Holy Trinity Lutheran Church expanding

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New Prague will be doing an expansion of the south end of its building. The church at 1300 Main St. E will be adding 3,100 square feet for an administration wing.

Pastor Ben Hilding, who is co-pastor of the church with his wife Alicia, said the church’s council announced on March 1 plans for the expansion of the church. The new addition will include offices and bathrooms. Pastor Hilding said the new offices will give church staff a place to gather and the bathrooms will help people who stay at the church as part Hope House, which is a temporary shelter for homeless families. Payment for the addition is through a $511,000 donation to the church. Pastor Hilding said the donor wished to remain anonymous.

“To me it represents an investment in the local church,” said Pastor Hilding. He thought the addition to the church was oddly appropriate with the pandemic and the unrest that has been happening. “What better time than one of crises to proclaim God’s good word from one generation to the next.”

The church put in a request to the city to amend its conditional use permit to allow for the expansion. It was presented at the city’s Planning Commission meeting, held electronically on Wednesday, May 27. While the request for the addition was straightforward, City Planning Director Ken Ondich noted there is a 2004 development agreement between the city and the church regarding the closure of the church’s access to Highway 19 (Main Street) once First Street SE is developed. First Street SE currently runs past First Bank and Trust in New Prague and Praha Village, the senior apartment complex. The street stops just past the....

To see more on this story pick up the June 25, 2020 print edition of The New Prague Times.