It may feel as though our sanctuary remodel project is somewhat dormant. Rest assured, under the surface, so much is happening and it won’t be long until like a seed in spring, the project comes to a new point of blossoming and blooming, at which point the congregation will be called upon to give more input and to continue the dreaming and the planning together.
Sometimes, I struggle with the idea of spending a whole bunch of money on a remodeled sanctuary. I pray, “Really, God?! Is this the work you have for us to do? Conflicts erupt on the world’s main stage, unhoused folks come knocking on our door, we know that Loaves and Fishes food pantry has more clients than ever and less and less available funding to work with and God, you want us to build a new worship space, when we already have a roof over our heads?”
I keep hearing in my prayers, “Yes, this is the work I have for you right now.” Because we cannot afford in times like these, in a world like ours to hide our light under a bushel basket. What the church houses is too valuable and too needed to not steward it with the utmost care.
St. Peter’s, high-trafficked location puts God’s love directly in the pathway of thousands of people every single day. Let’s not waste our place on this earth! Let’s build something that draws people in, that speaks of the gospel’s vitality, that offers outwardly what we have found inside these walls. Let’s make sure that when a visitor enters our doorways, they walk into a space that is warm in the winter and cool in the heat of summer, that is filled with beauty and light and clear access to the things they came to receive, where no one’s experience is hampered by poor sound or lighting or visibility or accessibility. What we have matters too much not to steward it with care.
To be sure, you do not need an exquisite building to share the love of God. You do not need a building at all! But when you come to St. Peter’s, you are not met with mediocre love and care. No, when Interfaith Shelter guests arrive, we don’t throw them our scraps, we give them our best. When a member of our church is at the end of their life, we wrap ourselves around them with the very best of what we have to offer. When people from our wider community come to us for a memorial service or a community event, we roll out the red carpet. Why would we not want to use our building to do the same that we do with our bodies, our time, our energy, and our love? Why would we not want to put our lamp up high, lighting up the lives of the thousands of people who drive or walk by our church, gifting them with signs of God’s love for them?
So, the steering team has been working hard with the architects who gave us many concepts and from there, further develop two of those designs. We are working with contractors to get those initial concepts roughly priced so that we know what is within our capacity to accomplish. Once we have this data, we will have a more detailed update for the congregation and from there we will be able to move into the schematic design phase.
Also in the background, members of our steering team have been interviewing capital campaign consultants who will come along side of us to help us raise the necessary funds for this project. We will likely be bringing these folks onboard by May, which could mean that they begin working with us over the summer, with the hopes of launching a campaign in the fall or at the start of the new year.”
Again, the steering team is myself, Scott Walls, Allison Crews, Colleen Doering, Jim Grutkowski, Richard Nielsen and Darlene Morrow-Truver. If ever you have a thought or concern, please reach out to any one of us!
Peace,
Pastor Bekki