Help a child to hear memorial mission concert

Emmanuel's new facilities were filled to capacity with people who came out for a musical evening of singing and playing in honor of Doris Frederick and in support of Dr. Lori Mercer.

Doris was a recent head of the church's Mission and Outreach Committee, a church elder who had served on session, and a woman through whom Christ's love and love of life shone minute-by-minute. Highly organized and deftly diplomatic, she got things done with warmth and humor and by her example showed others how.

Lori, a long-time member of Emmanuel, elder, session member, choir member, youth leader, is also an audiologist who has traveled to Guatemala with a Northwest medical team to provide children with hearing aids, each of which costs $250. Lori paid her own way to Guatemala, and Doris had encouraged the church to support her by helping fund the hearing aids.

All concert proceeds went to the purchase of hearing aids. Church treasurer Deb Melse reported on Sunday morning that the concert had raised nearly $2,500, enough for 10 hearing aids.

The view of the buildingin the architect's drawing

This series of 38 photos takes about 76 seconds to track construction from the same point of view ... pretty much ... as the architect's sketch of the front of the building. It starts the day we moved the organ and piano out of the sanctuary and ends Sunday, Oct. 25.

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Pumpkin Party

The first big fellowship event in our new fellowship space involved lots of kids and parents and pumpkin pieces.

This starts with a few photos of the outside of the building in nearly its final form. Only the cross and the brickwork around the awning support remain unfinished outside, I think.

Then, there are a few shots of pumpkin carvers, and the treats they got. Each pumpkin carved received an award from youth group judges.

Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated

On Consecration Sunday, the sanctuary was filled to overflowing with old friends and new families. The folding rear wall was opened so that all could be seated. Pastor Steve welcomed the congregation to the future of Emmanuel.

Deb and Liz reported on the highly successful open house the previous day. Corey Schlosser-Hall, executive presbyter of North Puget Sound Presbytery, gave an energetic welcome and invocation, presenting Emmanuel with a painting from a San Antonio artist that imbued Christian and Presbyterian symbols with color and vitality.

After the call to worship from Sally Hanson, we sang an original Dedication Hymn with words by member Lee S. to the tune of Danny Boy. Later, Florence sang a solo rendition of "Save Us, O Lord," as the congregation joined in on the refrain. Liz led the choir in "How Firm a Foundation." Christina joined Stephen on the piano accompaniment.

Steve M., who was head of both the Stewardship and Finance Committee and the Building Committee for the planning, financing and construction of the project, summarized the steps we had gone through. Then, Warren, construction supervisor, outlined how crucial Steve's leadership had been throughout the long, winding, sometimes frustrating process of design, permitting and financing.

Pastor Steve welcomed back several charter members of Emmanuel who had bought the property and gathered and constructed the three buildings that served the church for most of its history. He also recognized other long-time members. He especially welcomed the Rev. Floyd Cronkite, who as the church's founding pastor served some 30 years, starting in 1963, and his wife, Sherry, who was essential to the church's music ministry, among other things.

Sydney led the younger church in a stewardship lesson and helped them explain the "Welcoming the Future" posters they had drawn for this year's combined capital stewardship campaign. After Pastor Steve's message, "Unless the Lord Build the House," Liz led the Youth Choir in "God Is Building a House," self-accompanied with hand chimes.

Then, the youth brought forward baskets of items emblematic of the many ministries and missions of Emmanuel, which Pastor Steve proceeded to consecrate in dedicating our rebuilt structure to God's work.

As the ushers collected the offering, Dave, Pamm and Haley sang "The Blessing" as the offertory.

The fellowship area was soon filled with a roar of conversation as new, old and potential members made friends over coffee and cookies and wondered at what God hath wrought.

What He opens no one can shut

Visitors, neighbors, family, friends and church members surged through the brand-new doors of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church Saturday to be welcomed by friends and by loved ones, and then given informal tours of our new and rebuilt facilities.

The steady stream of visitors got a steady stream of cookies, cakes and breads, plus various refreshments. The kitchen pass-through featured a thank-you poster to St. Brendan Catholic Church for its gracious hospitality to us nearly every Sunday morning for the past year.

Bob J. played the piano in the sanctuary for several hours, providing a pleasant soundtrack to the buzz of conversation that filled the narthex, the hallway and the preschool rooms. Liz's display showed off Music Ministries. Another display reminded us of the upcoming "Help a Child to Hear" Mission Concert in memory of Doris Frederick. The concert will help gather contributions to support Dr. Lori Mercer's trip to provide hearing aids for children in Guatemala.

Mission and Outreach attracted attention to its many ministries with a display of coffee, tea and chocolate for sale.

Parents and children admired the four rooms in the new Matthews Education Wing. Signs on the doorways pointed out the multiple uses each room is supporting from preschool classrooms to church groups to community meeting places. Visitors could build a house for bats (more than a dozen) or fashion a set of custom-beaded earrings (dozens).

Sydney, Hank and Paul inflated, tied and strung dozens of colorful helium-filled balloons all day long. At one point, several youth decided that it would be awesome to hook up a string of them across the front lawn. Awesome, indeed. Until a string slipped somehow. Suddenly, one of Emmanuel's leafless trees was bearing yellow, green, red, purple and orange fruit. Sydney says visitors increased soon afterward.

Phyllis helped longtime members and former members find themselves or their children or buddies of yesteryear in several old photo albums.

Afternoon thunderstorms and cloudbursts, which strained the capabilities of the still unfinished front awning, didn't dampen a euphoric feeling that Emmanuel had finally moved in and taken possession of its new home.

Its windows were placed high

Warren spent most of Friday afternoon up in the air on scaffolding washing the inside of the windows in the clerestory. He also suspended a cross from the east window of the clerestory. This is the cross that for the past year has hung every Sunday on a banner in front of the congregation. Then, he went even higher to replace a porcelain fixture holding a naked bulb. He installed a spotlight there aimed at the cross. His supporting crew moved the scaffolding around the narthex from window to window and, in the end, helped dismantle and store it.

About 4 p.m., crews of congregation members arrived to set up displays for Saturday's open house representing missions, music, preschool, children and youth, hospitality and others. Sue captured photos of the final product waiting in the shadows the night before the big day.

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They sat down to eat their meal

And then they got up and worked all day on building projects.

There were 13 diners, including the two cooks, Frank and Dave McC, at the first monthly Men's Fellowship Breakfast in the new building. Among those chowing down on pancakes, sausage patties, hash browns, scrambled eggs, coffee and orange juice in addition to the cooks were Warren, Bill, Bob, Earl, Jim, Erik, Lee, Dave S., Clair, Larry and Bram.

While few could stay all day, Warren and Bram worked all day on installing the awning panels. Only one panel remains to be put in place. Bob J. and Dave S. turned nearly a dozen 2x4s into thin furring strips that had to placed between the awning's stringers and the plastic panels that make up its roof. They also applied foam tape to the fittings that hold the awning panels in place. Mike couldn't make breakfast but helped out with the awning panels in the afternoon.

Clair and Earl sealed the seams of the vinyl flooring in several rooms. Paul, who also missed breakfast, made sure fire extinguishers were installed correctly, among other things. Dave McC. helped out in several places. Larry and Lee gathered and cut 2x2s, 2x4s and 1/2" plywood sheets left over from construction, or from the deconstruction of the mobile units. They'll be used for shelves in the preschool/Sunday school storage room. Dave McC. and Doug pitched in to move usable -- but surplus -- lumber from the northside lawn to protected storage near the garage.

A sea of glass

When Sydney and I arrived at the church on Tuesday about 5:15 p.m. for a meeting, we found that the front doors now have four double-glass panes in them, which, I found out later, Warren and Bob J. had installed that day. Sue caught some photos earlier in the day as the windows went in.

After the monthly men's fellowship breakfast on Saturday, plans are to assemble a crew to tackle completion of the awning covering around 9:30 or 10 a.m.

Up north

This is sort of a "best of" gallery tracing the demolition and reconstruction of the north side of the church building. There are 59 images. But they go by in about 2 minutes. It's roughly one photo every five days of roughly the same view if not from exactly the same position.

Pretty much in order, watch for foundation, floors, walls, clerestory, roofing, windows, doors, water line, fire main controls, siding, gutters, paint, sidewalk, grass, kitchen ductwork, kitchen vent and playyard.

Phones, shelves and boards

It was a quiet construction week at the church. Larry finished putting up shelves in the nursery, preschool rooms and in the broom closet outside the kitchen, among other things. He also hung a whiteboard and bulletin board in the room that will be used by the preschool, by the Sunday school and for lots of meetings.

Meanwhile, fancy new multiline phones were installed in the church and school offices and in the classrooms. At one point, the fire alarm line wasn't working correctly, but that was fixed the next day.

Significant projects remain including such things as sanctuary lighting, front door glass, the awning roof, brickwork to hold the church nameplate, the cross in the front clerestory windows, men's room laminate repairs, window cleaning, clerestory lighting, storage shelving, general storage cabinets, a folding wall and kitchen plumbing, dishwasher, minor appliances and cabinetry.

NOTE: If you loaned a hose for watering the new lawn, it was a big help and you can pick it up behind the sanctuary.

Opening the doors

We have now held our first Sunday worship and education in the newly rebuilt sanctuary, fellowship hall, offices and classrooms. After service, there was fellowship, plus the Worship Committee met, the stewardship campaign directors conferred on a video and the Youth Choir rehearsed.

I caught some but not all of the happy happenings in the accompanying photos.

Our music in worship included hymns "The Church's One Foundation," "Bind Us Together" and "All Creatures of Our God and King" plus the choir anthem, "Sanctify This Place."

Rose was worship leader and Liz and Deb reminded folks of the open house coming up on Saturday, Oct. 17, followed by the formal dedication of our new structure on Sunday, Oct. 18. Carolyn announced that small group meetings begin Sunday, Oct. 11, after worship to educate the congregation about this year's "Welcoming the Future" capital stewardship campaign. Sally told us there will be an all-church bible study after worship Sunday, Nov. 15, as part of the campaign.

Pastor Steve thanked not only Warren, the construction manager for our big project, but his wife, Connie, and son, Coles, for enabling Warren to work long days and most weekends on the project.

Pastor Steve's sermon topic was "The Inviting Church."

To prepare a place

On Saturday, many congregation members gathered to prepare the sanctuary for our first Sunday worship in the new building.

Construction tools and materials, plus a scaffolding, were being stored in the room or had been moved there as the rest of the building came into use during the week. Earlier in the morning, Kendra's senior project blood drive had set up in the fellowship and entrance area. During the cleanup and move in everyone tried not to disturb that operation.

Warren got us all moving by deciding where the tools would be stored, what materials needed to be kept and what could be recycled or thrown away. He also unhooked a power line that had been loosely installed earlier in the week to see what sort of light some of the new fixtures put out -- not enough it turned out.

When that was done, Sue vacuumed. Then we began arranging the sanctuary furniture. Hank, Alida, Dan and Earl lowered the sanctuary's old folding chairs one-by-one from storage in the garage attic. Several people stacked the chairs on a cart or on handtrucks or just carried them by hand into the sanctuary.

Then, the chairs and pews were set up. Banners were hung. The lectern, communion table and sound equipment, among other things, were positioned. A piano was moved out of the way. Deb cleaned and Bob S. vacuumed again.

Once the sanctuary was set up people drifted off to do other projects they had. I was aware of a few of them. Several went to give blood. Sydney set up the nursery and supervised getting several boxes of stored Sunday School material out of the attic. I got Alida to help me move some big concrete chunks from the parking lot into my pickup, and soon Bill, Paul, Earl and Bram were helping. Bob J. worked on a door in the school offices. Dave McC. helped put together nursery furniture and trim up some of the parking lot vegetation.

Things are heating up

It's getting really close to our first service in the new building this Sunday. There's still a lot of work to be done to get ready.

It would really help to have a crew at the church at 10 a.m. on Saturday to move chairs into the sanctuary. It will take about six of us to get it done: three to get the chairs down from the attic (it's very cramped up there) and three to move them and set them up in the sanctuary.

Sydney would also like the crew to bring down the Sunday School boxes that were moved to the attic last fall.

Then, you can go give blood at Kendra Davison's blood drive in the fellowship area.

There will also be a lot of general clean up to do around the building between now and Sunday morning.

Although a lot of light fixtures have been hung, including some in the sanctuary, there are still several to be put up in there.

On Wednesday, the painter was back doing touch up and finishing the trim on the kitchen pass-through, on the frame and trim for the main doors and on the front wall around the main doors.

Warren was making sure toilet paper holders were installed in the bathrooms, among several other things.

And Larry was up on the roof cleaning the gunk off the outside of the clerestory windows. Paul was spotting him from the grassy knoll outside Pastor Steve's office. Should Larry be so unlucky as to fall off the roof, Paul said, he was prepared to give Larry a good hard shove before he hit the ground. Paul seemed convinced that would be a good thing to do. Don't know Larry's thoughts on the matter.

Let there be lights in the expanse

The fellow in the first four photos was with one of the groups that is already using our building for night meetings. He waited outside to direct those arriving to the right room for the meeting.

Earlier Monday, Warren hung the light fixtures in the central gallery of the clerestory, as well as on both sides near the offices and the entrance to the sanctuary. The uplight was installed down the center of the sanctuary as well. Lights to the left and right sides in the ceiling appear to be on the agenda soon.

Meanwhile, Larry and Dick transplanted roses from the edges of the south garden, where they had been moved during construction, back to the front of the church.

The preschool playyard, which had been created outside the mobile unit during the year of construction, was scraped clean of chips and replanted with grass.

The preschool entered its second week of classes and is going strong.

Goodbye, St. Brendan's, and thank you

Sunday was our last worship service at St. Brendan's Catholic Church gymnasium during our exodus for reconstruction. Next Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, we will once again worship in our own sanctuary.

Sue took these photos.

The congregation gathered, sang its last "First Hymn" in St. Brendan's, heard Liz thank Larry and Mary Anne, and Jane, who opened their homes once a week for choir practice. And Jane isn't even in the choir. Each got a potted plant for their doorsteps, doorsteps the choir members had crossed so many times.

The 23 directors of this year's Capital Stewardship campaign, Welcoming the Future, were also consecrated.

But the high point of the day was the powerful and moving sermon that Warren delivered. He challenged each of us to come down from our "mountaintop feeling" of completing this construction project to do Jesus' work, not just church work. He used his own experience of homelessness as a young laborer to challenge us to use this new building to help the less fortunate in our society whenever we can.

Curtain wall

The most noticeable thing that happened on Friday was that the folding wall that used to hang in the narthex was rehung between classrooms two and three. Larry, Paul and Lee spent an hour or so on it. The job turned out to be easier than had been feared.

Moving in

Clean up continued outside.

Inside, departments started to get organized.

Rebecca Kaake of the Puget Sound Blood Center and Kendra Davison of Emmanuel checked out plans for blood drive in the entry area of the church on Saturday, Sept. 26. It will be Kendra's senior project for high school graduation.

The next day will be our first Sunday worship in the new building.

Mopping up

After all of Tuesday's excitement of moving the mobile units out and getting the organ and piano back, Wednesday was less exciting. But Sue was there and caught some of the action in these photos, which are all hers.

Larry mowed the lawn, and Lee fertilized the new parts.

Larry hooked on to an underground power cable for the mobile units with his truck and pulled it out. Paul, Larry and Lee spent several hours moving construction debris and slightly used building materials out of the main church parking lot. The stuff either went in the dumpster, were collected for recycling or were piled up for possible later use elsewhere.

In the evening, Bob J., Paul and Larry trimmed the grill and cover for the organ slightly to fit into its new space a few feet farther back in the sanctuary. Then Larry and Bob lifted it into place and fastened it down.

A joyful noise

Two big events in one day as we get ready to worship in the new building.

Most visible is that the MobileMini crew arrived -- two days early -- and took away the mobile units. Larry, Paul, Warren, Bob J. and Bill were scrambling all afternoon to unhook ramps, water, sewer and electricity. The preschool unit was moved out late in the afternoon. Still lots of cleanup to do.

Sue was there. Here's her report:

I was called at noon today and told to make an appearance at church; the truck was there to take away the admin mobile. I made it in time to catch some of the preparations; putting the tires back on, being sure all the tie-downs were cut. It's a good thing that the guys accomplished as much yesterday as they did, or the mobiles would not have been ready for removal.

Most audible is that the organ and grand piano were returned and set up in the sanctuary. Bob J. was having lots of fun into the evening testing the speakers to make sure each of them was hooked up and working properly.

Again, Sue was there. Her report:

Soon after I arrived to take pictures of the mobile being removed, the truck arrived with the organ and piano. They set them up in the sanctuary with Mary Anne helping to get them placed correctly.

Tables had been set up in the sanctuary for the Tuesday Bible Study. The study was moved to Classroom 1 to make room for the piano movers.

It was quite busy from 1 to 2 p.m., especially. The movers were leaving while the mobile remover was still preparing to leave.

Carpets were also finished in the nursery, the school office, storage rooms, and on the stairway. As a result, the preschool moved its boxed up supplies from the youth room to the storeroom behind the schools' offices. Later, Sunday School supplies were moved in, also. Desks for the preschool director and the director of Christian education were set up in the office.

The ramp came tumbling down

Connie prepared a lovely table in the fellowship area with coffee and cookies for the parents of students on the first day of preschool in the new facility.

The crew of Warren, Larry, Paul, Bob J. and Dick spent much of Monday tearing down the stairways and ramps that an even-larger crew had spent a couple of days building more than a year ago. Much of the lumber involved may find its way into other church projects.

The group also celebrated the ceremonial cutting of the phone line to the admin module, the accidental cutting of which was a frequent if irregular occurence during the construction project. Sue took the photos and noted:

"The old phone line [was] nothing but trouble for the office and workmen. Since it was a line that was mostly on the surface of the ground that is easy to understand. Today Warren, Dick and Larry officially cut it out of our lives. Then Paul went around looking for splices to remove. There were about 5. Larry and Dick were having trouble cutting it with the tools they were using. I wonder why it was so easy to cut when it was the office lifeline to the outside world?"

Each of those five splices Paul found represented at least one place the line had been cut in the past with shovels, backhoes, scoops and, in my case, by pulling apart a previous splice. Lines to the new offices are safely underground.

Almost all the hose bibbs now have a hanger nearby to keep the hoses neat and off the ground.

And Warren was working on the locks for the front door, toilet paper hangers in the preschool bathrooms and vinyl flooring under the kitchen pass-through where we'll be serving coffee Sunday mornings.

Official capacity

The preschool opened today in their wonderful new classrooms.

Pastor Steve and Rena' were both moved into their new offices in the main building over the weekend. The pastor has a lot of unpacking to do today.

Lots of construction related equipment and supplies continue to occupy space in the various storage areas and in the middle of the fellowship area. Dozens of small projects remain to be completed here and there throughout the building, including a multitude of cleaning tasks.

The mobiles are virtually empty. Deconstruction has begun on the ramp from the preschool mobile and can begin now on the ramp and stairs from the office mobile unit, so that both can be removed from the site.

We're aiming for a worship service in the new building on Sunday, Sept. 26.

Let us learn together

Here are some pictures from Saturday at the construction site. The preschool rooms were all ready for their students to arrive on Monday. The sanctuary was pretty much cleared out. The restrooms were nearly finished (a few partition doors were still needed). And deconstruction continued on the mobile units.

We prayed, we built, we open Monday!

The city of Bothell's building inspector signed off on our occupancy permit late Friday afternoon, allowing the preschool to open on Monday and Pastor Steve and Rena' to move the church offices out of the mobile units and into the church.

Besides all the grins in the photos above you'll notice that there is still a LOT of cleaning up to do. Stop by this weekend if you can. Marvel at what God and Warren hath wrought. And help move some boxes, lift some pails, wash a window or any number of other necessary things.

This report is from Bob J.:

I was fortunate enough to be there when the new building was signed off and was able to get some photos of the excitement. We now have achieved our goal of occupancy!!! Pre-school will be in session on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009!!!

You will note the smiles on Warren's face -- good reason for a job well done. There was a lot of huggin', shoutin', and hand shakin' goin' on.

This report is from Sue:

At the end of the day, after a VERY BUSY DAY, the city inspector finally arrived, about 4 p.m. Warren was concerned that it was getting very late. After the inspector had a look around he SIGNED the important papers. (I understand there was much jumping, dancing, shouting by those present)

WE HAVE OCCUPANCY!!! PRESCHOOL CAN MEET IN THE NEW BUILDING!!

Church will still be at St. Brendan's for now.

During the day Bob J. helped Warren install the dividers in the women's room. There were lots of cars on site today. The preschool teachers were busy getting things ready for school on Monday, hoping that we would get the occupancy permit. This evening, after putting sealer on the front doors, Bill put the wood panels back in so the building could be locked up. Glass will replace these panels someday soon.

Come see what Warren has accomplished, with many professionals and amateurs beside him as needed. He has put in MANY hours putting up shingles, spreading any number of things, leveling under the carpet and vinyl, installing bathroom stalls, door knobs and dead bolts, windows, the list goes on and on and on.

HURRAY!

The air is full of excitement.

The old gleaming crosses

Sue's photos and report from Thursday:

After the carpet job was complete, Judy Kuiken vacuumed the whole area on Thursday. Then the pews, communion table and pulpit were moved back in. Bill Sharp had taken the crosses home to clean and renew their finish, and had reinstalled them on Wednesday. They look wonderful, and are now back in their place of honor.

Thursday, Warren put the "crash bars" on the front doors. After that was done, Bill and Paul sanded them to ready them for the finish application. [Note: Particle board covers the areas in the doors where the glass will go. Glass will replace these panels someday soon.]

When I left, Warren had installed the vinyl in the kitchen and was helping install the triple sink and grease trap.

This week has been very busy at church. The goal is to get the Certificate of Occupancy. Then, Pastor Steve and Rena' can move into the new offices. Then, the Mobile Minis can be removed from the property. It will probaby be a week or two before we will hold Sunday services in the sanctuary.

The inner doors ... and the doors of the main hall

Sue's photos and report from Wednesday:

I was at church on Wednesday while they installed the new folding door. The panels are quite heavy. Once the men were finished installing them Paul got instruction on how to open and close them. It's not something you can just pull across as we did with the folding door in the former narthex, which now is being used in the classroom wing.

Bill came by to reinstall the crosses in the front of the sanctuary.

He also got the job of digging the holes for the fire lane signs. Larry, Bill and Dick worked on getting them in place so fire engines have a path wide enough to access our building in case of emergency.

The front doors were also being installed. Bram and Paul helped Warren get them on the hinges.

They spread the carpets

By shortly after noon on Tuesday only the school office and some storerooms were without carpets. The carpets went down in the sanctuary during the morning. It looked like the cutting and fitting there could take much of the day.

Meanwhile, there was much activity in the preschool rooms all morning with teachers and assistants getting the lay of the land.

Larry and Paul were everywhere installing things like fire extinguishers, toilet paper holders, paper towel holders and required signs of all sorts.

The plumber was still working in the men's restroom, but it looked like the women's restroom was ready for installation of partitions.

Bob J. continued to work on the speaker loft for the organ. He was also disconnecting the utility hookups for the preschool mobile unit. Also up in the air -- and connected to the ceiling and power -- were a lot of new light fixtures with many more to come.

Pastor Steve and Rena' are getting ready to move from the mobile units, probably by this weekend, if the city signs off this week on the occupancy permit. The main uncertainty in that may be whether the front doors arrive and can be installed in time.

Sanctuary preparations

On Saturday, Sharon the preschool director, her dad and some parents and their children were busy assembling new furniture for the classrooms. Very exciting.

There was a good showing for Work Party day. Just about everything on Larry's list was accomplished. Lots of tools, buckets, boxes and spare supplies were moved from the sanctuary into storage rooms or the fellowship area. The sanctuary doors dragged on the carpet, so Steve M. sanded the bottoms of them, with Kevin's help. There was some other sanding and staining to do, some nails to be pounded, floors to be swept. Larry and Mary Anne installed a coat rack. Susan cleaned the paint off windows. Steve M. improved the baffling of the fluorescent lights in the "steeple" to hide them better.

Plus there were bagels and cream cheese and coffee to keep the workers fortified.

The bathrooms now have handicapped bars and paper towel holders. The nursery bathroom is a three seater!!! Two rocking chairs and one toilet. All of them work just fine. Plus the pocket door. Eventually, a washer and dryer will replace the rocking chairs.

SATURDAY WORK PARTY ALERT!

As Rena' said, "We need your help this Saturday, Sept. 5, at 9 a.m.! We'll be completing work that needs to be done to the church sanctuary."

Not much notice here, but as the new construction has moved along -- carpets were going down in the new areas Thursday and Friday -- lots of tools, boxes, materials and other large things too big to put anywhere else -- were moved into the sanctuary until it is almost filled with them.

But next week it will be time to put down new carpet in the sanctuary. So, everything has to be moved out of there and put somewhere else. Better minds than mine are planning right now where that will be, but they need your help getting it there.

And besides that, the bottom of the outside walls and all the windows inside and out still need cleaning. See you there!

Meanwhile Thursday, besides the carpet laying, Bob J. worked on installing the organ speakets in the "loft" he has reconstructed. Fixtures and partitions continue to be installed in the restrooms. Warren delivered a stainless steel kitchen sink that takes two men to manuever.

Somewhere to sit

Sue took these photos and gives us this report from Tuesday at the construction site:

Warren [was] sponging and putting the leveling stuff on the floor near the entry. ... Since he is now working in the main area of the building he has to do it after everyone else has gone for the day. He was up there until after 9 p.m. Tuesday night.

This group of pictures includes ... the toilets and wash basins in the Ladies room and the tile laying on the counter waiting to be installed. Then the plumber working in the men's' room, the kitchen soon after it was painted, ... the painters up on scaffolding doing some touchup painting in the clerestory and also staining the beams as they move along.

The last picture is of Larry and Paul working on the entry to the utility room; putting in a ladder to specifications: just the right number of degree slope, no impediments to fast entrance, etc. Also, both access lids have been painted to match the lower color of the siding.

Right now it's getting down to it being all in the details. Lots of little things to think about, be sure they are included and right.

We can't see clearly now

So, Warren is putting out the call for window -- and wall -- washers. The bulk of construction, the sorts of things that get globs of dirt on windows, is over. Now is the time to remove those globs of dirt and films of grime from all the first floor windows, inside and out. Please bring your Windex and towels, and go to it! There are ladders of all sizes available at the church.

Also, almost all around the outside of the building, dirt needs to be cleaned off the lower, dark gray wall panels. Please bring your bucket, some detergent and a sponge. There are lots of hoses around to fill the bucket and rinse the walls. Talk to Larry if you have questions.

Please, click on COMMENT below this item to let us know when you'll be able to help. Don't try to sign in. Technically, you'll be commenting anonymously, but please sign your message.



As the week began Monday, Larry and Mary Anne were getting the playyard ready for the preschool parents to spread play chips. The fence is finished.

Earlier, Larry finished up the sanding of the main beams under the clerestory after Bram did much of the work over the weekend. Bill S. took the crosses that hang in the sanctuary home to be refinished.

Bob J. hung the platform for the organ speakers in the sanctuary. Exit signs went up over the doors. A very official-looking fire alarm control box hangs near the front door, showing a random time of day. Painting continues around the storage closets at the back of the sanctuary. The green toilet has gone missing suddenly, although a sledgehammer is under suspicion in the disappearance.

Warren intends to have all the areas outside the sanctuary prepped and ready for carpet to be laid on Wednesday. He was spreading a self-leveling cement-based product on the ramp and hallway between the nursery and the restrooms and kitchen late into the evening Monday. The main entrance area gets the treatment Tuesday. He said you really realize how much floor space we'll have when you go over it three times on your knees sanding, cleaning and leveling.

Never walk in darkness

Early Friday, Larry and Mary Anne hurriedly shuttled between Home Depot and McLendon's finding outdoor lighting fixtures for the classroom wing, the kitchen and offices. It took two roundtrips, Mary Anne said, but the results look great.

As the week ended, lots of doors had handles, the preschool playyard fence neared completion, the kitchen was ready for finish painting, some sinks were installed and the water fountains were in place.

Patching things up

Sue got the call Thursday morning to run over to the church construction site where the crew was pouring, tamping, rolling and burning a smooth, solid transition from the new concrete plaza in front of the church to the old blacktop driveway. Her photos show the crew doing a fine job and doing it quickly.

Says Sue:

I almost missed them. The asphalt was already in place but they were still smoothing it, making a clean edge and sealing it. ...

You should have seen all the equipment they had on site just for that little strip; a large truck that was pulling a trailer with a large piece of equipment (probably used to pick up the old asphalt), the truck with the new asphalt, a truck with a trailer that transported the small 'steam' roller, a bright red truck that probably belonged to the man in charge.

It was interesting to watch the men work and clean up after they were finished.

Meanwhile, Carlos is doing a great job of building the new fence for the preschool playyard.

The kitchen is taking shape and you can imagine it filled with counters, cabinets and appliances, and lots of mouthwatering scents. The fire alarm pull has been installed right next to the back door light switches. Hope that's not a problem. Turning on the fan over the range opens a big vent in an outside wall.

Toilet bowls and other parts filled two pallets in the staging area and some were already distributed to restrooms around the building, but none had been installed yet.

Warren, Coles and Bob J. were putting in new door handles all over the place.

Painting has been completed for the most part in the offices, restrooms and classrooms, but the main fellowship area, the sanctuary, the kitchen and some storage areas still need to be finished.

Sue's report and photos (Lee's editing)

These are miscellaneous things that have happened early in the week.

The toilets were delivered. The sealing of the kitchen drywalling is done.

The bathrooms were unwrapped after painting. You can now see the difference in the decorative tile used in the men's and women's rooms.

The access to the crawlspace under the classrooms by the back door was finished with a door and box (and there's that dog again!).

The lamppost -- pipe -- that held up our security light was cut off its base.

A cage (city calls it a safety platform) was built around the exhaust system for the stove fan.

Warren had floated a sort of light cement on the hallway and kitchen subfloors to level them in preparation for flooring.

Underground entrances and a playyard

Sue has been busy again gathering evidence of progress on the church construction. These photos show work on improving the entrance to the areas under the buildings, plus drywall mudding in the kitchen, and delivery of chips for the preschoolers.

Where's Inspector McKinley?

Certainly, a lot has gone on at the church the week ending Friday, August 21. The final joint material for the front awning arrived. The outside fire alarm was installed. Drywall was going up in the kitchen, as was the pass-through counter. Warren was running wires for the organ speakers over the sanctuary entrance doors.

Painting was everywhere with lovely pastels emerging here and there among the dominant warm beige tones.

But as I edited these photos it seemed like Inspector McKinley was emerging doggedly everywhere, too; but it was just in five of the photos and only three are obvious.

Painting prep

Painters spent the week ending Friday, August 14, getting ready to paint. Everything that was going to be painted next week was covered or wrapped or taped. There was still some sanding going on.

Meanwhile, the Emmanuel crew had been been busy.

Temporary hollow-core doors replaced raggedy sheets of plywood at the main entrance. Counters for the sinks were built and installed in the restrooms. All the remaining dirt areas that are supposed to be grass in the landscape plan were hydroseeded. There were big areas right in front of the building, along the north side that needed it and smaller areas at the south door of the education wing, near the mobiles, near the shed and around the edges of the new grass. As a result, the city approved the landscape permit.

The new door to the utility basement was finished, gravel was placed around the outside wall in places to keep dirt from touching the siding, and a French drain for the playyard was finished.

In the kitchen, the fire suppression kit and a stainless steel back splash were added to the range hood.

Spreading the green

Sue caught a couple of shots of the hydroseeders at work during the second application on the remaining bare spots on Wednesday, August 12.



This is the truck the stuff came in.



Here, it's almost finished being spread on a bare spot in front of the main entrance.



A little closer look.

Plastic or paper

Most everything that won't be painted is covered in plastic or paper: windows, doors, cabinets, vinyl floors, tile, alarms, switches and so on. Rooms have been neatened up. Dick and Judy spent all morning Wednesday tackling the mess that the sanctuary has been. They tossed junk and moved the good stuff into organized, covered piles away from the walls. Larry and Paul moved old, but still usable doors to the covered pile of heavy-duty lumber out behind the old shed.

Larry, Mary Anne and Paul were working outside, as well, cleaning up junk and spiffing up the landscaping on the north side of building.

The grass seed folks came Wednesday morning and hydroseeded the entrance, the front half of the north side of the building and several places where there was bare dirt around the grounds. Larry said help with a new watering schedule will be needed soon.

Warren put temporary entrance doors at the front of the building replacing the old sheets of plywood that had hung there.

Another crew has punched the "chimney" for the kitchen exhaust hood through the roof, and is preparing to mount the fan on top of it. In the kitchen, a shiny metal backsplash has been installed on the wall behind the range hood.

The door to the utility basement has been built.

Guy was nailing up a chair rail in the administrative offices. I'm told the walls in there will be two-tone with different colors above and below the rail. The counters for the restroom sinks have been installed. Almost all the interior doors are hung. Almost all the wall trim has been affixed.

Here and there are working lightbulbs, especially in places like the school offices which don't have direct windows to the outside.

Pictures later. Someone took his camera to the church today, leaving its battery in the charger at home.

Product placement

The front of the building just keeps getting closer to that "architect's rendering" we are so familiar with. On Friday, Bram had all the crossbeams up on the awning supports in front of the main entrance. And almost all of them were fastened down tight.

Larry finished putting up our "house number" on the front of the building.

Inside, Guy had pretty well finished installing baseboards all over the new part of the building. He was putting wall trim along the top of the partitions that extend into the entry hall from the kitchen and restrooms.

I was struck by how many different products it takes for the finish work, so I took photos of a few of them.

Our number is up, almost

Well, the first two numerals in our address are up on the front of the building. The other three sit, ready for painting, on a stack of privacy partitions that will be put in the restrooms.

Bram has been working on the awning crossbeams. He's moved them underneath the main beams and drilled the necessary holes for inserting the large lag screws that will connect the crossbeams to the two main beams.

Nearly out of sight, a crew is installing huge batts of insulation underneath all the floors, now that we are done running wires and pipes and ducts, oh my, under the building.

A couple of big pieces of sheet metal have been sitting outside on the north side of the building waiting for installation of the hood in the kitchen. That's now been done. The hood is a large one. The sheet metal ducts will carry airborne stuff from the stove out of the kitchen to a huge exhaust fan that will sit on the roof. Huge, large, big. Most of us could fit our kitchens inside this gear -- slight exaggeration.

Also awaiting installation between the second preschool classroom and classroom 3 is the folding partition that used to hang in the narthex. Folding or sliding walls of one sort or another will also be used between classrooms 3 and 4 and at the back of the sanctuary. Our new space will be very flexible, adapting to our needs.

The vinyl has been installed in the nursery bathroom/laundry, and the wall tile is all up in the women's restroom. Guy finished the last bit of grouting on the floor tile in the men's restroom, so the tile work is finished in there.

Painters will be busy inside the building most of next week and not much else will be going on inside. The week after that plumbers will be installing sinks and toilets and fountains. And within a couple of weeks all the electrical fixtures and carpeting and door knobs and dozens of other things will be finished.

Glazing over in the sanctuary

Some of the crossbeams went up for the entryway awning over the weekend. Several more still need to be raised, and some that are up need to be fully screwed down. Nonetheless, it is a very visible sign of progress.

Less visibly, on Monday Bill replaced the eight old cracked panes of glass in the hidden side windows behind the altar with new, clear glass. That finishes the glazing work in the sanctuary.

Most, but not all, of the interior doors are installed now. Many of them have been trimmed out with preprimed 1" by 4" (more or less) boards, which are ready to be prepped for painting.

Meanwhile, Warren continues laboring away on the tilework in the men's and women's restrooms. The work looks terrific.

Next, doors

Doors provided opportunity for photos on Friday, starting outside, with construction of the frame for the doors to the utility basement underneath the restrooms.

Inside Warren's brother, Guy, was installing the door frames and hanging the doors that had been delivered earlier in the week. In the photos below you will see a door for the main offices, which also has its trim in place, and a few feet of baseboard.

Other places with new doors by midday Friday included the main coat closet, the A/V closet in the sanctuary, the nursery, the school office, the preschool toilets and the fourth classroom.

Meanwhile, Warren and Coles continued work on tiling the men's and women's restrooms. Fascinated as I was by the little plastic doohickeys that kept the floor tiles from shifting while their cement set, it was up to Coles to remove them all.

Tiled up

On Tuesday, Warren spent much of his time putting down ceramic tile on the floor of the men's restroom. These tiles were about a foot square. Other tiles that will go on the wall are about an inch square. Others, even smaller and multi-colored will be used for decorative borders. In the women's restroom, a vinyl backsplash was installed on one wall.

Meanwhile, outside, Coles sanded and stained the two big beams that will hold up the translucent entrance awning and the cross beams that directly support it. Inside, the new "beams" at the back of the sanctuary were stained so that blended better with the color of the original beams.

Also, interior doors and door frames were delivered. They'll be installed soon.

Larry, Paul and Sue are spending hours on the watering each day trying to keep the lawn and the new landscape plantings alive during the heat wave.

Top shelf

It was exciting to see the cabinets hung in the preschool rooms on Friday, among the first of the finishing touches on the new building. The first was probably the vinyl flooring, which also has been installed now in both preschool rooms.

Several more visible signs of progress are expected this coming week. Coles has readied the cross beams for staining and placing on top of the big beams supporting the entryway awning. First, though, those big beams need to be sanded and stained. After that the translucent, high-tech plastic roof can be installed on the cross beams.

Meanwhile, work continues in the sanctuary to prepare it for painting, staining and the other work necessary to make it again into our place of worship.

On the right path

Last week, lots of dirt got moved one wheelbarrow full at a time as 14 yards of topsoil were placed around the construction site. It's a sign that the outside work is almost finished. Thanks to Larry and Paul the grounds are as clean as they have been in months. In the process, they replanted several shrubs that had been disrupted by the construction work but which are, amazingly, still blooming.

They used some extra gravel to recreate a path from the entry way around to the rose garden and beyond to the side door to the sanctuary.

Inside, progress is subtle. The restrooms are nearly ready for tile. Work is under way to clean, sand and level the preschool rooms' floors for installation of vinyl flooring.

And the watering crew is keeping the grass and the new plantings alive.

Q&A opportunity

Warren wants everyone to know that this Sunday after service, he and Steve will give an update on where construction stands and then be available for questions. The project is at the point where there are likely to be many concerns regarding money, what it can buy and who will decide.

Welded supports

The welder showed up Monday morning, July 13, to fasten the steel support posts for the awning beams to the metal plates in the concrete piers out in front of the new entry way.

These photos take you on a quick tour around the front of the building with its new look.



Here are some detail shots of the [UPDATED 8/26/09] welders earlier in the morning taken by Sue and the resulting supports. Also, the railings for the ramp and stairs from the fellowship area to the classrooms were installed, and there is a photo of that.



After all the work that has been done, there is both junk and surplus building supplies all over the place. Larry and Paul found that work was picking up.

All rise (or two, at least)

After church, Sunday, July 12, a crew of Warren, Steve M., Bram, Larry, Lee and Paul finished raising the two main beams for the front entry awning. We had rented a hand-cranked lift to get them up in the air.

First, Steve and Warren built a wooden support for the outward ends of the beams. The welders wouldn't arrive until Monday to install the permanent metal supports. Then, Warren trimmed the beams to length.

Steve cranked the first beam higher than a mobile scaffolding. Then, the scaffolding was rolled under it. When the beam was set down in the wall bracket, it didn't quite fit. So, it was lifted out to allow minor adjustments to be made with Steve's plus-sized circular saw.

After that it was rinse and repeat with the other beam.

Once both were in place, they were squared up and braced.

Piece of cake.

Give Sue credit for taking all these photos.



After all that, a few of the crew went back to the shed and unloaded Warren's trailer. It was filled with wood from the big old beech tree that used to stand between the classroom building and Bruce Hall. These huge slabs are now carefully stacked, off the ground and covered, under the cedars north of the shed.

Hurry up and ...

On Saturday, July 11, a work crew showed up at the construction site ready to hoist some beams into the air to support the roof/awning over the entry way to the new building.

Among the first things accomplished was the moving of one roughly 27-foot long by 15-inch high by 6-inch thick beam from the parking lot to the entry way. With six guys lifting, it was only extremely heavy.

Steve M. figured out a rather complex set of cuts that needed to be made in the first beam. Then, he made the cuts, which were necessary to fit the beam onto steel brackets that would be fastened to the wall of the building. Bram worked to assure that the brackets would be fastened solidly to the wall.

Meanwhile, not wanting to distract these two from their complex work, Earl took several loads of construction debris to the dump or recycling, and Larry, Dave McC., Bill and I found other ways to make ourselves useful. It is unlikely that we asked Steve M. the equivalent of "Are we there yet?" more than once every 15 minutes. We moved dirt piles and re-stacked several loads of lumber that had been removed from parts of the old building.

Warren was busy preparing the restroom floors for installation of tile.

After lunch, provided by Mary Ann, the second beam was moved into place on the entry way concrete before some people had to leave.

Mid-afternoon, as Steve was explaining to Bram the correct way to cut the second beam to fit on the wall bracket, it became clear that was not how the first beam had actually been cut. Steve walked quite a ways off for a while, so none of was sure how he really felt about this, but when he came back he cut off the end of the beam he had been working on and started over. Luckily, the beams were longer than they needed to be.

Working together, Steve and Bram completed the various cuts on the two beams by early evening.



The crew was recalled for work Sunday afternoon.

14 yards of topsoil ...

... were delivered to the church construction site this afternoon. It all has to be shoveled into wheelbarrows and moved to the landscaping beds around the church. There it must be raked smooth. Larry, Coles and Mary Ann got started on it Monday afternoon. But, says Mary Ann, you really can't tell from looking at the pile.

So, if you can shovel nice fluffy topsoil, move it in a wheelbarrow or rake it out, your help would sure be appreciated until the pile has been moved.

Sidewalks finished

Wednesday, Warren, Coles and Larry plus the concrete finishing crew completed the entry way slabs, the sidewalk around to the kitchen and Pastor Steve's back door and the sidewalk along the parking lot blacktop.

Sue captured it all.

Sidewalk superintendents

On Tuesday, Warren and crew were halfway through pouring new porches and sidewalks around the building. Forms had been removed from some of the porches and were ready to be removed from about half the sidewalks so new forms could be built for pouring the second half of the concrete.

Rebar was in place for building some steps down into the utility basement.

Larry and Paul were working on a bit of carpentry in the eaves where the old building and the new building meet. Some carefully measured and cut tongue and groove lumber was being fitted under the roof to plug a ragged little hole.

Inside, some canny carpenters have hoisted what appears to be another beam up under the roof at the back of the sanctuary, so that the beams in the front and back match in size. It turns out to be a little trompe l'fir -- a box made of a 2x6 and two 2x8s. But with putty and paint, who'll know?

Elsewhere, mudding and sanding of the drywall continues and electrical work -- especially for the fire alarm system -- goes on.

And some grungy-looking guy claimed to be giving the grass a one-month dose of fertilizer, but he mainly seemed to be wandering about on the new lawn.

Lots of action

Sue, once again, was on the scene to capture two great action sequences as, first, Warren, Coles, Larry and Paul helped pour the slabs for the entryway, and, second, began work on the sidewalk behind the kitchen and offices.

Need Your Help - Work Party

Emmanuel is planning another work party at the construction site at 8 a.m. Saturday, July 11. We will be working on the entry way canopy and various other things on site. Any questions, contact Steve Meyers.



Please, click on COMMENTS below this item to let us know if and when you'll be able to help. Warren and Steve will be checking to see who to expect and when.

Alarming developments

Strobe lights, alarm boxes and smoke detectors -- all part of the fire prevention system -- were beginning to be installed on Monday.

Much of the mess from several weeks of drywall installation was being cleaned up while the final shipment of sheets of drywall, mainly for the kitchen, arrived and taping and mudding continued in the sanctuary.

Construction of a French drain to catch runoff from the playyard got under way. Warren laid out the shape of the new concrete that needs to be poured at the entrance.

And the recent plantings of trees, shrubs and grass are doing fairly well with regular irrigation.

Concrete steps

A french drain needs to be dug by hand this week in the old playyard area, since the ground there will slope toward the building, and the water that drains off it needs to moved into the storm drain system.

Steve M. is talking about a work party on Saturday, July 11 (two weeks from yesterday) to build the awning at the church entrance. More on that later.

By the end of this past week, the terrain around the outside of the church was cleaner and greener than it had been in many months. In preparation for concrete work, much of the construction debris had been removed to the dump or the recycler. And the new grass is growing well. Soon, we'll give it a "booster shot" of fertilizer.

The strip of ground just north of the church building, where once there had been a concrete parking spot and a little grass, has been graded in preparation for a sidewalk and reseeding.

The first -- but not the final -- pour of concrete has been made for the exit porches for the preschool rooms.

The back porch and south veranda are nearly complete. There will discussions about railings in both places and possibly adding another step off the veranda or raising the grade of the ground.

Piers, porches and curb poured

Sue was as busy documenting yesterday's goings on as Warren, Coles, Larry and Paul, plus the concrete crew and the painter, were lifting, pulling, pushing, dumping and rolling.

The photos show the pour direct from the truck for the piers that will support the front awning. Before that the crew used 5-gallon buckets to carry material to build the curb around the fire protection plumbing out near the street -- and after that they used wheelbarrows to dump concrete into the forms for the various porches.

The painter got started on a coat of beige in the top of the clerestory.

Not yet in concrete

Sue had her camera out Thursday at the construction site and shot photos of the forms for the classroom porches, the main entry, a big gravel pile, and work on the third wall of the entry to the utility basement.

Breaking up is hard to do

Sue was over at the construction site Wednesday and captured these series of photos of Warren and Coles breaking up the concrete and blacktop entryway in preparation for new concrete under the new outdoor roof.

She also caught the beginning of the work to take down the old lamppost.

Forms to fill out

At midweek, several of the forms had been built for concrete pours later in the week, including a curb around the new fire protection plumbing out front and porches for several doors.

Larry and Paul and other helpers were replanting shrubs around the foundation of the Matthews Education Wing.

Inside, the tail end of the drywall crew was slowly but steadily taping seams, applying mud, sanding and generally getting ready for another application of sealer to the walls. Here and there drywall was still being installed, mainly in the more complex rooms like the kitchen and restrooms.

Six weeks to go

Warren announced in church on Sunday that he expects construction to be complete in about six weeks. On Monday, he was recounting the dozens of things he needs to order and install between now and then -- light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, tile, laminate for walls, vinyl flooring, carpeting, interior doors, woodwork and on and on.

And that doesn't include some furnishings, cabinetry, shelving and some of the more expensive kitchen appliances. Groups within the church are also going to have to sort out how they will be using the space, but that's not part of Warren's responsibilities.

This week, work continues on finishing installation of drywall in the kitchen and restrooms plus taping, mudding and sealing the drywall there and in the fellowship area and sanctuary.

Outside, a crew will be building concrete forms so Warren can pour concrete for sidewalks, the pad under the front awning and steps for each of the doors.

Monday, drywall was installed in the fellowship area and several areas of the sanctuary.

Another busy week

Most noticeable from the street is the growth of the lawn. It is really greening up well under the ministrations of Larry and his crew and some warm damp weather.

On Saturday, a crew was just finishing building forms for a concrete curb around all that new fire protection equipment near the street. Warren says the crew will be building forms for lots of sidewalks around the building in the coming week.

A couple of big holes in the wall had been filled in with shiny new vents.

Inside the building, I stood close to the front doors and took several photos in a clockwise circle around the fellowship area. The half walls are back up in front of the entrance to the restrooms. They had to be removed to install, tape, mud and sand the drywall in the clerestory.



The top of the clerestory has been painted a warm beige (I'm sure that's not the OFFICIAL name of the color, but it's my best guess).

Just roses

There are four to five dozen rose plants in the Emmanuel rose garden. Here are photos of those in bud or bloom on Saturday.

Winning entries

I stopped by the church construction late Saturday to find that the new planting bed near the entry to the parking lot had been finished. Timing is everything!

It was quiet on the grounds, but there were signs of progress all over the place as I've documented in the photos below. Outside doors were framed and painted. And inside work was moving along on the drywall.

Work party alert: Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (and some new photos)

Erik is organizing a second landscaping work party to get the remaining trees and shrubs we've purchased into the ground out just south of the entrance to the parking lot. Some of the smaller plants, in particular, are beginning to look quite stressed.

On Saturday, we'll need folks with shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows and the like. They will create a planting mound, move the plants behind the church building around to it and tuck them into the ground.

Don't worry if you haven't checked in with Erik, just show up. There'll be work to do. One other project is a big pile of branches due south of the classroom wing and nearly on school district property. They need to be cut up and loaded in a truck or trailer for disposal. Talk to Warren if you are interested in working on this project.

If it is as warm as the last work party was, it would be a good idea to bring a water bottle, which you can fill in the office mobile.

Meanwhile, the new lawn keeps getting greener and brown spots keep getting smaller thanks to Larry G's crew of Bram, Dan, Dave F, Dave McC, Deb, Judy, Larry D, Linda, Lee, Lori, Paul, Phyllis and Susan. They've been watering three times a days and chasing the dry patches around the yard.

Inside, installation of insulation plus taping, mudding and sealing the drywall goes on apace.



Good news. Warren got the fire sprinkler installers to redo the sanctuary so the pipes are nearly flush with the ceiling instead of hanging down nearly a foot. It's still not pretty, but that's the price we sometimes pay for safety. We ought to be able to camouflage the plumbing with a new paint job, something we were going to need anyway given all the changes to the walls, the wiring and the ceiling.

A quick Sunday peek inside

Sue stopped by the building project on Sunday afternoon and grabbed a shot of the back of the fellowship area, which now has drywall covering that pink and yellow insulation. Down the hall, the walls have been sealed covering the "mud" that covered the joints.

She also took several photos of the condition of the sanctuary at this point.

Grass IS greener

Just a couple of quick shots of the ever-lengthening lawn. Tom and Linda Avery were just finishing up the Saturday evening shift of watering chores.

Greening up all over

By Thursday evening, painting of the new building's exterior had been completed, except for some final touches on the doors, especially the one in front. The slide show walks you around the building. Note that at least one window in the clerestory opens, and that Larry, Bram and Dick have planted azaleas on the east side of the sanctuary wing.

There are a couple of photos to prove that the grass has started to grow.

There is a series of photos showing the installation of drywall throughout the entry/fellowship area and in the clerestory.

Three photos show the problematic installation of fire sprinklers in the sanctuary. At the present, they are very intrusive. Whether the installation itself can be changed or whether they can be camouflaged successfully, is being discussed.

The final series of photos shows the newly painted classroom wing with masking materials still on most of the windows and doors.

A "less brown" kind of green

Sue was busy with her camera on Wednesday, catching several exterior shots with the newly painted siding, the recently planted lawn and a rhody in full bloom.

Inside, work continued to install drywall on the front wall and to tape up interior windows before the walls get painted with a sealer coat.

In the men's restroom, there's another fine mess of vent pipes.

Getting its colors done

Painting has begun on the outside of the new building. Three different colors are being used, starting on the bottom with sort of a soft charcoal gray, moving up to a much lighter gray/green on the upper walls and with a creamy tone on the clerestory and the "bay" windows and front facade.

Also, the watering program on the new lawn is well under way. Larry and a huge crew of helpers -- 14 at last count -- are turning the sprinklers -- more than 20 of them on about 9 hose lines -- on and off three times a day.

Inside, work continues on the drywall and the insulation.

Mountain Has Been Moved

Pastor Steve sent out this email to the congregation this morning. Keep those hoses and sprinklers coming, please. And we're looking for an hour of your time each week watching grass grow -- and a little more.

Dear Members & Friends of Emmanuel:

As Warren Weber announced – the mountain has been moved! But it has been spread over our grounds to level our lawn area and hydro-seeded. Now we are presented with a “new” challenge.

For the next month, it needs to be watered 4 times per day 7 days a week. It is imperative that we do this as the hydro-seeding cost $1,650 and we need to protect our investment in a new and better lawn.

Larry Gibbons is in charge of this task but he cannot do it alone. He needs your help. The plan is to have hoses and sprinklers strategically placed so that all areas will be covered.

You can help by volunteering to take a shift of approximately one hour to turn water on and off in various zones. We cannot walk on the seeded areas so with the help of the hoses and sprinklers you have lent us (we still can use more), there will hopefully no hose dragging (hooray). Larry will provide training sessions on procedures.

Larry will have a sign up calendar at church on Sunday or you can contact him at (425) 485-1290 or by email: lgroses@comcast.net. It is important that we help him with this.

Please prayerfully consider how much time you can give in the next 4 weeks.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Steve