Each day brings us good news and reasons for giving thanks. Today staff and some parishioners met with our insurance adjustor who flew in from New York, their construction consultant; our structural engineer and construction company (Laux) and a stained glass company. As always, there is good
news and news that is not as we had hoped.
The good news is the wall has been stabilized and the risk of collapse has been minimized, but not eliminated. The challenging news is that the sanctuary is closed to all but construction personnel from this point forward until at the earliest, the end of June. We will hold our Sunday worship services in the Merrifield Room at their normal times of 8 & 10:00 am. Please remember to turn your clocks forward one hour this Saturday evening. I hope to see all of you on Sunday at worship.
On Monday, construction work will begin with the installation of scaffolding on the interior and exterior of the building; steps will be taken to preserve the Te Deum stained glass window by sandwiching it between wood boards. We are unclear at this time as to potential damage to the frame of the window and will know more when we obtain another opinion. Repairs to this window may require additional time beyond the wall repairs. We will have a more complete understanding of the scope of the work required for the walls once the structural engineer has completed her assessment hopefully by the end of next week.
Entrance into St. Paul’s building is limited to our parking lot door for the foreseeable future. Entrance through the Memorial Garden door or Parish House door is off-limits. Fencing will remain in place around the front entrance to the church during the entire time of construction as a safety precaution. A construction only entrance will also be installed next week in the cloister which will prohibit folks from entering either the sanctuary or chapel — again a safety precaution as that will be a construction zone for the next few months.
I am reminded that we are now living in a fluid situation where changes occur in the moment. I will do my best to keep you informed of what is happening and when it will happen. Use of the facilities by outside groups will be discerned next week as we will know better the availability of space.
I continue to be overwhelmed by the gracious offers of assistance throughout our community. Folks from the Capitol have expressed their care as they watched from their office windows this week. Others in our community have shared their hope and prayers for this beautiful building. Continue your prayers of thanks for all of our blessings and support from near and far. And remember to pray for each other.
Blessings to you and yours,
Karen+