Building for the Future

Drive-Thru!

2010-11-29T10:14:00.006-05:00

Since I started working at Third Presbyterian Church nine years ago (and I am sure for way longer. . . )I had heard talk talk of creating a drive through from the Arnold Park lot to Meigs street (between the back of the Parish House and 34 Meigs Street). With the Capital Campaign construction project, it isn't just talk anymore--take a look! And while I'm here and blogging, take a look at the staff hall as we await new carpeting (this view is from the door at the top of the Meigs Street stairs looking towards the Moot Room) And while we're talking Meigs Street stairs, I honestly have no idea what they are doing over here, but I do know that I need to get to my office a different way for the next few days. . . Those are just a few views from where I am. Lots going on, lots of busy workers, and new things happening every day! Looking forward to worshipping in our beautiful sanctuary VERY soon!

More photos from Jeff Sprague

2010-11-15T09:38:00.001-05:00

Pictures from Jeff Sprague

2010-11-03T14:24:00.000-04:00

Pews make their comeback in the sanctuary!

The Moot room has a new shape.

Flooring in the Celebration Center is down and protected.

The right tool... This bench holder aids with leg installation.

The walkway to the chapel takes shape.

The cloister walk has framing and floor.

New stairs now grace the connector.

The ramp to the chancel waits its wood-worked covering.

Oh the difference a day makes!

2010-11-02T13:34:00.000-04:00

The view from the Third Church balconies changed drammatically this morning as trucks pulled in the parking lot and workers off-loaded the pews for our sanctuary. A complete single-seat pew stands near the middle of this picture.

Wood workers have installed and stained the choir risers, and are beginning work on the wainscotting. After the many months of demolition and structural reconstruction, the finishing details are now beginning to take shape.

I can almost hear the refrains of carols and songs, resounding from the rafters... and am excited that we are--step by step--making our way home toward that first Sunday back in our central worship space.

Can you pick out your pew from here?

Limestone and beams, loud building workers*

2010-10-14T11:26:00.003-04:00

Things are coming along! The limestone and marble are going in on the sanctuary steps: And as for beams, oh, do we have beams! Yesterday as we emerged from Wednesday morning prayers in the chapel, we got the treat of seeing the framework of what will be the top of the cloister being lowered into place: *from the Hymn, "Earth and All Stars" copyright 1968, Augsburg Publishing House

Sanctuary tile is going in!

2010-08-30T10:34:00.003-04:00

Check out some pictures that Chris Lenti and I took this morning of the new tile floor going into the sanctuary! Here is a close-up of the tile--it is more reddish than it looks in the picture--more terra cotta than orange. and here is the tile starting to fill in the floor of the sanctuary. . . The big "greenish" platform in the middle of the chancel floor is the new organ lift--how cool is that?!?!?!

Progressing. . .

2010-08-18T11:16:00.001-04:00

Nothing says "progress" like a crane looming large over your building! Thanks to Finance Assistant Lisa Cramer for snapping this image on her cell phone on the way into work this morning!

Fling wide the sanctuary doors!

2010-08-04T08:33:00.005-04:00

For the past few months, the doors at the Meigs Street side of the sanctuary have not only been closed and locked, they have actually had chain wrapped through the handles. This was due to the fact that on the other side of those doors was a drop down to the basement! Well, today, for the first time, I came in to see the doors wide open, and the buttery glow of fresh laid plywood beckoned me in, so up I went to get my hard hat and the camera from Jane's desk, and here are the results, enjoy taking a peek--it is actually starting to really look like something, and you can begin to imagine what the chancel will now look like!

They're starting the cloister!!

2010-07-28T11:01:00.006-04:00

They're starting construction on the cloister that will connect the chapel to the sanctuary--check it out!!

Chancel progress. . .

2010-07-14T09:49:00.003-04:00

Peter DuBois snapped these photos of chancel progress yesterday. . .

Look Mom, No hard hat!

2010-06-14T10:53:00.004-04:00

No children were put in harm's way in the taking of these pictures! We took advantage of the calm and quiet of a Sunday morning to take the kids through some of the parts of the church that are safe to walk through sans-hard hats, and the kids had a blast! Thanks to Jeff Weis for his awesome "tour guiding", and to the parents for their patience as the kids arrived back from Sunday school just a wee bit later than usual. . .

The older kids in front of what will be the new wall in Johnston Hall Looking towards what was, just a few short months ago, the Children's Library, and what will, in a few short months, be our new kitchen!

The Celeberation Center--Bigger with the walls of the kitchen torn out--we can hardly wait to have Qabats down here!!

the Garth--minus stairs. If you look waaaay up in the top right corner, you can see the door to the classrooms on the third floor of the education building.

The younger kids making their way into the sanctuary. They are standing right about where the organ used to be.

The older classes in the ever expanding adult choir room! In the top left of the picture, you can see the silver supports that will become the new Johnston Hall wall.

Behind the scenes--a day in the life of a construction site. . .

2010-06-10T11:49:00.005-04:00

We thought that we would ask the staff to share what it is like to work in the middle of all of this construction. There have been muddy parking lots, repeated "fire drills" 2 or so hours without a bathroom in the office part of the building. . . there has been banging that has driven some of us to work from the coffee shop around the corner, and drilling that is reminiscent of the dentist's chair, but overall, we have looked on the bright side!

Here's what your staff has to say:

"Portable. For me, that could be the watchword for our construction. Boxes and rolling carts and milk-crates and easels abound as staff and committees prepare each week for programs that have been relocated during construction. Deacons have devised a portable bulletin board for display at Deacon-hosted coffee hours. Home communion supplies reside in a large snap-lid box that travels from office to the kitchenette in the Education Wing. Membership and Evangelism has assembled the “membership gathering in a box” complete with all the necessary supplies: name tags, forms, pens, pencils, welcome booklets, videos… Each time I see a bag or a box or a crate or a cart, I can’t help but think about the ancient Israelites traveling through the wilderness… The tabernacle that stood at the center of their journey was portable—a tent that went with them wherever they roamed. I imagine that in 40 years the people became very adept at packing and unpacking; that they were able to weed out the redundant steps; that they became ever more aware of what was really essential to their work and their worship. I thing that amidst all our packing and unpacking, we too will uncover the essence of our own work and worship—in this place, in any place." Martha Langford, Associate Pastor for Congregational Care

"It is very exciting to be working at Third Church during the renovation! Every day there is a new sight or sound. I was startled to find a backhoe in the Celebration Center and amazed to see the Garth empty of stairs. It is a wonderful adventure and I am so pleased to watch it all unfold…while wearing my very own hard hat!" Cindy Mark, Office Administrator

"Sometimes the noise is deafening… other times it’s eerily quiet and you wonder if anything is happening. At times you have the feeling that the second floor will slip into the first floor. Everyone connected with the project has been very pleasant." Beth Williams, Pastoral Administrator

"For me, it is like watching your garden grow. Everyday something new is blossoming and you have to wait patiently for it to be done to see the full bloom of what you have been waiting for." Lisa Cramer, Financial Assistant

"I’m finding construction doesn’t interfere with my day-to-day work too much—for which I am thankful! The weather has been so nice this spring that I enjoy my walks outside to get to the Chapel and the Education Building. There has been one negative: those noisy fire alarms!" Carol Foster, Church Business Administrator

"The worst part of the whole thing was the week without heat in early May, when, really you shouldn't need heat anyway! The second worst part is thinking, 'oh I have (insert needed item) in the Qabats closet' only to remember that there isn't a Qabats closet at the present time. Oops! Everyone is being so flexible and patient--it is really fantastic to see the staff and congregation coming together and to watch the enthusiasm for the finished project!" Becky D'Angelo-Veitch, Coordinator of Children's Ministry and Congregational Life

"As a church office volunteer, working 3 mornings a week, I am relatively unbothered by the construction. There are of course occasional power or other disturbances but it has not been serious. It is fun to follow the activity, peeking in the doors and talking to some of the workers." Bill Boller, Volunteer

"The construction process thus far has not caused significant disruption of Outreach services. The various teams have been very flexible in adjusting to new spaces and the sexton staff has been wonderful in making the transition very successful. The Adult Faith Development program has move to the Rochester Museum and Science Center's Bausch Auditorium. The facility is top notch. However attendance has dropped by about 50% despite vigorous advertisement. " Rod Frohman, Associate Pastor for Church and Society

Even though we are calling this a “construction” project, for the most part until now, the reality has been “destruction.” But things are slowly changing. Steel beams for new ramping are going in. Concrete blocks are going up here and there. Wall framing is going up. Some highlights: >The ever-present oversight of Terry Gardner from LeChase. >The ever-present smell of sawdust. >Jackhammers interrupting morning prayers. >Space heaters in May! >How “cool” it all looks when decades of flooring and walling are removed from surface areas to reveal what was underneath. >A big hole in the sanctuary floor! >Several days of fire alarms, as the fire detection system thought the sawdust was smoke – given our history, erring on the side of caution is a good thing. >Envisioning what a greatly enlarged Celebration Center will mean to our community life. >Adaptive staff, volunteers and committees who trudge from place to place. >Our sextons, John Pilato and Joey Becerril, going above the beyond the call of duty. >Creative uses of meeting spaces. >The commitment of our construction team, Jim Chisholm, Elmer Dustman, Jeff Weis and Peter DuBois. We meet at least weekly and sometimes daily, and exchange many e-mails and phone calls. >The hospitality of the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word – real, true, Christian hospitality. >And many more. On one hand, it seems funny to pray for a construction project. But on another hand, it makes all the sense in the world. So pray for workers, especially, that their work may be safe and provide satisfaction. Pray for committee members and volunteers. Pray for the Third Church staff. And pray always that all of this will somehow reflect who God is calling us to be and what our future may look like, by God’s grace.

Name that Room!

2010-04-20T14:44:00.010-04:00

Let's play a game of "Name that room" Below are some photos from this afternoon, and you can try to guess what room of the church they are. . . Ready? If you guessed, "The chancel choir room" you were right! They have taken out the stage in Johnston Hall as well as the coat closet, and they are in the middle of putting in the new choir room wall. Next: If you guessed the Arnold park side hallway entrance to the sanctuary, give yourself a point! they have removed the flooring, and off to the left (just outside of the edge of the photo), is the shell of what was the elevator, but is now an empty shaft. These last ones I won't make you guess. These photos are of the area that we call the garth--the stairway leading to the three levels of the education building. They are currently taking the cement off the steps in preparation for their removal. There is a winch and pulley system set-up for lowering down heavy buckets of concrete. As you might imagine, it has been LOUD this week around church!

. . . um. . . .where did the stairs go?

2010-04-06T11:27:00.002-04:00

And while we're on that subject, what's all that banging?? So as I was walking to the ladies room this morning, here was the view I had of the Moot Room-- watch this space for more updates!

Caution, Construction Zone

2010-03-18T12:53:00.000-04:00

The signs are in place, the sanctuary and Johnston Hall and the lower level are official construction zones and hard hat areas.

In the sanctuary, the pews are out and the carpet is up. Protective plastic on the stained glass windows give the scene a kind of "underwater" feel. There is mute testimony given by the wooden subfloor—an arc that shows the shape of the original 1890's chancel. (See the picture below and notice that curved line extending from the chancel steps that is carved in the floorboards).

As the carpet came up, it also revealed the patch made in the sub-floor after the fire in the chancel. The "new" boards are wider and—younger by many decades than the adjacent lumber—lighter in color. These things are reminders of what has been.

In the last few days, the final moveable bits have been relocated from Johnston Hall and workers have removed the ceiling tiles and carpet. Again there is much revealed about what has been, but here in Johnston Hall with its ceiling open to the rafters there is more, there is the promise of the shape of things to come.

So, I wonder what the sanctuary looks like today?

2010-03-09T14:02:00.002-05:00

While looking for a little afternoon pick-me-up, Martha and I followed the "pinging" noises into the sanctuary, and this is what we saw. . . . . the view from the back of the sanctuary looking up the Meigs Street side. . . . . . The bird's eye view from the balcony. . . . . . workers hard at work. . . . . . Pew ends lining the walls waiting to be sent off to be re-finished. . . . . . looking across the front of the sanctuary. Things are progressing--we'll keep updating you with pictures and stories!

First Sunday at Incarnate Word

2010-03-07T16:54:00.014-05:00

. . . so what would it be like to get 100+ kids from the Incarnate Word sanctuary to the education building for Sunday school? I knew a few things: It was a three minute walk, our families are pretty dedicated and flexible. . .but in the end, the weather would be the key to a good first day. All I can say is "AMEN!" We were blessed with temperatures in the mid 40s and sunshine, and on the whole, everything went off without a hitch! I dealt with the craziness, by buying a big cart for all the Sunday school stuff, and making and laminating about 20 different signs! The Junior choir rehearsed at 10am in the TPC chapel and then all came over to Incarnate Word for worship. . . Although I had worried about the kids being late, we actually were early in returning back to coffee hour--too early,actually--but the kids somehow found a way to amuse themselves. . . We have all been overwhelmed by the wonderful hospitality of our neighbors! Watch this space next week for pictures about the beginnings of constructions--we may just get a few pictures of staff in their hard hats up!

Beginnings

2010-03-01T15:20:00.001-05:00

What a difference a day makes! This morning, the process of disassembling pews and organ console in our sanctuary began. A Mayflower van pulled up to the Meigs Street entrance to load the boxes that need offsite storage during construction. Johnston Hall, now mostly empty of furnature, seems so quiet compared to the buzz of Sunday coffee hours. This is a week for change and movement and dust and noise, but also one of excitement as the planned construction and renovations actually begin.

Extra, Extra, Read all about it!

2010-03-01T15:02:00.001-05:00

click here to read the article in today's Rochester Democrat and Chronicle about the Construction project!

2010-02-25T15:59:00.004-05:00

Be here this Sunday, 2-28 -- we will kickoff construction -- it will be exciting, nostalgic, a bit trepidating (don't think that's a word, but you get the meaning). We are knee deep, or neck deep, in planning. Thanks to so many, dozens and dozens, for their hard work. Let teh games begin.

Our Sanctuary—Post Construction

2009-12-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

The “Post-Construction” look of the Sanctuary is the topic for the Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, February 6.

Our very own maestro, Peter DuBois, will lead us in exploring the plans the renovation and restoration of the Third Church Sanctuary, a key component of our capital campaign project. We will begin with a brief discussion and presentation over breakfast, and then will move to the sanctuary where Peter will share the details of the plan and the vision behind it.

Following breakfast, those who are willing and able may stay to help move the supplies of the children’s library to its new location. This will include disconnecting and packing the computers and boxing up books and moving them to the education building.

To RSVP for this great morning of fellowship and information, contact Becky D’Angelo-Veitch at 271.6537, ext 118 or rveitch@thirdpresbyterian.org. no later than Wednesday, February 3. The cost of the breakfast is $5.00.

Behind the Scaffold: An Inside Look

2009-12-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, January 7, the Men’s Luncheon will get an inside look at the Third Church construction project. Given the age and complexity of our church buildings, the upcoming capital campaign construction project is exciting indeed!

Join members of the staff of LeChase Construction, our construction manager, as they share insights about the challenges and opportunities of this project.

Reservations for this great event may be made by contacting Becky D’Angelo-Veitch at rveitch@thirdpresbyterian.org or 271.6537, ext 118 no later than Tuesday, January 5. The cost of the lunch is $6.00.