The Building Block: St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Status: November 25-December 2nd

2007-12-05T23:08:00.000-05:00

Where are we now?

Electricians ran new dedicated and grounded wires to the offices for equipment use. Updates to the electrical service continue.
Plumber removed obsolete supply and drain points in upstairs bath and prepared pipes fpr re-attacehment.
Most of the damaged sub-flooring in the upstairs removed...thanks to Alan Oliver.
Outer doors and door jambs received their final coat of paint.
Other inside painting was done and will continue.
Yard Work Day around the Manse schedule for Saturday December 8th from 8am till 12 noon. This is the last work day of 2007.
The taks Force met on 11/29 and will meet again on 12/13.

Work Party Pictures: November 17th

2007-12-05T22:35:00.000-05:00

This fall morning was spent priming doors and windows, ripping out the first floor bathroom and working on the grounds. See what you missed? There are still opportunites to help. Hope to see you this Saturday. There is still painting to do and work outside to be done!

First, painting and priming.

Pastor Spike tearing out the downstairs bathroom

Electrical work!

Beautification of the grounds

Painting Party: You Are Invited!

2007-11-15T05:24:00.000-05:00

You and a friend are cordiallly invited to share in two fun-filled mornings of fellowship and service with our Building Task force:

November 17th and 24th (Saturdays) from 8:00 AM ...

Needed: people to paint, tear things up, and yard work.

Things to bring: a friend, work gloves, wear old clothes, your favorite tools

Week of 10/21/07

2007-10-30T22:18:00.000-04:00

Task force met 10/23
electrician is currently assessing updated electrical needs and work will be underway soon
Task Force and contractor making decisions about demolition and water damage in upstairs bathroom and ceiling
Interior painting will begin as soon as interior construction is complete.
All painters shoud expect a "Painting Party" in teh near future.
Next meeting: Thursday 11/08/07

Please pray for the Task Force as we continue to address the needs of our church facilities and make plans for our continued growth!

Update: Week of 9/30/07

2007-10-11T00:13:00.000-04:00

Demolition is ongoing in the Manse/Youth House
Replacement od doors in Manse/Youth House continues
Task Force Members met with outh to discuss plans for Youth Room and Building Project

Meet the Task force: Pete Duncan, Steve Hoitt, Sheryl MacMillan, Phil Blevins, Nick Gainey, Reese Rambo, Lindy Coleman, George MacAbee, Smith Blackburn and Speed Massenburg.

Update: Week of 9/23-9/30/07

2007-10-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

Where we are now...

Exterior doors completed to the Manse (Youth House)
Demolition started on the Manse (Youth House)
Painting soon to begin. If you have signed up to paint, expect a call soon!

Demolition Saturday: What You Missed!

2007-09-30T13:25:00.000-04:00

We had a crew of able and willing volunteers on Saturday morning. After getting instructions that the mission of the day would be the upstairs bathroom and tearing out the wall between the two side rooms downstairs, the work began! Everyone got a full workout, especially the parties working on the upstairs bathroom. There were many trips up and down the stairs to the dumpster to haul debris out to the dumpster. Today in church there was talk of sore muscles that some had forgotten they even had! LOL!

FYI: Click on any of the pictures to see them large size and
in greater detail.

Protecting the wooden floors with brown paper before the work began.

Whether Smith was working upstairs or downstairs,
he was just WAAAAY too happy with all the tools!
On the other hand his knowledge was invaluable with knowing what
was needed in regards to caps needed for the water fixtures.

Assessment of what needed to be done in the upstairs bathroom.
Eventually there was a main team of people upstairs and a team downstairs.
Some people floated between the two areas to help.
Angie, Mary Catherine and Garrett spent most of their day tearing out tiles in the
bathroom. Once that was done, the bathroom was ready for the wood to be removed as
it had to be cleared down to the studs.

For the wood removal, Steve and Scott came in with the large crowbar
and hammers and in no time they had the planks removed.

Mary Catherine taking one of many buckets of trash to the dumpster.
Angie dubbed her "demolition queen" due to quick pace she tore out bathroom tiles.
It was a regular bucket brigade up and down those stairs to haul the debris out.

The team in that room took turns hauling.

Garrett was the man with tools!
He came prepared and brought his own tool boxes.
Not one but two! (I think he had a sonic screwdriver in there!)

When it was all over the bathroom walls were stripped with the
only things remaining to be removed were the tub and the tile floor.

Downstairs the work was just as vigorous.
Mary Jane, Mary, Allen, Scott, Steve, Speed, and the youth
worked mainly to knock out the wall. Again some floated to work up and downstairs.

That Mary Jane!!! She was just too happy with the sledgehammer!
She was wicked with that thing!

The wall came down in no time and the downstairs team
hauled all their "stuff" to the dumpster as well.

The boys from Youth were helping also.
I am not quite sure the specifics of what they were doing, but I
think it was removing some sort of stud or nail from the floor.

Allen just about finishing up the job downstairs.

At the end of the day, much had been accomplished. It was a great start to the remodeling of the manse. If you think you missed out on the chance to help, you have not. There will be other projects that you will be able to assist with coming very soon. So have your work gloves and work boots ready!

Demolition Saturday

2007-09-26T07:48:00.000-04:00

Would you like to have some fun in tearing down walls and other things in the manse (the house beside our sanctuary)? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you and your friends!!

This Saturday, September 29th, beginning at 8:00 AM we will meet to work on the manse, specifically the demolition phase. Steve Hiott will be the team leader for this important step in renovating the manse. We will work until around 12 noon. Please give Steve a call if you have any questions (819-5002). See you Saturday!!

Update: Week of 9/16-9/23/07

2007-09-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

The Task Force:

Created a Task Spreadsheet for the Manse Project
Made plans to host Moments of Fellowship in front of the Manase on Sunday, September 23rd to invite involvement from the congregation
Planned a "Minute for Mission" to introduce the Congregation to the Task Force and teh Building Team.

Where We Are Today

2007-09-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

To date, the Task Force has completed the following:

Polled the congregation about building needs
Met with Dr. Harold Bare, church builder and planner
Committed to bi-monthly Task Force Meetings
Established a 3 Phase Building Plan: Plan affirned and approved by Session
Raised a significant portion of the money needed for Phase I

Coming Soon!

Phase I Kick Off!
Demolition Day!
YOUR ROLE in the Plan!

Visit with Pastor Harold Bare

2007-09-19T09:28:00.000-04:00

Rev. Dr. Harold Bare of Charlottesville, VA. spent several days at St. Andrew's meeting with church members, the Session and city officials in regards to opportunities to renovate and improve our church facilities. After an intensive week, it all ended on August 10th, at 6:30 PM, with a barbecue dinner catered by J.T. Handy, the 2006 South Carolina Pit Master Campion!!! The turnout was excellent. Dr. Bare really gave us some challenging things for our church to think about.

Here are the highlights of his talk as well as pictures of his meeting with the Session and the congregation at the barbecue.

He is the son of a pastor, married to a pastor's daughter with 31 years of pastoring under his own belt. He said the Lord directed him to go back to school in order to help churches grow
Key question: what price are we willing to pay for change? There was research done that included a study of 10k churches. In 1970 about 10% of the sociological research was funded for religious research. By 1995 more than 85% had been funded for religious research. Through all the changes in society the churches still were a stable in society. In comes the Silo concept. Silos in a field all hold something, but they are all separate. The strength of a silo is when they are all connected together. The church needs to understand the concept that we are in this together. Silos together....strength. Change is a revolutionary moment that does not end.

One of the greatest weaknesses of churches is the lack of corporate celebration. Scholars say this. Even Dr. Bare has had to loosen up to celebrate. What can St. Andrew's celebrate?
Where is the church on a bell curve? A plateau? A decline? Our willingness to deal with where we are is the REAL issue. Attitude determines what happens, not age of the church. Unity among everyone must be present at all times. Committees must be there for the larger mission of the church. Communication is also key in a church's success. Personal feelings and fussing must be kept out. We must keep talking, working and nuturing.

**CRITICAL POINT: One person in the congregation is the vision~~>That is the pastor, Pastor Spike. Multiheaded vision does not work. The Pastor's vision drives the church and it is his position to pass the vision. Pastor Spike needs to tell us his vision and what his passion is and we all need to get on board and fulfill that vision.

Dr. Bare did suggest the following resources/books/sites for everyone involved: