Carpet and Christmas and Call Meeting. Oh My!

The space has been carpeted and the kitchenette is fully installed.  On Thursday the second bathroom was being tiled and moldings had arrived for the base of the walls.  Solid core doors are being installed in the back hallway.  Chairs are gradually being moved into the space.  Wallpaper is being chosen for the chancel wall.  We're still on track to be in the space by Christmas, and perhaps even by December 19th.

Tomorrow we finish the transfer of memberships and the congregation then has a call meeting scheduled following the service.  Sometime in January we will be having a big to do: welcome of a congregation into synod, dedication of a building, and installation of a pastor, with breaks for lunch and supper.  Just kidding, it won't be that long.  Maybe.  A more formal invitation will go out through the district when the time comes, but consider yourself invited.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  We're looking forward to finally being able to accommodate more visitors, and especially being in a better position to reach out to the community of North Liberty.  We had done some planning a while back concerning our strategies for outreach, and we will be revisiting that when we move into the space.  There are a great many things we have planned that we will finally be able to do.  More news to follow soon.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

Painting the Space

Last Friday and Saturday the congregation went to our storefront to paint.  The color on the left wall of the above photo is the color that went on.  The color on the right is what was covered up.  The new color is lighter, has a slight golden tint, and brightens up the space nicely.  The main space and the bathrooms were coated and then touched up.  This was the first time the congregation was able to do something to help the space along.

The half-wall will be wallpapered to set the chancel area apart.  The carpet will also be different in the chancel area and aisles.

Now that the space is painted the contractor can install the cabinets, counter top, and sink, which have all arrived.  Carpet is expected to arrive sometime this week.  Our move-in date still seems on track for Christmas.  We'll be having a dedication service once we're in the space, sometime during the season of Christmas or Epiphany.  I'll post more when we know more.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

Space Update: Wall, Cabinets, and Paint

The half-wall has been drywalled and mudded.  And those large dark boxes are our cabinets for the kitchenette.  The kitchenette will be on the wall directly behind the garbage can.  You can see the electrical rough-in for the spots above and below where the counter will be.  Here's a closeup of the cabinets:

On the Friday after Thanksgiving the congregation will be getting together to paint!  We'll put our paint clothes on, wipe the walls down, and get the space looking real nice.  This will be the first task we've been able to do as a congregation in the space, so we're excited.  Everything is still looking on track to have us in the space by Christmas.  I'll keep posting as we know more.  Hopefully I'll have some good pictures of a paint-covered congregation to post next week.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

Storefront Progress and Membership in Synod

Concrete has been poured over the added plumbing in the storefront.  We turned one room into a second bathroom and added a drinking fountain and kitchenette with sink.

A semi-wall has also been added.  This picture was taken standing near the entrance to the storefront.  In front of the wall will be the chancel.  Our architect had a challenge with the entrance to the storefront at one end and the bathrooms at the other.  The big question was, "How do we prevent people from feeling awkward either having to enter the storefront right next to the chancel or having to go up in front of the whole congregation to go to the bathroom?"  (Orienting the sanctuary sideways would have made us lose too much space).  This half-wall will help solve that problem.  It looks well-built.  We'll march around it seven times and blow some trumpets to see how it holds up.

On Sunday the congregation chose carpet color for the space and cabinets for the kitchenette.  We also installed our last board member.  We now have our own Chairman, Elder, Secretary, Treasurer, Trustee, and Member-at-Large.  And in other very good news St. Silas is now an official congregation in The LCMS!  Those who have been attending will soon be transferring memberships and then calling a pastor.  We will  have an official chartering service once we're in the storefront so that we can accommodate more people.  At that point anyone who wants to come visit is more than welcome.  The chartering service will most likely be on a Saturday so that those who want to visit won't be pulled away from their congregations for Divine Service on Sunday and so that we aren't packing the Dedication of a Church, Establishing of a Congregation, and Receiving a Congregation into Membership of the Synod all into our Sunday service.

Stay tuned for more updates.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com

Plumbing

Before

After

Here's the second bathroom.  Cozy, right?  The contractor is in the space and hard at work.  We're shooting for our first service there in the latter part of December.  The congregation is picking out carpet, wood tones, cabinets, wall color, molding, etc. to make the space look like a sanctuary.  It won't be the Jerusalem temple, but it will be sanctified by the same glory of the Lord when Christ comes there to give us his body and blood.  More pictures and updates soon.  This picture was taken Sunday, so things are already beyond this.

In Christ

Pastor Andrew Richard

St. Silas Lutheran Church
www.stsilaslutheran.org
www.facebook.com/stsilaslutheran
stsilaslutheran@gmail.com