Last weekend, Fulton County Commissioner Bill Edwards, along with local weather icon Guy Sharpe, attended the groundbreaking for a new chapel and welcome-administrative center at Christian City in Union City.

Sharpe brought a unique perspective to the ceremony. He recently moved into one of the life lease subdivisions at the center.

"When I attended the original groundbreaking of Christian City in the early 1960s, I had no idea of how great Christian City would become or that I would be participating in another groundbreaking in 2001," he said.

Robert Crutchfield, Christian City president and CEO, explained the welcome center will serve as a new grand entrance to the facility, as well as a museum of historical information.

The groundbreaking followed a year of fund-raising, with more than $1.5 million raised for the Piecing Together our Future campaign. The new welcome center is only the first part of a five-piece campaign that includes the relocation of the Christian City Home for Children, the creation of a benevolent care endowment, a debt free sinking fund and campus infrastructure improvements.

The center is expected to open this fall.