Hold On, Because Here We Go
Over the next several weeks, everything at All Saints' will change drastically as we move out, our buildings are razed, and construction begins. Here are some of the basics:
OUR RELOCATED OFFICES WILL BE AT 211 N. MADISON ST. That's the two-story, white building immediately south of the Library. Parking is in the rear. We will be on the second floor. Unfortunately, there is no elevator; everyone will have to use the stairs. This is the only real drawback to an otherwise ideal (and quite affordable!) situation. There is a receptionist on the first floor. We will come down to meet you if the stairs are a problem.
How about this: In partnership with Habitat for Humanity, we will be constructing a house on our property that will be used for All Saints' program space: nurseries, classrooms, and meeting area. It will be built north of the area where we have "Burning of the Greens." Our friends at St. James' Catholic Church are joining us as co-sponsors. They have a terrific construction crew, and it's wonderful of them to cooperate with us in this. There will also be a couple of "blitz" groups coming in to work. We expect the house to be completed by mid-April. When our new facilities are completed, the house will be given to Habitat for Humanity and moved to a lot already chosen to receive it. The cost of this project is actually quite a bit less than using several leased trailers (our share is about $18,000, compared to three times as much for trailers). Plus, we get to put the money to good use for outreach instead of cash going down the drain as rent. Come Fall, we will probably lease one trailer for additional facilities (about $15,500 for eight months).
We will create a usable space in the back-half of the Chapel (those pews will be removed and stored). The children's choir room and the kitchen will be available for use until the very end of the project (after the other buildings have been finished). The program-house probably won't be ready when the buildings are razed, so for a couple of weeks some programs may be briefly suspended and we will improvise a bit with off-site solutions.
We are also happy to announce that First United Methodist Church has most generously offered to let our EYC use their Youth's "coffee house" building (comer of Jefferson and Green) on Sunday afternoons/evenings for the duration. Thanks to FUMC, our youth groups will be very well situated and won't lose a step. With Christy Murphy now on board as our new Youth Director, we're looking for great things in this ministry even as everything else is topsy-turvy.
Be aware that all of these adjustments and re-arrangements will cause things in the offices to be less organized and time-efficient than usual—some things will simply take us longer to do. Routine administration will be anything but "routine," and tending to the extra issues arising from our displacement, the construction, etc. will cut into my daily scheduling.
We will have acceptable temporary arrangements, but there's no getting around the fact that the next twelve months will be bumpy most of the time. There will be more than a little frustration along the way, and inconvenience will be the norm. But how exciting! I'm counting on you and yours to see all of this as a great adventure. There will be times when the best thing to do will be to manage a smile as we shake our heads at the mess we've gotten ourselves into. And I have no doubt that we will look back on this time quite fondly.
"No Fear!"
Shannon +
