Armstrong Auditorium Opens

Recapping the events of an inaugural weekend to remember

The lights are glowing. The sparkling crystals are polished. The cherry panels are shined. The plush seats are brushed. The invitations have gone out, the guests have arrived, and the doors have swung wide.

Armstrong Auditorium has opened.

After 4½ years of planning and construction, Armstrong Auditorium officially welcomed its first visitors on the weekend of September 3-5. They came from across North America and as far away as the Caribbean, Europe and Australia. Most of them were dedicated members of the Philadelphia Church of God, the church that built Herbert W. Armstrong College and its crown jewel, Armstrong Auditorium.

Sir David Wynne, sculptor of “Swans in Flight,” speaks to Herbert W. Armstrong students, faculty and guests in Armstrong Auditorium, September 3. (Trumpet)

The celebration began on Friday. In the morning, Armstrong College students, church members and staff gathered for a forum with Sir David Wynne. Mr. Wynne is the renowned British sculptor who created Swans in Flight, the bronze birds seen lifting off from the 120-foot reflecting pond in front of the auditorium. Wynne spoke at length about his relationship with Herbert Armstrong. “I loved him,” he said, “and I think he loved me.”

Gerald Flurry speaks at Armstrong Auditorium’s dedication event, September 3. (Trumpet)

On Friday evening, the Armstrong Auditorium theater hummed with excited conversation as about 800 thrilled members sat down to see the official dedication ceremony, which included a professional orchestra, a choir of more than 150 voices, and a dedicatory prayer by the pastor general of the Philadelphia Church of God, Gerald Flurry. Afterward, visitors chatted for hours and explored the building’s cherry-paneled rooms, Swarovski crystal chandeliers, Baccarat candelabra, caramel onyx walls, and marble floors, overflowing into the grand mall outside and talking excitedly on into the night.

Ryan Malone conducts the orchestra and choir for the dedication of Armstrong Auditorium, September 3. (Trumpet)

Members also attended a service the next day before the weekend’s main event on Sunday: Armstrong Auditorium’s inaugural concert. The day began with a ceremony underneath the canopy, when hundreds of guests filled the grand mall beneath the building’s 12-column portico. The mall is paved with 40,000 square feet of travertine and revolves around the Swans in Flight sculpture, which measures 13 feet in height and depicts the five stages of a swan taking flight. Gerald Flurry greeted the crowd and introduced Sir David Wynne, who personally dedicated Swans in Flight.

Afterward, concertgoers began to arrive for Armstrong’s official grand opening. The program was an unabridged performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah oratorio by the Herbert W. Armstrong College Choral Union. The sold-out concert featured a full professional orchestra and noted soloists, all telling the story of Elijah—a fitting tribute to the auditorium’s namesake, Herbert W. Armstrong, who considered it one of his favorite pieces of music.

But the day was more than just a tribute to Mr. Armstrong. Armstrong Auditorium’s inauguration was a vibrant revival of his legacy. And, above all, to paraphrase the inscription in the grand lobby, it was an honor and a glory to the one to whom it is dedicated: the great God.