Restore, Renew, Rejoice

The beautiful leaded glass windows that fill our sanctuary with so much light are original to the building. While they have been repaired here and there over the years to deal with specific problems, they have never been rebuilt. They are now approximately 70 years old, and the glazing that holds them tightly in their caning has degraded and fallen apart, leaving the panes of glass loose in their frames. In places, you can see straight through to the outside, and in other spots the glass in the window has started to bulge outward. In addition, the wood frames around the window need to be repaired, rebuilt, and re-sealed to ensure that they hold up to our wet west coast winters. The work will see each window removed, repaired and rebuilt off-site, and then re-installed over the course of a summer. As a part of this project we are also planning to replace the windows in the lower hall with more energy efficient double-paned windows that are also easier to use and won’t be able to blow open in storms.

Projected Cost: $45,000

The flooring in the chancel, the area around the altar, is in bad shape. The carpet is falling apart in places and is being discretely held together in spots by some nicely colour matched duct tape. What’s more, the hard laminate flooring is also starting to de-laminate in spots, especially under our piano. While it means that our flooring needs to be replaced, the reason is a good one—our church sanctuary gets an enormous amount of use! Between three services every Sunday, Bible studies, choir rehearsals, and countless recitals and concerts, the chancel flooring is a high traffic area and takes a beating. The plan is to remove the existing flooring, level the subfloor, and install a hard flooring that can hold up to all the love. In the same way, we are planning to replace the carpet in the narthex, which similarly receives high amount of foot traffic and is starting to look rough. We anticipate a hard flooring surface that is easier to keep clean and can stand up to all the people who come through our doors each and every week of the year.

Projected Cost: $41,000

Our worship space shines—literally—on a sunny day. However, as anyone who has been in the church on a rainy winter day, for an early 8am worship service, or for an evening event, our space is not well lit without the benefit of the sun. This is especially bad for folks in the pews, where it can be hard to read the bulletin or sing from the hymnals. Our plan is to keep our existing fixture, and enhance the lighting they provide with additional fixtures hung throughout the space that will provide a brighter fill lighting in the sanctuary, ensuring that the brightness of our space never dims.

Projected Cost: $35,000

Whenever undertaking large capital projects, there are unknown issues and expenses that will arise. We have factored in this contingency to help ensure that we are able to successfully complete our projects, regardless of what surprises might be lying in wait for us along the way! If any of the contingency funds go unspent at the end of the projects, it will be added to our building fund to pay for future repairs or non-budgeted maintenance expenses.

Projected Cost: $20,000