Pastoral note, from Garrett

Dwight Eisenhower once said, “Plans are worthless. But planning is everything.” The architect of D-Day was on to something. I’m learning what he meant as we move through the final leg of this renovation project. 

We have to move back our re-entry to the sanctuary by 1 week. 

You may have noticed on Sunday that there was still a large hole in the earth in front of the church where SAWS has been digging. Today they are starting to fill in the hole. But the 1-2 day project of installing a new valve for the water main (for a dry fire suppression system (yes, that’s right: a DRY system needed more water)) is now stretching into its 4th week. It will be inspected this week, and then we will apply for a Certificate of Occupancy. 

So here’s the plan… or ‘the planning’ we are doing as of Monday, July 27: On August 16 we will return to the sanctuary. Sunday School will begin at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. That Sunday is also Startup Sunday— aka promotion day, blessing of the backpacks, and Back-to-school Sunday. 

Instead of a lunch after church that day with a business meeting, we are thinking of doing a breakfast before SS. During that time, you’re invited to poke around the Sanctuary and get to know the space. 

We are going to postpone the usual “ministry fair” to September 20. That day, we will host a ministry fair to highlight the church’s ministries, and we will also have a business meeting in Maresh Hall after worship. 

At the end of worship on August 9 (at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.), we will process over to the sanctuary from Maresh Hall for Communion and the singing of the Doxology. So, this Sunday, August 2, is another joyful gathering in Maresh Hall. 

Volunteers—those with muscle and those with organizational skills, or both—we need you. On August 4 at 10:30 a.m., we will begin moving things into place in the Sanctuary building. That includes moving as much as we can back into the children’s classrooms. The children’s classes (Grades 1-5) will still meet in the Youth Center on August 9. So, we won’t move EVERYTHING. We’ll just be getting started resetting the refreshed rooms in the sanctuary building. If you can help out that day, we would love for you to join the moving party. 

Thanks for all your patience with this project. Many of you know how this sort of thing goes from your own experiences with renovations at home. Retired architect and Woodland member Grant Riley told me weeks ago, “The last 10% of a project takes 30% of the time.” 

The good news is that we’re still within the budget we set out in the beginning. And we’re off to a great start in giving generously to the Planted Together Campaign. Let’s finish strong. 

Grace and peace, 

Garrett Vickrey
Senior Pastor