June 19, 2018

Jay Makowski, Lay Leader
UUMC Board of Trustees

Asbury Hall
Asbury wall restoration will begin this summer. The Asbury roof will also be repaired during this time as well, as damage had been identified during inspection for the wall repair assessment. Altogether, this project will ensure Asbury Hall will be a welcoming facility for the Children’s Area, fellowship after services, as well as receptions and other gatherings, well into our future! Thank you, again, for your contributions this past Christmas season, and during Easter. You will be pleased with the results.

Chancel Reconfiguration
This project is one of our VCI Prescriptions (3. C.) and is specifically given in the Cathy Townley report: “To modernize your chancel area, you would remove all permanent objects (bolted to the floor) such as the two pulpits.”
The goal in this is to open space up in the chancel area to accommodate our bell choir, musical congregation member(s), choir, and also a contemporary second service. Over the next few months, and hopefully to be finished by Labor Day, we will do two big things: 1. remove the raised pulpit and 2. replace the Lord’s Table. Great care will be taken to preserve and protect the carvings from both items; they may be incorporated into the new Lord’s Table or in a historical area of the church to ensure that we honor our past while moving into our future. Both items will be stored until such time as we identify a proper use for them and we will ask for your constructive input.

As we remove the Lord’s Table and bring in the new one, we welcome you to participate in a ceremony honoring both, as well as the blessing of the new Lord’s Table. A date will be given for the ceremonies and blessings and you are invited to come and participate!

Overall, the chancel area will honor its legacy and function as an integral and sacred space of our worship. The changes you see, though they will move quickly, will ensure a lasting legacy of worship for us and for our future church.