We’ve breezed through Halloween and past Thanksgiving, eaten pies together and passed out candy and goodies together to neighborhood kids at Trunk or Treat. We’ve partnered with other churches in San Diego to host Wine into Water where we raised over $5,000 to install a water filtration system in rural Pakistan. We’ve surpassed our financial goal of giving $5,000 to Loaves and Fishes food pantry and gone and raised more like $8,000 in a time when food insecurity is at an all-time high. We had a successful fall stewardship program and the council passed a budget for the congregation’s review for 2026. The congregation continues to be responsive to unhoused neighbors who stop by on Sundays and throughout the week. We completed a 9-week Bible Study which was a darn delight and our deacons continue to visit homebound folks with warmth and love. Beneath all of that I want to let you know that our sanctuary remodel work is moving forward.
Here’s what has happened to date:
- Scott Walls and I met with our Architects, John and Charity, along with intern Tatiana for an initial walk through of our space where together we showed them our property so that we could begin to dream together.
- After everyone had time to percolate, we came back together to further collaborate on the possibilities for our new space.
- These initial possibilities were presented by Scott and I to the building steering team who made recommendations on which ideas were favorable and which were not
- The council is brought up to date each month on any and all activity of the building steering team
- With the help of Darlene Truver, we applied for a grant for up to $500,000 through the John C. Lasko Foundation which we can use for new construction on a church sanctuary. The grant is not applicable for other parts of our facility and it is only applicable if we undergo the creation of new construction (which could entail additions and bump outs or a whole new sanctuary). We should hear by early December if we were approved to move on to phase 2 of this application process.
Our next steps are to meet again with the architects to firm up the initial concepts that we are hoping to further develop. From there, we will meet with a general contractor who can take these very rough concepts and begin to project the cost of what we hope to do. Knowing a rough estimate of cost will help us determine what is possible and what is not.
Thank you for the trust you place in the building steering team, the council and Scott and I as we navigate this phase of the project. We look forward to the day that we can share more concrete ideas with the congregation!
In the meantime, please continue to keep this project, it’s leaders, and our architects in your prayers, that we would be led by the Spirit of God to steward our property well, situating St. Peter’s to be a place that shares God’s love with vitality to its members and our wider community, well into the future.
Peace,
Pastor Bekki