Warkentin Chapel rededicated
It was an evening of families as descendants of Herman Warkentin and faculty, staff and students from the MB Seminary and Fresno Pacific University gathered September 11 to rededicate the Warkentin Prayer Chapel.
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The chapel was built for the seminary in 1966 by H.K. Warkentin in memory of his son, Herman, a Mennonite Brethren missionary who died in an accident in India. This ceremony rededicated the refurbished building to Herman and his wife, Beatrice.
More than 100 M.B. families served in India between 1875 and 1975, and today the Indian M.B. church is one of the two largest of the denomination's conferences, with 90,000-100,000 members. Many members of those missionary families are buried in India.
The rededication service included memories by family members and the reading of prayers written by students at the chapel. Among those present were Beatrice and her sister, Rose Prieb. Rose and her husband, the late Arnold Prieb, were missionaries in Congo for 31 years. Their sons, Arnie (BA '74) and Garry (BA '71) served there, as well, before coming to FPU as director of international programs and services and director of stewardship, respectively.
Improvements to the chapel, provided by the Warkentin children and families, include a new roof, new flooring, new windows, a new cross, new paint and a different seating arrangement.
The chapel--open to FPU and MBBS--is located in a thicket of redwood trees between the university's Hiebert Library and seminary's rose garden.
