Starting next month the Sanctuary will be closed for the renovation of the front of the
church. At press time, we anticipate this will happen after the Sunday Service on
September 3rd. The exact dates for starting the remodel will be worked out the first
couple of weeks of August. The Building Construction Committee, the Building and
Grounds Committee, the Worship Committee, and the Board of Trustees have been at
work planning what we will do while the Sanctuary and front doors are inaccessible.
For Sunday Services, we will be using the Social Hall. Fortunately, the installation of
the sound system was finished ahead of schedule, and we are good to go. The south
side of the Social Hall, the side with the windows, will be set up with our blue chairs, and
the pulpit and piano will be placed at the west end, the end with the stove. It is yet to be
decided whether or not we will have oil candles available during this time, other than the
chalice and peace candles. For the duration of services in the Social Hall, the story for
the ages will be read from the pulpit, and so the children will stay at their seats until they
are sung-out. Also, there will be no worship associate, and the chime choir will suspend
practicing and performing until the Sanctuary is open again.

The north half of the Social Hall, the side next to the Gathering Space, will have the
tables for Social Hour. The exact plans for how that will work are yet to be developed.
A hope expressed by many committee members is that we minimize distractions during
the service, and to ask people not to eat or drink during the service.
During a good portion of the remodeling, there will be no access to the church building
through the front door. Instead, we will have to use the double doors in the Social Hall.
The Building and Grounds Committee is determining whether we want a keypad lock for
those doors, or a lock-box with a key. Please watch this space to determine how people
can enter the church while the front is inaccessible.
One member of the board mentioned how, as we work out how we do things like
Sunday Service and Social Hour while the Sanctuary is closed, we will be “building the
plane as we are flying it.” I would ask everyone to remember that this is all temporary,
and anything being done or not done is only for a few months. If the last few seasons
are any indication, time will go quickly. After all, it is already August and all the “Back to
School” things are in the stores, not to mention Halloween decorations starting to
appear. While we will have our Solstice and Christmas services in the Social Hall, it will
soon be after that when we will be back in the Sanctuary, hopefully in time for the start
of spring. All this is happening much more quickly and successfully than we could have
imagined, so let us be buoyed by our good spirit and circumstances as we fly, and build,
the plane.