NORTHFIELD — While the Northfield campus heats up with back-to-back events this fall, The Moody Center continues to work toward its goal of operating a Dwight L. Moody museum.
The Moody Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of Moody, the famed 19th century evangelist who originally founded the campus as the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in 1879. The organization took over ownership of approximately 10 campus buildings on May 2 from the National Christian Foundation, and has since been largely focused on compiling Moody archives.
According to Emmitt Mitchell, Moody Center president, the organization’s board of directors has been meeting with architects and developers, as well as scholars who study Moody archives, to consider how to effectively arrange a museum in Revell Hall. Archives, he said, come from Yale University, Northfield Mount Hermon School, the Moody Bible Institute and family records.
“We’re really looking for a way to convey to the public how one man out of Northfield could be brought to a level where he affected his whole generation,” Mitchell said.
Though it is currently unclear when the museum might open to the public, Mitchell said The Moody Center has acquired at least 3,000 documents, a number that continues to grow. Other artifacts collected include a death mask, pieces of china, Bibles owned by Moody, gifts he received from religious leaders around the world, photographs contributed by his family, diaries and handwritten works.
The organization is working to digitize all the documents, Mitchell added, with help from a Thomas Aquinas College intern. Eventually, Mitchell said the documents will be searchable online.
The Moody homestead, Revell Hall, Holton Hall, the old bookstore, Moore Cottage, Daly House, Duly House, Hibbard Hall, the auditorium and the former infirmary are all under the center’s care. Organizations including Redemption Christian Academy and New England Alliance are offering religious conferences at The Moody Center this fall, primarily using the auditorium.
“We’re just excited about everything that’s moving forward,” said Julia Wiggin, general manager of The Moody Center. “Everything has been very positive, and we’re excited to reintroduce Mr. Moody, not only to our greater community, but to the world.”
Wiggin said she hopes some of what’s happening this fall will become annual events, and also wants to incorporate a concert series of traditional hymns and contemporary faith music.
Still, events or no events, Wiggin said Moody’s powerful legacy regularly attracts people to the campus.
“We have so many people who each and every day are coming for prayer walks and worship on Round Top (where Moody is buried),” Wiggin said, estimating anywhere from 20 to 200 people visit each weekend.
Weather, she continued, doesn’t deter them.
“One of my favorite sights is after a storm in the winter, and I see a single set of footprints going up to the grave site,” she said. “Somebody actually treks out there, knee deep in snow, to pray. It’s beautiful.”