On Sunday evening, June 23, about one hundred members and friends of Dawson Covenant Church held a groundbreaking at their new building site and celebrated the next phase of their capital campaign called "Opening New Doors with Christ." Following a picnic style meal at the present church, everyone traveled by tractor and wagon ride and in cars one and one half miles north to the new site. Gathering in the old P.J. Swanson farmstead, the group enjoyed the outdoor program sitting in a flagged outline of the proposed new building.

The Praise Band led the singing with several selections. Pastor John Norland offered a prayer of thanksgiving in dedication of the new site. Cindy Iverson Weverka read a history of former church buildings. Dean Pearson sang "Somebody's Praying for Me." Dwight Gustafson, chairman of the Finance Team, reported that the capital campaign was on target, with a total of cash and pledges on June 16 of $237,865. The Fund Raising Campaign, called “Opening New Doors with Christ” had just completed a 6-week campaign of information and special events leading up to this Celebration Sunday in thanksgiving for what the Lord has provided.

Included in the celebration was a Groundbreaking Ceremony. Church Council and Building Committee officers, wearing hardhats and with decorated shovels, turned over the first ground for the new building. Dean Pearson closed the service with the solo "Find us Faithful." It was noted that Rosadelle Swenson Schwartz of Brooklyn Park, who grew up on the chosen site, was in attendance. She shared that her great-grandfather and her grandfather had both worked to build former buildings of Dawson Covenant Church, and that she was honored to have come “home” to see that the church would soon be located on her family’s homestead. The group enjoyed pie and ice cream to conclude this special celebration.

Included in the celebration was a Groundbreaking Ceremony. Church Council and Building Committee officers, wearing hardhats and with decorated shovels, turned over the first ground for the new building. Dean Pearson closed the service with the solo "Find us Faithful." It was noted that Rosadelle Swenson Schwartz of Brooklyn Park, who grew up on the chosen site, was in attendance. She shared that her great-grandfather and her grandfather had both worked to build former buildings of Dawson Covenant Church, and that she was honored to have come “home” to see that the church would soon be located on her family’s homestead. The group enjoyed pie and ice cream to conclude this special celebration.

Updates On Building Plans
In early June, land was purchased from Lloyd and Louise Dahl. The nine plus acre plot is located just 1 1/2 miles north of the present church on County Road 2. Road construction is also underway on County Rd 2, with rebuilding and widening of the road which will result in a brand new tarred road leading to our new church. On July 24 the congregation voted to hire K-Builders to construct the new church, accepted a building plan, and decided on an estimated cost for the building of just under $500,000 based on the size of the building of 9,984 square foot. Bids are coming in from subcontractors for cleaning and backfilling, leveling and packing for site preparation. Other bids include for a covered entry, landscaping, sewer, and possible later tarring of parking lot and drive. The house and outbuildings have been removed. A work day is planned for Monday, August 5, to clean up rocks, sticks, and junk at the new site so the top layer of black soil can be pushed aside. Construction will begin soon.

The results of our Capital Funds drive of Opening New Doors with Christ brought 81 responses from the committment cards with 70 deciding to participate, either as one time cash gifts or as pledges. As of July 21, 2002 the amounts that have come in are $29,160 in one-time cash gifts and $124,115 in pledges for a total of $153,275 raised in our Opening New Doors with Christ Campaign. Added to our Captial Funds Campaign total is our previous building fund balance of $107,290, giving us a total of $260,565 in cash and pledges towards the new church project. Cash from gifts and pledges received now totals $147,995.