Tuesday's Work

A few folks gathered Tuesday to paint the new narthex.

Just a few weeks ago....

Tuesday morning!

Check it out!  Those aren't really bricks to the right of the door.  They're just sculpted in to make the walls look consistent.  Cool, eh?

We weren't the only ones working.  So were the carpet-layers.

Why we'll be worshiping on the lawn this Sunday...

 What used to be Derrick's office.

 The nearer of the two "lights" is a solar tube... which has reflective tubing that brings natural light into dark, interior spaces and saves electricity.

 Another view of the narthex transformation.

Seeing is Believing?

If I may remind you of what it looked like before...

And now, the new roof has gone on the church.  These are special shingles made from recycled aluminum.  They have a lifetime warranty and tests have shown remarkable things:  they reflect the sun's heat in the summer which cuts down on cooling expenses and they reflect back in the building's internal heat in the winter which cuts down on heating.  Plus they can withstand winds up to 160 mph.  

And they look COOL, don't you think?

 Also, the overhang is hanging!  So, now you can be dropped off at the front and stay completely dry--even when it's raining.  While we do not have immediate plans to enclose this space, the footers have been poured etc. so that it's ready for walls whenever the additional funds become available.

The Laughrun House also has the schnazzy new shingles too.

 And while there are many exciting changes, there are some things that remain the same:

Join us!  We've begun our two summer services:  8:30 and 10:30 every Sunday.  

Come see the new additions yourself. 

These photos are a bit behind where we are now...

Projects Update

NOW

·         They’ve finished the roof of the Laughrun House.  If it looks unusual, it’s because it’s a recycled aluminum (made in Canada), which comes with a lifetime  warranty.  It’s put on over a Teflon sheeting, so it’s a great insulator… and can withstand wind of 160 mph and snow will slide right off it.  Cool, right?

·         Now they’re starting to roof the church.

·         They’re roughing the plumbing work in.

·         The front is ready to pour.

·         Heating coils are laid out.

·         They’ve started to work on the heating and air conditioning system.

NEXT WEEK

·         They’ll continue roofing the church.

·         Solar tubes will be put in the bathroom and the hallway.

·         They may even start the front entryway.

…It all depends on the weather.

Moving Mountains

One week later, and the back yard is ready for the green grass to start growing.

Diving Right In!

We may joke about a pool being dug in the Laughrun House yard, but that’s how construction projects go: Nothing quite goes according to plan and unexpected expenses come up. We’re diving right in, though, because we feel strongly that this necessary work, God’s work, for our church and we’re going to do it right. Please help however you can.

You’ve heard the phrase Measure twice, cut once. (And the female variation: Cook once, eat twice.) Well, the New Life campaign actively espouses both philosophies: We have measured what we needed, measured what we’re receiving, added an extra cup of hope and faith, and a pinch or two of yeast to stretch what we’ve got. We’re going to do these renovations I once and we’ll enjoy them for years to come. Now is the time to step up.

The Building and Grounds Committee has been working its tail off to trim extra expenses and economize… and has re-adjusted our projected expenses to $300,000. (This took days of back-and-forth and difficult decisions.) Even with these adjustments, we still need additional (or enlarged) pledges to make it.

If you would like information/pledge-cards/envelopes sent to you, please call or email the church .

You'll notice there is a new door cut into the left side of the wall which was not there before.
Surprise!  But now the Fire Marshal is happy.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT:

• The plumber and electrician should start roughing in the bathrooms this week 
• Flagstone will being taken up in front of the church 
• Roofing materials should be delivered this coming week & work on the roof begin within the next two weeks

Have you responded yet?

Our goal is to raise $350,000 in pledges so that we can accomplish all our renovation/upkeep projects.  We’re not there yet.  However, we are missing many responses.  We are very hopeful that once the rest of the pledge cards come in we will exceed our goal.

Right now, what is important is that we get 100% response.  It is vitally important that you fill out a pledge card so that we know where we stand as a congregation.  You can find and turn in pledge cards in the narthex.  We have also tucked them in the “Friendship Pads” found on each pew bench.  These can also be turned in with the offering, or mailed to the church.  If you’d like us to mail you pledge card, please call the church or email us at firstpres@frontier.com.

Our totals as of last Sunday put us at $271,000.  So, we still have some work to do.  

Progress... and Pool?

First... here's a look at the progress on the bathrooms:

Then the folks fixing the storm sewer drain decided, Hey, wouldn't it be great if First Presbyterian had a pool?  Actually, these were the necessary measures to fix the drainage problem.  Surprise!

I take this rhododendron as a sign/reminder, you can bloom anywhere... uprooted from your home, in stressful circumstances, exposed...  Bloom anyway.  Your roots are strong. 

Worth a Thousand Words?

taken Friday, April 27

Hmm. Can't figure out how to rotate this in blogger.... 

What's Happening Now

·         The walls are being constructed to support the new bathrooms. 

·         On Monday, the roof-truss work will begin, which is important because then the roofing company can begin their work. 

·         As soon as it dries up a little bit, the storm-sewer will be dug up behind the Laughrun House.

·         The moisture test on the basement will be conducted this coming week.

·         All the fixtures have been ordered for the bathroom and the kitchen. 

·         The representative from Piedmont Natural Gas will be out Wednesday to see about laying a new line to the Laughrun House (so it can run on natural gas and save us money in the long run).

How all this saves us money …

This is an investment that will pay us back & reduce our ongoing operating budget:

Did you know we pay for the piano to be tuned four times a year because of the humidity?  Not any more!  We’ll only be paying once a year.

You all know the cost of oil (about $4 a gallon)… Changing to natural gas will cost us 1/3 of our current fuel expenses.

Right now we pay Roto-Rooter twice a year to clean out our storm sewer behind the Laughrun House.  Soon we’ll solve the problem instead of ongoing payments for a temporary fix.

The Laughrun House furnace runs at about 65% efficiency right now, but the new natural gas one will run at about 95%.

Construction Begins

 You may not want to use the basement door anymore...  Because it is no longer safe to exit that way!


Construction has begun!


These walls will support the upper level handicap-accessible bathrooms.

Peace!

May we all be as cheerful about our part of the work!

Q & A from our last newsletter

Q:  What about Vacation Bible School with all the construction?

A. When the Christian Education Committee met last, they decided with the uncertain timing of construction, the early school release date (and a few other factors) that it would probably be best not to have Vacation Bible School this summer.  If we did decide to have it, we would schedule for the end of summer when construction was completed.     

Q.  Will you accept pledges after April 22?

A.  Of course, but it is really important to the New Life Campaign to make them by April 22 so that we can begin construction with the confidence that we’ll be able to pay for all the projects.  We will even accept revised pledges upwards (if you have taken a closer look at your finances and realize you can pledge more.)

Q:  Is everything going to look exactly like the plans in the brochure?

A.  Probably not exactly, but you can get the basic gist of what’s going on from them.  Plans are often modified during a job to be cost effective and functional.  Our missions (and budget) haven’t changed… and construction will stay true to those.

Britt's Comments from the Kick-Off Banquet

(A few people suggested I post my comments from the Kick-Off.  I do so with the caveat that I intended this as a speech and do not normally write in such fragments.  Also, I usually like to keep blog posts shorter... but here it is.)

For me, there been a fascinating tension in the Christian church between the “physical” and the “spiritual” – and with so many things we must figure out how to balance them:  giving each attention and recognizing how one impacts the other.  And there is no better time to contemplate the relationship between the physical and spiritual than during Lent…  God took physical form, to teach us about spirituality.  And through Jesus’ death, we have New Life… our physical bodies can be used by God to bring God’s Love into the world.

Therefore, we have a responsibility to our physical bodies – The physical is related to the spiritual.  We all have personal experiences--  like going for a run or walk,  going to yoga class, putting in a few sweaty hours in the garden or flowerbeds, working on a Habitat House, or scouring a crusty pan at the soup kitchen – that physical labor, somehow, also seems to align us spiritually.

This project too, (while the emphasis my seem very much on the physical aspects of our church), it speaks loudly about the spiritual nature of First Presbyterian:

The New Life Capitol Campaign comes out of our sense of responsibility to do God’s work in this community – Our building is not empty during the week, but in alignment with the mission of education that brought the Presbyterian church to Burnsville, we allow our facility to be used by not only the Church Street Preschool and Al-Anon, but other groups as well.  And we have a responsibility to maintain the facility we have been blessed with.  Because many people in the community are blessed by what happens in our church.  We see our church as a “home base” from which we go out and do God’s work…

In a sermon a few weeks back, Dr. Bill challenged us, (a congregation that identifies itself as being welcoming) to welcome people unlike ourselves…  Spiritually, we sat in the pews and said YES…  And now, physically we say YES – with handicap accessible bathrooms, with a safe walkway into the church for may be less agile …  All are welcome here.

The Church Information Sheet the Pastor Nominating Committee worked so hard on describes us as a congregation that values Christian fellowship.  (Like at the Kick-Off.) With our last, very successful capitol campaign, we saw how adding the Laughrun House increased opportunities for fellowship… Adult Sunday School (run simultaneously with choir rehearsal), picnics, Carnival, youth group volleyball with other churches… It was subsequent to adjoining the Laughrun House, that our very successful Wednesday Night programs began.  

Many of the New Life projects will also have a positive impact on our Christian education programs, fellowship time, and our Sunday Morning services – which is when people looking for a church come to meet us, the time we invite people to be a part of God’s community here with us…  We want our building to re-enforce that message they hear:

We hope you considering making First Presbyterian your Church home.

More Photos

Thank you to Jon Ward for more photos.

Half Way? Already?

Here's how... and a brief explanation of the terms Gary used last night:

Leadership Gifts - These are the pledges that have already been gathered from the campaign committee members, session, and others in order to “jump start” the campaign. Think of them like you might a lead-off batter. A lead-off batter isn’t someone who typically hits home-runs. They are people with the capability of getting the game started off on a good foot. Their job is to get the team on base, into scoring position. This, with God’s grace and our prayers, has already been accomplished.

Victory Gifts – These are the pledges, to continue the base-ball analogy, that bring us home. These are the many pledges and gifts that help us finally round that last base and realize our goal. (Have I lapsed into soccer?) The season opener, if you will, was last night. So be ready and welcoming when we visit your home to share this church’s dream with you and ask for your generous help.

Our Goal:  $350,000

Already Pledged:  $182,700

We Sure Did Kick It Off!

What a good time we had on Wednesday!  It was good to see so many of you there.  We really are a church that values fellowship.

Thank you, Mary, for such a wonderful cake to celebrate with!  

(And for planning the evening and preparing the food!)

 The committee was very happy with how many people came to celebrate Kicking-Off the New Life Capitol Campaign.  As you learned, we have many projects (some, admittedly, more exciting than others) planned for First Presbyterian Church.  Some projects are safety issues, some are obligatory, and some do have that wow-factor.  But all of them come from our church's mission to do God's work in our world/community, and the projects will further enhance that work too.

If you weren't at the Kick-Off, stay tuned here for further updates and look for the New Life Newsletter on Sunday.

The Big Good News
We are already over half-way to our goal!  (You may do a happy-dance if you like.)

What's Next?
We will be contacting each individual and family to sit down and talk with you about the many projects planned as you consider your pledges.  Keep praying.  (Scroll down to read the prayer if you'd like.)

A special thanks to Mat Sigmon for providing the music for the evening!


(And I think I may need to use the word project just once more before I end this entry.)

Dinner Tonight

Forgot to RSVP?  We won't hold it against you.  Come anyway!

See you there.

Kick-Off Celebration

YOU ARE INVITED to a Kick-Off Celebration for the New Life Capital Campaign.

Wednesday, March 28 5:30-7:30

This is a time of renewal for the First Presbyterian Church of Burnsville.

Join us for dinner, entertainment by Mat Sigmon, and more information about our exciting plans for the future.

        5:30–6 Gathering Time
        6 – 7 Dinner & Fellowship *
        7 – 7:15 Presentation
        7:15–7:30 Goodbyes

While there is no cost to you, please RSVP to Johnelle by March 23rd so that we can plan accordingly. Thanks! (828) 682-4789 or firstpresburnsville@frontier.com

* Children are welcome to attend and activities will be provided for them after they’re done eating. 

Our Prayer

Dear God,

Be with us every step of the way as we pray and work toward our goal of New Life for our church.

You know the needs of our church and you have led us to begin this campaign for much needed improvements to make our physical space more welcoming, earth-friendly and safe.

Help us to keep in mind that it is your work.

Give us a deep desire to want your will in all we do.

May our endeavors for this campaign draw us closer in community and stronger in our commitment to serve you and welcome all your children.

Inspire us to be as dedicated in prayer for our goal as we are generous with our resources.

Make us ever grateful for all the blessings you pour into our lives.

Help us be aware that your grace is always with us, and without you we can do nothing.

Amen

This prayer was originally written by our beloved Beverly Bell for our last (very successful) capital campaign Growing With Faith.  True to the emphasis of this capital campaign, we have simply breathed New Life into it.  That's what New Life is all about... revitalizing our already existing facilities, making them match the mission of our church... to do God's work in the world.

New Life

As was approved by Session, we are getting things underway for another exciting time of growth at First Presbyterian Church of Burnsville.

We are calling this time "New Life" -- for several reasons which we will expound upon later, but you may want to take some time and prayer reflecting on your own about the many ways Christ has called us as individuals and as a church into New Life.