Seventh-day Adventists in England are celebrating the opening of a new church building for Newbold College.

“I cannot deny that I used to dream of this new church and it is as good as my dreams,” said Derek Beardsell, former principal of Newbold College, and first to preach in the new church on Sabbath, or Saturday, September 14.

The opening is significant not just for the church’s unique, contemporary design—it’s built into the landscape with grass covering sections of the roof—but also for the length of time it has taken to realize the dream for a new church building. Plans for a Newbold College church building go back as far as thirty years.

“This church is a remarkable result of different entities working together in harmony and unity,” said Bertil Wiklander, president of the Adventist Church in the Trans-European region, speaking during the opening ceremony. He named a wide range of people and groups from around the world who have contributed to the effort.

The building includes a number of meeting rooms, alcoves, and other spaces where people can interact. It also houses a café area emphasizing its role of serving both church and community. President of the Newbold Student Association, Stian Keyn, said: “It’s a great relief to have something so modern in a traditional Adventist setting. I like the grass on the roof—very Norwegian in style.”

The opening ceremony drew local dignitaries, church leaders, past and present college faculty and administrators, alumni, and many others.