As the renovation work on the church campus moves toward completion, I hope that you have already enjoyed walking through the updated Education Building and enjoyed the lovely expansion of the Memorial Garden. This past Tuesday the Renovations Committee had the opportunity to walk through the Ministries Center and new Atrium which connects to the Sanctuary. I can hardly wait until everyone can see and live into the use of these newly renovated spaces.
As the renovation work on the church campus moves toward completion, I hope that you have already enjoyed walking through the updated Education Building and enjoyed the lovely expansion of the Memorial Garden. This past Tuesday the Renovations Committee had the opportunity to walk through the Ministries Center and new Atrium which connects to the Sanctuary. I can hardly wait until everyone can see and live into the use of these newly renovated spaces. The construction company is promising a certificate of occupancy before the end of the year! As with any new construction, of course there will be a punch list of little things to correct, and a few fixtures and furnishings are delayed during the great pandemic shipping delay with which we are all familiar. However, these small delays will have temporary fixes so that we can begin to occupy the space as soon as we reach substantial completion. We look forward to having a special dedication service during worship in the new year as well as tours and a celebratory open house. In the meantime, there is much to celebrate as we prepare to open these new spaces, especially the extraordinary generosity of the congregation to realize the vision of making our church campus more accessible and better suited to our current and future mission needs. The new Atrium will provide a bright gathering area, more centrally located on the campus for our intergenerational community, and a more obvious “front door” entrance to anyone coming to the church for an event, counseling or ministry need. Our adult classrooms and new library space have been reshaped for our ministry and meeting needs, and updated with new technology. The new youth space is stunning. The offices for our Caring Ministries Team and Music and Fine Arts staff are more centrally located. Every space will feel more accessible and better connected. With the full opening of the whole church campus just around the corner, I want to say thank you for your generous support of this vision, your ongoing financial gifts that fulfill your initial pledges, your patience during the construction, and your shared enthusiasm to live into these spaces in the coming months. When we celebrate our 150th anniversary in 2023 we will be more than ready to meet the coming years without the burden of so much deferred maintenance and with a church campus revitalized to gather us in for deepened faith and send us out for expanded Christian service. + + + +
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