Sanctuary Task Force Update
Pictured above are most of the members of the Sanctuary Task Force: Michal Mills, Steve Quinlan, Sandy Sherrard (not pictured), Kathie Sutton, and Pastor Melissa.
This month marks a milestone in the history of our Church: we are beginning construction of the Sanctuary renovation project that has been planned for over a year. The project will address deferred maintenance of some features like the stained glass windows and the condition of woodwork and pews. It also seeks to transform our worship space in ways that will better support our worship now and in the future. The project respects the architectural legacy of the building and will restore the vibrancy of its woodwork, flooring, and other finishes. By improving sound, video, and light we will make our space more accessible and better for all to be able to participate in weekly worship at Hopewell Presbyterian Church.
Starting November 20, we will be worshipping in Fellowship Hall to give the Sanctuary space to the contractors for executing the needed work. That means that November 13 is our last Sunday worshiping in the Sanctuary until the project is planned to be completed before Easter 2023. This is a big change and may be sad or difficult. To provide space for that, this week the sanctuary is open to you to enjoy and there is a table where you can see some of the plans, pictures, and offer stories about how the sanctuary has been an important space for you. Additionally, Sunday we will recognize this and look with eyes of hope toward the future that this change will provide. To help you get a picture for what’s happening, the Sanctuary Task Force will have a table in Fellowship Hall Sunday with the architect’s drawings for the project, and some samples of materials that we are recommending. We invite you to review the project, and we will be there to answer any questions that you may have.
Timeline
Nov. 9-13 - Opportunity to visit the sanctuary and reflect on the important role this space (in it’s current configuration) has played in many of our lives.
Nov. 13 - Worship & Communion - As we celebrate All Saints Sunday we will also celebrate the work of many saints to provide this worship space for us as well as pray for the many saints to come who will worship in this space.
Nov. 15 - Work in the Sanctuary begins. At this point, Baxter Construction will begin their work. They will be using the old church entrance so as to not obstruct our use of the main entrance and welcome center.
Nov. 20 - Worship begins in Fellowship Hall. As we enter this time of transition, session, the staff, and the task force ask for your patience as we work together to figure out a new space.
December 24 - For Christmas Eve, the 5pm service (our family friendly Pick-Up-Pageant) will take place in Fellowship Hall. The 8pm Candleight Service will take place at the Old School Baptist Meeting House (46-48 West Broad—one block from HPC).
The hope is that we will be returning to the updated sanctuary for Holy Week and Easter. As we hope for this, please hold the building process, our builders, architects and the supply chain in prayer.
Project Overview
Specific details about the background of this project can be found in our communication from a few months ago. Click here. In many ways, this project extend the work of the “Making Connections” campaign and address maintenance concerns that have developed over the past few years.
Audio Visual
This project strives to live into our Presbyterian charge to provide for a space of worship that “encourages community, is accessible to all, and opens us to reverence for God. Worship space is not to be an escape from the world, but a place for encountering the God of all creation who gathers us in and sends us out.” Audio and visual is a big part of that. This proposal provides for a new sound system that would comprise digital mixing architecture with control via multiple cross- platform devices (e.g. iPads, Android tablets, and smartphones). Inputs would include new wired receptacles (to avoid visible cables and tripping hazards on the floor), direct input boxes to convert unbalanced electronic instrument outputs to balanced signals, suspended microphones to pick up congregational sound, new wireless microphone transmitters and receivers compatible with FCC requirements, a feed from Zoom, and a new hearing assist system to meet ADA requirements for a public assembly space.
This may be paired with smaller screens two of which will face the congregation (allowing the congregation to see) and two of which will face the chancel (allowing the worship leaders to see). There will also be capacity for on wall projection.
Lighting
Addressing the glare and lighting issues in the sanctuary is a major goal of this project. The primary focus of any lighting design is considering the safety, security, and well being of the occupants as they enter and exit the Church. This takes into consideration issues like glare and sightlines. The Task Force’s proposal is to use uplighting to make it so the sanctuary is bright (enough light for the aging eye and to counteract other issues of glare, namely on the front window), accentuate the architecture of the space, and provide for a flexible lighting scheme in which fixtures would draw the eye of worshipers heavenward. On top of that, this plan accounts for digital lighting controls and apps will produce further savings by managing lighting schedules. Tablets, phones, and laptops can be programmed with an app to activate and control lighting. The control system would be connected to a network modem allowing one to control the lighting remotely.
Shading of Main Stained Glass & Refurbishing Side Windows
The Sanctuary Taskforce recognizes that as we adjust the lighting in the room the glare will change. We are hoping to address as much of the problem with interior lighting as possible (limiting any obstruction of the stained glass). That being said, should the problem persist (which it is likely to to some degree), the following idea is being considered: an interior motorized shade that will be hidden in the “casing” we are building to frame window. This will be complimented by the fact that we are removing the tall cabinets and installing lower aesthetically consistent built-in storage.
The light in the sanctuary is also affected by the side windows. Taking your feedback, we have decided to refurbish the existing stained glass windows.
Layout & Seating
Accessibility, function, flexibility and theological aesthetic all played a key role in the proposed design for layout and seating.
Stage: This plan proposes a chancel or stage to be one step up from seating level to increase visibility and thus function. This stage is to be assembled from multiple pieces, with a semi-permanent section across the front wall. This will allow for wiring to go beneath the floor and to remain out of sight. Then there will be a front section that can be rearranged if a different layout is desired. Ramp to be installed in northeast corner to increase accessibility and ease of equipment.
Removal of Interior Stair: The existing interior stair at the front of the sanctuary is rarely used. The stair is not required by code for emergency egress. Removing the stair will free up space along the east wall and allow for a new symmetrical arrangement of built-in storage and chancel stage.
Seating: Seating is one area where we can really bring flexibility into our worship space. Holding together traditions of the past and flexibility for the future, the proposal is to continue to have both pews and chairs. The proposal is to have eight of existing pews to be refurbished and modified by cutting in two at divider and reconstructed as angled pew. The remainder of seating will be new wood chairs that can be ganged together or arranged separately, as required. This provides for flexibility in how the front of the sanctuary is used. The chairs will have upholstered seats and hymnal storage. Matching cushions will be made for the pews.
Storage
Proposed Storage Solutions:
Front Cabinets: Remove existing wood cabinets at east wall. Provide new wood lower cabinets with doors below large stained glass window. Provide new wood low storage with hinged top to left and right of new cabinets. Lowering the storage will keep it discreet and prevent detracting from the sense of openness around the east stained glass window. Fold-out choir risers could be incorporated into storage units. Existing stair to lower level to be removed. See Proposed Drawings.
A/V Room/Storage Closet: Remove existing shelves. Reorganize closet and add tiers of shelving on north and west walls to maximize storage.
Finishes
Addressing the finishes includes both addressing some maintenance needs and offering overall aesthetic cohesiveness to the space. Finishes include but are not limited to: repainting the walls and ceiling (addressing the peeling paint in the rear bay of the nave where the paint is flaking), refinishing the existing wood floor and add more so that the bulk of the space features wood flooring and adding a carpet runner (which will replace the current carpet). Updating these finishes not only address some needed maintenance but will offer a cohesiveness to this project. To see some of these, join us on Sunday.
Continuing “Making Connections”
As we're about to begin a new segment on a long continuum of “making connections” through the space God has given us here at 80 W. Broad. The work we are doing updating the sanctuary is clearly an extension of the Making Connections project completed 9 years ago. Many members of the congregation contributed to planning it and seeing it successfully completed, not to mention paying big chunks of our own money for it. Why did we do it? We wanted this place to do a better job of supporting our ministries. Before Making Connections, our building was not accessible, and it hampered our attempts to be hospitable. It was hard to get from one part of the building to another, since its parts weren't well connected. We had doors everywhere but no clear main entrance, a large Sanctuary but no greeting area, 5 small restrooms spread around but none near the Sanctuary, and lots of staircases but no elevator.
“Making Connections” Timeline
Sept 2009 - Pastor Mike Capron assembled a Communication and Coordination team: Bev Mills, Phil Ludeke, Suzanne Holdcraft, Doug Sargent, Martha Camp, and Lela Swartz. Every meeting began and ended with prayer.
Nov 2009 - C & C embraced Making Connections as the project name with a tagline, "improving the accessibility and hospitality of our place of worship". They introduced the purpose and concept to the congregation. They described the Welcome Center as "a new entrance foyer with plenty of light that will be a place for greeting, serving, welcoming, and accessibility... to link our worship to our buildings and community."
Jan 2010 - 3 other teams began work, coordinated by C & C: Architectural Planning (led by Michael Mills and Kathie Sutton), Sanctuary Redesign (led by Charlie Ashton), and Fund Raising (led by Sandy Sherrard). About 25 to 30 people made up the 4 teams.
Many, many hours of meetings, brainstorming, writing reports, making presentations, holding consultations with architects and fundraising experts, and work with construction crews ensued!
August 2013 - Worship moved to Fellowship Hall as work on the Sanctuary began.
Nov 2013 - We celebrated our first worship service in the renovated Sanctuary, facing east.
Connecting Then & Now
The impulse for the current Sanctuary Design Project was inspired by the generous gift of Alex and Eunice Sharipen to HPC and hinges on the mandate session gave the Task Force: to continue the work of “Making Connections” and explore changes and updates to the HPC sanctuary that would not only serve the current congregation but that would provide for those who will worship here 30 years from now. In doing so the current Sanctuary Task Force identified the following top values:
Accessibility & Function: By this we mean the importance of providing for folks of different ages, abilities, and circumstances to see/hear/move/use the space. This is a clear connection to the work of “Making Connections” – amplifying our ability to welcome worshipers of all abilities and generations into a fuller experience of worship. One example of this will be the sound system, which will include hearing assistance (assisting those with hearing difficulties) as well as a new digital system (setting us up for success with future generations of musicians).
Flexibility By this we mean that this space will serve both the present congregation and the congregation of the future. As we can’t perfectly predict the needs of the future congregation, flexibility should be “built” into the design to provide for all sorts of worship experiences. Some that come to mind are things like Chrsitmas Eve Candlelight serves, weddings, the Gospel Brunch, Taize worship services, etc. This value also underscores the hope that our space will be welcoming to community groups of all shapes and sizes for events, continuing to be a part of HPCs way of reaching out and supporting our neighbors.
Theological Aesthetic Building on the hopes articulated in the value of “flexibility.” By valuing our “theological aesthetic” we lean into a core PCUSA principle which defines worship space saying: “a space that is set apart for worship should encourage community and open us to reverence for God. It is not to be an escape from the world but a place for encountering the God of all creation who gathers us in and sends us out.”