groups.

Mounted in the organ balcony, the Martin Luther Tiles, designed and crafted by Robin (Bailey) Nordmoe ’84, commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth. The motif is that of geese (left panel) transformed into swans (right panel). The swan signifies the success and acceptance of Luther’s reform as compared to the defeat of John Huss (“Huss” is the German word for goose), a Czech reformer burned at the stake in 1415.

In addition to artificial lighting, a ceiling skylight allows natural light to illuminate the front of the auditorium. The natural light can be closed off by pneumatically operated louvers.

The Rost Memorial Organ

The Rost organ was designed, built, and installed by Robert Sipe of Dallas in collaboration with William B. Kuhlman, college organist, and Paul Veneklasen, acoustical consultant for the main auditorium and recital hall. The organ was made possible by a single gift from Jeanne Preus Rost ’41 in honor of her late husband, Lawrence E. Rost.

A 42-stop tracker-action instrument reflecting classical organ-building techniques in combination with current computer technology, the Rost organ contains 3,142 speaking pipes in 62 ranks, or sets of pipes, distributed over four keyboards, three played by the hands and one by the feet. The instrument is elegantly encased in the tradition of the Golden Age of Organ Building — the 17th century — although the architecture of the case is frankly contemporary in keeping with the basic architectural scheme of the Center for Faith and Life. The main case is made of solid oak, and the console and pedal sharps are inlaid with rosewood. Decorative pipe shades at the top of the case provide visual interest and additional blend within each division.

The Center Recital Hall

Used as a performance space for soloists and small ensembles, lectures, and Wednesday evening Eucharist when school is in session, this area seats 160 with provision for 40 overflow seats.

O.W. Qualley Lounge

Named in honor of former dean, vice president, and classics professor O.W. “Pip” Qualley ’18, this lounge is used as reception area for recitals, concerts, and meetings. The bust of Qualley was sculpted by Douglas Freeman ’75.

Prayer Chapel

The chapel is open to the campus community 24 hours a day via an outside entrance. Ceramic wall tiles and worship pieces in the chapel were made by former faculty member Dean Schwartz.

The stained glass window, modeled after a window in St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Oshkosh, WI, was given in honor of Freda (Struxness) ’48 and Theodor Jacobsen ’42 by their grandchildren.

The Sanctuary Candle keeping the eternal flame is a gift from the Hill family in memory of the late Kendra Hill ’95.

Melanchthon Room

Named in honor of Phillip Melanchthon, a contemporary of Martin Luther and the author of the Augsburg Confession, this room is used as a seminar-meeting room and periodically as a classroom.

Outside Sculpture

The concrete and cedar wood sculpture on the front exterior of the Center for Faith and Life visualizes the tree of life (Revelation 22.2) anchored in the rock of faith (Numbers 20:11, Matthew 16:18, and others). A drainage tile above the sculpture bathes it with the living water of the rain which falls on the roof of the building. It was designed by Charles Pohlmann of Minneapolis.

The southeast corner of the Center for Faith and Life is the site of Oedipus and Antigone, a Gerhard Marcks sculpture donated to the college by Ruth (Jensen) ’51 and Wilfred Bunge ’53. The eight-foot-tall, three-quarter-ton bronze casting represents two characters from Greek mythology, both of whom were central characters in three plays (Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus) written by Greek dramatist Sophocles in the fifth century B.C. The work depicts the moment in Oedipus at Colonus when Oedipus prepares to enter a sacred olive grove, where he will come to the end of a hard and tragic life.

Center Stage Series

Tickets for Center Stage Series events are available in a subscription package at the beginning of each academic year. Single tickets for these series events as well as for special events are sold at the Luther College Box Office in the two weeks preceding the performance.

Luther College Box Office

The Box Office, located in the Center for Faith and Life, is open from 9:00–10:30 am and 11:00–3:00 pm, Monday through Friday, phone 563.387.1357. Hours for weekday performances are 9:00-10:30 am and 11:00 am until show time. Hours for Saturday or Sunday performances are 1:00 pm until show time.

Handicapped Access

The Center for Faith and Life is wheelchair accessible, and special seating is available for more performances.

Parking

When attending events at the Center for Faith and Life, plan to park in the Nustad Parking Lot adjacent to Preus Library. Handicapped parking spaces are designated near the Center for Faith and Life.