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The Lutheran community of Gawler celebrated the opening of the brand-new Zion Preschool at Immanuel Gawler with a wonderful day of fellowship, food, and live entertainment.
The school community and local congregation members turned up in numbers to attend morning worship, witness the historic opening dedication, and take a look around the state-of-the-art facility at the fun-filled event on Sunday, 10 August.
With construction of Zion's new premises on Immanuel Gawler's Lyndoch Road grounds completed, the preschool is moving from the Cowan Street, Gawler SA, site it has occupied since 1978, with the first little learners welcomed only days before the official opening celebration.
The transformative project, undertaken with the support of an LLL Loan, will provide a major boost to education in the regional centre, about an hour's drive north of Adelaide.
Photos: Former Immanuel Gawler Principal Daryl Trigg and Zion Preschool Director Annie Barry (above) address the gathering before heading over to officially open the new facility. Bishop Andrew Brook (below) during the worship service.
Community vision
"The Lutheran Church community in Gawler has had a vision for Lutheran education in our local region for decades," now-retired Immanuel Gawler Principal Daryl Trigg explained.
"Beginning with the establishment of Zion Preschool at the Cowan Street site in 1978 and then Immanuel School on Lyndoch Road in 1985, this has been a 'coming together' in Gawler that has been unfolding over the last 10 years.
"Lutheran Education SA, WA & NT (LESNW) has a vision statement that says, 'We're better together' and the Lutheran community of Gawler has been intentionally developing this over the last 10 years, realising that our greatest strength is our collective strength, especially in a community dominated by large Reception to Year 12 Colleges.
"But in the end, all glory belongs to God and the unity we have in Him as we have certainly been blessed with the key ingredients of trust, vision, relationships and patience."
LLL Head of Client Relationships Sam and Communications Officer Jason were delighted to take up the school's kind offer to tour the site during the construction phase and attend the opening.
The impressive structure incorporates a pre-existing house and a brand-new build, which will complement other construction projects, including a new Junior Primary area, also undertaken by the leading school.
Photos: A commemoritive plaque was unveiled and the ribbon cut (above). LLL Head of Client Relationships Sam with Immanuel Gawler Business Manager Kim Ginman (below) at the new Zion Preschool opening dedication.
Missional partnership
The discovery of an old well and a septic tank underpinning the pre-existing house was an unforeseen challenge to overcome.
But thanks to the hard work and dedication of project leaders, aided by the strength of a missional partnership with LLL, the community's littlest learners now have a wonderful new space to explore.
"The Gawler Lutheran School community continues to be blessed by LLL in the building of the new Zion centre, just as we have over the last 40 years of growth and development," Daryl added.
"We certainly appreciate our missional partnership.
"A really important factor is you know you can have a conversation with somebody at LLL and that there is a Lutheran context that they understand.
"And so, there is a great comfort and assurance that at the end of the (phone) line there are people that hold the same values and the same aspirations.
"So, if we need to be a bit agile, to duck and weave, we know we can do that together."
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