St Nicholas Purchase of New Building and Renovations
Concept drawing of sanctuary
Help us transform our new building into an Orthodox Church
We purchased 1203 Peace Street on June 28, 2024. We have already replaced the original HVAC system, had the original carpet removed, and architectural designs and bids from contractors drawn up. Construction is soon to begin, but to complete the project we need help from people like you. We need more money to complete the electrical and flooring for the sanctuary, and to put in an upstairs bathroom.
In the meantime, we have added a effective, preliminary iconostas, painted the apse, altar area and walls, put rugs on the floor and hung icons to the walls.
Updates:
Beautifying the Building
Lent 2026Panorama of the church
View of the front the church from the back with icons hung on the walls and rugs on the floor
Painted altar area and apse, with burial shroud (plashchanitsa/epitaphios) mounted above the oblation table, and icons flanking the apse.
October, 2025Preliminary iconostas set up
We have moved!
We have moved into our new building after almost a year. We still have lots of remodeling to do, but we are ready to begin services at 1203 Peace St, Pella, IA 50219.
Our first service in the new building—Great Vespers—will be on Saturday May 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM.
Hours and Liturgy will begin at 9:20AM on Sunday May 25, 2025.
Note: there will be no coffee social this week after Liturgy on May 25th.
Here are some photos of the new building, and the last service and moving out of our old space.
Concept Designs and Architectural Documents For 1203 Peace Street
Edit: some of what was posted previously were not supposed to be publicly released, so they have been removed.
Construction on the interior of 1203 Peace Street is about to begin. Here are some of the concepts and designs for the sanctuary. We hope to be within the building by Pascha 2025. We still need help fundraising to complete the electrical, flooring, and bathroom part of this phase.
Carpet Removal
The original 1970s (!) carpet and the glue are being removed inch by inch. Progress!
St Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church Youth Group Labor Day Weekend Project
Many thanks to the youth, and their leader, from St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis who made the trip to Pella to help us with various tasks in our new church building. Carpet was ripped up, shelves and walls were painted and weeding and pruning were accomplished. We worshipped together at Vespers and Liturgy and enjoyed some fellowship time. What a blessing that these fellow Orthodox Christians were willing to give their time and energy in service to our parish. Thank you!
Removal of Stone Wall from Sanctuary
Lots of work to do to get our new church building ready for us to move into. Today we deconstructed the stone wall facade where the altar will be located. Next step, HVAC replacement at the end of this month and then on to altar, apse and solea design finalization. We still have a way to go before we can move in but are so grateful to God for this opportunity.
Thank you to all who helped today in many capacities and to all who work everyday to bring us closer to moving into this building.
Thank you for your prayers!
Donations are still needed and appreciated to keep us moving forward.
The Goal:
St Nicholas Orthodox Christian Church of Pella, IA purchases new church building
This Is the day which the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
With God‘s help and guidance, today we were able to close on our new home at 1203 Peace St. in Pella. Thanks to all who have contributed in so many ways to make this day happen. And now, the fun and hard work begins. We have much to do before we can move into this building, including getting our HVAC systems replaced. We are still $12,000 short against our $35,000 matching pledge. That $35,000 match will go a long way in helping to get the building ready. We are so grateful to all of you who have generously donated already. Any donations are greatly appreciated. You can donate via our website, www.stnicholaspella.com or at stnicholaspella.org/#donate. Checks may be mailed to St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian Church, PO Box 402, Pella, IA 50219. In all cases, please mark that the donation is for the building fund.
We are excited to get into our new church building and look forward to having you come and visit us and worship with us.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
