A life-size temple made of PVC pipes and cloth will take up most of the real estate on the Reitz Union North Lawn next week.
Messiah’s Mansion, a Christian organization from Harrah, Okla., began constructing a scale version of a biblical temple on the North Lawn late Wednesday night. When completed, the 75-by-100-foot model will stand 15 feet tall.
“It’s a copy of God’s house in heaven,” said Carolyn Leinneweber, director of Messiah’s Mansion. The blueprint for the temple comes from the Book of Exodus in the Bible, she said.
Leinneweber, 50, has been running Messiah’s Mansion with her husband full-time since 2003. They received an invitation from UF Seventh-Day Adventist group Baby Isaac and were given two days to complete the project.
About 30 to 40 volunteers from Baby Isaac, Messiah’s Mansion and Gainesville Seventh-Day Adventist Church are helping build the temple.
They will give 15-minute tours of the tabernacle from Saturday through March 24. Tours will be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
Each project costs about $15,000 dollars and is funded entirely by donations, she said.
Thomson Paris, vice president of Baby Isaac, said the group has been trying to get Messiah’s Mansion to come to UF for more than a year.
“The religious museum will allow students to experience what life was like during biblical times,” he said.
