The Rev. Ruth L. Boling officially started the worship service on November 25th, 2012. The congregation welcoming the Designated Pastor to the pulpit. After the service, the Congregation celebrated and welcomed Pastor Ruth and her family to the church and to the community.
The Congregation celebrated & welcomed Rev. Ruth Boling
Thank You, Elder Bruce Arlett Sr.!!!
As the congregation prepares for the coming of a new pastor, it took time on Sunday, November 18 to thank Elder Bruce Arlett, Sr. for his worship leadership during the past eight months. The worship service was a time of praise and thanksgiving to God for His many blessings. In his sermon, Bruce reminded the congregation that we are called to be faithful, and we are called to be family - to reach out to another in love, to apologize and to forgive one another where there is need, to speak words of hope and kindness. Following the worship service, there was a luncheon to honor Bruce for his faithful witness. The church family enjoyed this time of good food, warm fellowship and the opportunity to personally greet and thank Bruce. We look forward, in faith, to the future as the Rev. Ruth Boling begins her ministry with and among us..... Clerk of Session: Ethelyn Fulton
Elder Bruce Arlett & family celebrated with the Congregation
As of now, the coffered ceiling has been removed in preparation for restoration and repair. The sanctuary is scaffolded and prepped for work to begin. At this time, we are awaiting a final plan from the engineers as to how to proceed. There needs to be concurrence between the engineers and contractors as to what process needs to be implemented so that we do not have to revisit this in another 25 years. Unfortunately, this is an involved process and takes a lot of time behind the scenes. Charlie Sasso and Jack Leigh expect to be meeting with the engineers (Goldstein), contractor (Imhoff) and the grant writer (Mark Hewitt) shortly. At that time we expect to have a plan and a timetable for completion. The Buildings & Grounds Team is pushing to get this work underway as fast as possible with an eye to returning to the sanctuary in the spring. Once the final plans are in place, the grant writer can begin crafting the proposal for presentation to various funding sources. Insurance claims are still being pursued. The insurance company reimbursed us for the remediation work required to prevent collapse.
In terms of safety, a new fence was erected to keep people away from the building as it became obvious that the existing barrier was not a deterrent to keeping people out. And, with the opening of school, it just became too tempting. In addition, the Team wants to make it clear that under no circumstances should any officer, staff member or member enter the sanctuary for any reason whatsoever. This is an active construction site and the only people authorized to enter are those actively engaged in the construction process. If someone feels it is important to go into the sanctuary, please contact Charlie Sasso or Jack Leigh and they will escort you.
June 17 - More Scaffolding are erected inside & outside of the Church. The East Wall is being repaired, with most of the sanctuary's ceilings were removed & being replaced
April 22 - Scaffolding are erected outside of the Church & inside of the Sanctuary, to repair the ceilings & the east wall. The plaster will be removed & the blocks will be reseated. Most of the east wall will be rebuilt on the new foundation
April 8 - Major structures are being repaired; the foundation has been repaired with new sidewalks. The steel beam supports were placed to protect the wall from collapsing, in preparing for the repairs of the sanctuary's east wall
