EDMOND—In the most recent instance of the ruins of Herbert W. Armstrong’s legacy being raised, the Philadelphia Church of God has acquired the bronze letters from the Ambassador Auditorium’s dedication inscription. The letters will serve the same function in the new Armstrong Auditorium, dedicating the building "to the Honor and Glory of the Great God."
In 2004, Worldwide Church of God leaders sold the Ambassador Auditorium and most of its adornments to the Harvest Rock Church. Among these adornments were 106 bronze letters, custom made under Herbert W. Armstrong’s direction, which spelled out a dedication of the house: Ambassador Auditorium Made Possible by Gifts From the Worldwide Church of God. Dedicated to the Honor and Glory of the Great God. Harvest Rock Church removed them, except for the words “Ambassador Auditorium."
After discovering the cost of casting all the letters needed for the dedication inscription of the PCG’s Armstrong Auditorium would have totaled around $10,000, church officials contacted Harvest Rock Church about the possibility of buying the letters. They offered the letters to the PCG as a gift and suggested a $100 token of thanks. The PCG sent $250 to cover the shipping and a donation of thanks.
Receiving the letters from Ambassador was not only a significant blessing financially, but also in terms of incalculable sentimental value. Facilities manager and Ambassador College graduate Roger Brandon said, “In one sense [the letters] are worthless to someone else … I saw them and had to walk away. You get a bit emotional.” The only words that need to be newly cast are “Armstrong Auditorium” and “Philadelphia.”
The letters are made out of cast bronze, a material selected to match the bronze spindles on the staircase of the Ambassador Auditorium as well as other bronze components of the building. The letters are in two different sizes, with the smaller characters measuring 2 inches in height, and the larger ones, which say “The Great God,” measuring 3 inches tall. All are around five-eights of an inch thick.
The letters will take up their new home in the Grand Lobby on the center onyx wall between the two candelabra, just as they did in Ambassador under Mr. Armstrong, dedicating the building to God. In addition to the candelabra, the letters join the Swans in Flight sculpture by Sir David Wynne and a 9-foot Steinway concert grand piano from Ambassador Auditorium as a group of treasures the PCG has acquired from the former Worldwide Church of God campuses. The mission of the PCG via its Armstrong International Cultural Foundation is to revive and continue the cultural and humanitarian legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong.
