(Radio Iowa) – Today (Thursday) marks six years since a Fort Dodge pastor was murdered outside his church, while a groundbreaking ceremony will be held tomorrow on a new public structure designed to honor his memory. Pastor Al Henderson served St. Paul Lutheran Church, and was also chaplain for the Fort Dodge police and fire departments, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol. T-J Pingel is spearheading the pavilion project.

The Pastor Al Pavilion

“We wanted to have a memorial here somewhere in the area for Pastor Al,” Pingel says. “He was buried in Boone, and there’s a lot of people in the community that wanted a spot just to remember him and celebrate his life and all that he did for them.” The Pastor Al Pavilion will be built on a particularly scenic area of Kennedy Lake Park just north of Fort Dodge. The groundbreaking on the 100-thousand dollar project is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Pastor Henderson

“We’re hoping to have the actual kit for the shelter here soon, where they can put up the physical structure,” Pingel says, “so that hopefully depending on weather, we can have that done this year still. If not, we’ll get it done first thing in the spring.” The pavilion’s brick work will also be done early next year, along with things like plaques and name plates honoring the donors.

Donations for the project are still being accepted at the SOS (Serving Our Servants) Facebook page.