UPDATE 37 - 2 WEEKS - The Timeline Update No One Wants
Hey everyone,
We received a discouraging update last week, which I shared at our combined service this past Sunday: our church has to postpone our move-in date to the new building. We have not set a new move-in date yet.
The snag has to do with the water department (PWD). Our GC filed for PWD to dig up Belgrade St and put in a tap from the mains to our indoor sprinkler system (in case of fire). Our GC filed for this work to be completed back in March, and the permit for the work was issued in April. PWD completed site visits and assured our GC’s team that they would complete the work about a month ago, but the work has not been completed. And because that work has not been completed, there are a series of other inspections that cannot be completed for us to get our certificate of occupancy.
PWD visited our site again today (Tues, Sept 1), and said they would have a team come to do the work early next week. Please pray that they come and complete the work.
What does this mean?
Our Fall calendar is being overhauled. Our moving day on Sept. 5, our preview service on Sept. 6, our “open house” walkthroughs on Sept. 9-10, our first service on Sept. 13, and the cookout with the neighbors on Sept. 20 have all been postponed. Please stay tuned for updates on how this will affect kids ministry scheduling, which was originally scheduled to start on Sept. 30.
We have not set a new first Sunday. Hopefully I can set that date by the end of next week (i.e., by the time we send Liberti’s weekly email on Sept. 10). I do not want to schedule a new first Sunday until we have more information, and once we know that PWD has completed their work.
UWC will continue hosting us at 4pm on Sundays.
As always, please try to stay tuned to our church’s communications – this blog, our weekly email, and our Sunday announcements– for further updates.
Thank you all for your patience. If you are disappointed, know that I am exceedingly disappointed alongside you. Many have comforted me by saying, “delays happens with construction,” which I appreciate. But something about this delay has really zapped me. Perhaps you can relate.
One of our leaders reminded me about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John chapter 11. If you read at the start of the chapter, you will see that Jesus got word that Lazarus was sick, but Jesus tarried. He arrived a few days late to his friends’ house in Bethany, even though their plea for him to come must have been desperate. Because of his tardiness, both Mary and Martha say the same thing when they see him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” God’s timeline is different than ours, but that doesn’t mean that his seeming inaction is without purpose. He still has a timeline, even if it’s not the one we planned. Do you find comfort in that? Perhaps with something else in your life, not just with this building. I find some solace in it. God’s not surprised!
- Stephen