WORSHIP CENTER RENOVATION UPDATE #2

This is the second article related to our Worship Center Renovation. Even as I am typing this article, some plans are still being made and fine tuned. So let me speak about what we know for sure. No one will be concerned at all or have questions about the change of our carpet. It has lasted 15 years and is now, because of the humidity, wrinkled in more places than it is not. It has stains that carpet professionals have not been able to remove. It is time. New carpet led to a new paint color for the walls. So now would be the time to sand the walls and woodwork, caulk and re-caulk the stain glass windows, fix cracks in the walls etc. It is not JUST putting on new paint. Just painting the ceiling is a major task requiring the best of professionals. Our renovation team and the consultants have come up with a lovely color for the walls.   

Direction of Renovations. 

Imagine a line like this:

Elegant    Classic    Traditional           Comfortable    Casual   Contemporary

Our last renovation 15 years ago leaned more toward the elegant, classic, traditional side of the line. We have never been elegant…we were just leaning that way. We certainly were a more traditional looking worship center. We are really not a traditional church. We are more comfortable and casual. We are far from what some would call fully contemporary. We are a younger, more casual and comfortable church family. It is reflected in our ages, our families, our ministries, our music, our values and our mission. Our last renovation 15 years ago took us from an early 1960’s look to a 1980’s kind of look. This renovation will still look lovely, warm and inviting. A great example is Victory Baptist Church on Woodland Shores: a very conservative church with a wonderfully beautiful more contemporary look. We really are looking to reflect who we are now and who we will be for the next 15 years.

A Final Tribute to the organ. Fox music installed our Allen organ back in the early 1960’s. They had just become Allen distributors and they believe we were their first Allen customer. The organ has been in disrepair for years. Years ago, one visiting organist said he would never agree to play it again because it was in such poor shape. The Hunts paid to have someone try to repair it. They were not successful. They were among the very few who could work on that type organ and now they have gone out of business. The Allen organ we have is an “analog” organ. It is the same technology as the old TV’s with rabbit ears. Those were analog. Almost all of us now have digital televisions. It is the same technology as the very old cars and buses with governors to control the engine. Our organ is actually in the Allen museum. Really… no kidding. It is so old it is in a museum. Fox music and the Allen Organ companies told us no one would ever buy our organ; it was not likely to ever be repaired; and they did not want it even if we would give it to them free of charge. Have you tried to give away an old analog TV? Goodwill, Habitat and the Kidney Foundation will not take them. You can only take them to the garbage dump or maybe sell them at a yard sale.

 Fox and Allen did offer to sell us a new organ. You know what they call it? A keyboard with a midi. It is a digital keyboard capable of making organ music better than our Allen organ. Guess what? We have one. We have used it on occasion to play organ music. Currently the Korg Keyboard is being used upstairs in the weekly youth worship service. It is available anytime someone would want or need an organ sound. The organ was a fine instrument in its day. So was the Studebaker automobile last made when we bought the Allen Organ. It is not who we are. We live in a digital age. Not many drive a Studebaker with a governor. Fewer and fewer people still watch an analog TV. Likewise, not any thriving churches are playing 55 year old organs with governors. So, soon and very soon, the organ will be making an exit from the stage. We are grateful for the way it served faithfully for years and blessed by those who played it well. Finding someone who plays the organ is very difficult. They are a rare and dying breed. By the way, my favorite song to hear on the organ: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.


See you Sunday, Pastor Tom