New Beginnings

Preparations continue as we get ready for the major construction to begin. Last

week the pews were carefully removed. For the next few months, they will live with

 A.C.White Relocations. A.C. White is a storage and moving company with special

temperature controlled locations used for furniture. So rest assured they will be in

perfect shape when it is time to be moved back into their new home in the fall.

In the basement, the dropped ceiling and old tile floors have been

removed. It's looking more and more like a blank slate!

In case you missed it, we celebrated a wonderful groundbreaking service this past Sunday. Over 150 people of all ages turned out to take part in this ceremonial service of remembrance, thanksgiving, and preparation. The children's and youth choirs sang, rennovation committee members offered words of memory, scripture was read, and we even sang a fairly rousing version of The Church's One Foundation.







To cap off the celebration, Bill Pendergrast and Erling Grovenstein as the oldest founding members, and Christian Wright as our youngest member officially turned the first dirt-filled shovels.


There is still a week or two of behind-the-scenes contract work to be negotiated and then you will begin to see real change and progress begin to take place. Continue to check back for the latest updates, or you can sign up to the right to receive an email whenever there is exciting news to hear about. Click here to see the full gallery of renovation photos.

You may have noticed a few less trees in the courtyard this week. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to two of our older pines in order to make way for the ensuing construction. You may have also noticed however, sunlight actually shining on the chapel roof this week! I know, I couldn't believe it either. Removing these trees will not only give us more space for our new entry way and patio, but it will also help us to better maintain our brand new roof. As it turns out, pine sap, shade, and water aren't so good for a roof.

In the meantime, the building is being emptied, the food pantry has been relocated to its temporary trailer, and the International Church is making arrangements to continue services in Heritage Hall. Once everything is out, the first major step will be asbestos removal.

We have also managed to forever capture the memories that were senior blocks. We are still working on finding a way to pay homage to those youth who literally grew up in that chapel basement. If you have some ideas, let us know.