UPDATE 38 - Timeline Update! Setting the table
Hey everyone,
I have a few items of good news, and an update. First, three happy items!
The water department (PWD) arrived on Tuesday to begin the work we needed them to complete. They literally showed up with their jackhammers while our staff team was praying at the building on Tuesday morning! It was a great encouragement to us– we prayed and God answered. They haven’t completed all the work yet, but we are hopeful it will be done soon. Our GC has scheduled all the follow-up inspections in the next two weeks.
Our GC has finished installing the hardwood floors on the second floor. This news could be a whole blog post by itself. In brief: the salvaged floors look amazing; we had more than we thought, so we could use the wood to cover the back hallway and the stage (our prayer team believes it was a miracle like the widow’s oil in 2 Kings 17); and because the floors are salvaged, they have way more character than new floors (you will see this when you look at them). THANK YOU those of you who gave your weekends and evenings to pull up those floors, store them, and bundle them.
After bringing a few of our chairs to the sanctuary and doing some measuring, we are confident that we can fit 185-195 seats. Justin Matulewicz and I took a close look to measure it out last night. This is more chairs than I thought would fit! Our biggest Sunday over the past three years was a Kids Sunday with 175 people: we would have fit on that Sunday! I still expect we will feel squeezed with one service, but this news has been a great relief for me.
And now for the update: now that PWD has started their work, I have enough information to set a new timeline. Our first Sunday will be October 18. In the meantime, we will continue meeting at Urban Worship Center at 4pm. Stay tuned next week for a fuller schedule of events leading up to the opening.
This past Sunday, in his sermon Psalm 133, Larry said that this delay will give us more time to “set the table” at the building. I like that! Pray for that. I am hopeful that this delay will allow us to get through more finishing touches, such as completing our audio/visual features in the building. Pray that the table is set at 2531 E Lehigh – not only for us to be served, but for us to serve God and serve our neighbors.
- Stephen