You may have noticed that the fellowship hall is not closed or otherwise demolished, as was the working plan. The reason for that is an old arch discovered on the (current) north wall of the fellowship hall during the demolition of the old restrooms. The building committee would like to keep the arch somehow, and we're working on a few ideas for that. The ideas from from feasible to maybe-one-of-will-win-Powerball; from clearly permitted to the gray area of the city code; and from pretty cool to really cool. And when we have a better idea of where each idea falls on those axes, we will pass them along but for now, the only news I can offer is we're trying to figure it out with as minor a delay as possible. We will have architectural drawings to consider this week, we hope.
Meanwhile, some other things went on this week:
- Mike Zook and his crew, including Kent Davis Sensenig, removed the wooden ceiling from the basement mechanical room, taking with it many decades of furnace soot. This was a huge (volunteer) effort in some really ugly working conditions; please don't make it thankless.
- Inspired by that to volunteer? Linda Martin Burkholder is working with helpers to finish off painting in the renovated areas. You can, and should, sign up at this link.
- South entrance doors were installed. Work needs to be done to fill in the door jamb holes created when the old wooden door sill was removed, so you can't use them yet–but soon. The North entrance (ramp) door installation has been delayed due to a manufacturing mistake, but should be ready within two weeks.
- Olen Burkholder, owner of Integrity Audio Systems, installed a motorized screen at the front of the sanctuary. He will return next week to install the projector and new speakers directly above the pulpit area.
- The HVAC contractor did the final work on the boiler controls. The boiler is fully operational, and there are new thermostats installed for the north and south Sunday School rooms in the basement under the sanctuary and a new thermostat at the rear of the church. That sanctuary thermostats controls the hot water heat that runs through hundreds of feet of copper tubing in the concrete sanctuary floor.
Pictures:
The inside view of the arch that has the building committee refiguring the fellowship hall renovations. The metal and wood frame is the current north wall of the fellowship hall.
Cutting the wooden ceiling off of the furnace room.
The new doors on the south entrance, almost ready for you to use.
The view from inside the new south entrance doors; the Dean House is to the right, out of the picture.
You probably would not have noticed this screen on Sunday morning because it will not be extended, and because it's remarkably unobtrusive.