The Lord Builds

The painting of hallways and common spaces (Grace, Lobby, etc.) has been finished. There are three different shades of tan in the project. See the pictures below for what the completed work looks like.

The paint will take 30 days to cure. During that time, we’re asking people to not hang stuff on the walls. We are researching options that will allow us to hang things in designated places without ruining the paint job. If you’ve seen a good system, please let us know what it was in the comments.

Christmas decorations are up in the sanctuary. The first picture was taken on a sunny day with the light shining in through the stained glass windows. We’re also in the process of hanging the lighting on the back of the cross. Scroll down for a preview of the lights when they’re on.

Last night, the congregation voted to move forward with a capital campaign to complete category 3 and 4 renovation plans as outlined at the June meeting. Here is the motion that was approved:

WHEREAS, the Voter’s of First Trinity Lutheran Church (“First Trinity”) desire to support mission and ministry at First Trinity through a program to be known as “The Lord Builds” which program plans substantial building renovation and improvement of “Faith” (the Church Basement), provides capital to be used for campus expansion, and eliminates debt to permit greater pursuit of mission ministries; and further

WHEREAS, in order to support “The Lord Builds” it is necessary to raise significant capital; and further

WHEREAS, it has been recommend that the most effective way to raise capital is through the use of an outside capital consultant, and that after an extensive interview process, LCEF Capital Funding Services has been recommended by both the Ministry Council and a special ad hoc selection Committee to fill this role;

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:

Based on the recommendations of the Ministry Council and its special ad hoc selection Committee the Voter’s authorize First Trinity to contract with LCEF Capital Funding Services for the amount of $33,000 to facilitate a capital fund campaign.

Painting has begun in the worship center and preschool areas.  Here are some of the pictures from the worship center:

Looking at the side wall of the entryway (Glenhurst Doors). The light tan wall is painted, the others are original color.

The entryway received three different colors, plus the ceiling. This is the same scheme that will be used in the hallways and Grace.

The view from the loft at the North stairwell. The dark tan wall is painted, the lighter wall has not received paint yet. There are two tans used in the loft. The side walls of the loft receive the darker tan, and the back wall will be the lightest.

This is the Cry Room before anything was done.

There are three different blues in the Cry Room. Here you see two of them as painting begins.

A look at the door area with all three blues on the wall.

The finished (but not yet arranged) Cry Room. There will be new curtains coming.

This is the view of the loft from the chancel (everything inside the communion rail) area.

There are five shades of blue in the worship center. This is the middle of the five.

Again, the middle blue of five shades. It's hard to tell, but the section of wall immediately left of the organ (with the A/C unit on the wall) has received the lightest tan color. The other sections of that back wall will all have this color.

Work continues for the rest of the week. The paint job is scheduled to be finished by this weekend.

One of our story statements (and our next “Super Series” by the way…) at First Trinity is “Rooted and Relevant”. We like to think of ourselves as being rooted—both in God’s Word and in the Lutheran Christian Tradition (We’re celebrating 170 years this year)—while still being relevant to the world today. This means that the Scriptures and Christian church throughout history influences our ministry today. We are not a “traditional” or “contemporary” church. We are both.

With this key story statement in mind, we set out to look at improving the projection system in the Worship Center. Here are some of the issues that people have raised to us:

1. The screen is too high for those sitting in the front of the church.
2. It blocks the view of the cross when it’s down.
3. It’s not bright enough (especially since restoring the stained glass).
4. It doesn’t integrate well with the existing architecture.

So we knew what the basic issues were, and we agreed that all were important. But how do we be “rooted and relevant” in this area? Our first step was to find out how the projection system is currently being used, but more importantly, how will it be used in the future. We asked the Executive Ministry Team (Known as the EMT, composed of Pastor Chuck, the four ministry directors, namely Jim Brese [Attract], Mary Lou Hartnett [Care] Sue Steege [Transformation] and Dick McKie [Serve], plus our Ministry Operations Manager, Tim Hartnett) to give us their vision for technology in Worship and other areas of the facility for the coming years.

After reviewing the strategy, we started discussing some options, keeping “rooted and relevant” in our minds as we sought to find the best solution. Here were some of the options we looked at:

• Leave the screen “as-is” and simply get a new projector. This would solve only item 3 above.
• Install large LCD televisions on the side wall. This would solve 1-3 above, but we felt it would still not look “right” in our Worship Center.
• Install multiple screens on the side walls and buy two new projectors. This would address 1-3 and was a better solution for item 4, but we still felt it wasn’t quite right.
• Use the side walls as the projection surface and buy two new projectors. We felt like this would best meet all the needs because when the system is off, you can’t tell it’s there. When it’s on, it’s not detracting from the cross or the architecture of the church while still being visible from everywhere. It’s also farther from any direct light sources which wash out the image.

We debated the merits of LCD vs. projection and decided projection was the obvious choice. It allows us to use 100% of the wall space and looked the best when off. We then explored rear projection vs. front, but after consulting the building blueprints, there’s not room to use rear projection. We also felt it was important to consult with Eric Fesmire, our Contemporary Worship Director, about our proposed solution.

Confident we were on to a possible solution, we scheduled an appointment with Gary Krauss of A/V Solutions to see what was possible and get a quote for the project. We are currently looking for other companies to provide a quote as well.

We’ll also be setting up a test rig that involves ladders, projectors and laptops to see how it would actually look in our building.

It’s been about a month since we posted the new color scheme for our facility, both here on the The Lord Builds and in the lobby. We’re just about ready to begin painting the facility, but before we get to that, a few notes about the painting:

1. We’ve been waiting to get started on the paint project because we wanted to make sure our flooding issues were resolved. Thanks to the recent rain storms, we believe we’ve got the flooding issue under control.
2. Painting will be done in two phases. The first will be the Worship Center, Preschool areas and the main entry (Glenhurst) doors. The second phase will be all remaining public spaces, including hallways, Grace, the Workroom, Lobby and stairwells. We are waiting on an insurance settlement from the flooding before repairing flood damage in the lobby/stairwell.
3. There have been some questions about how the cross will look against the blue wall. We will be adding some subtle LED back-lighting to the cross to make it stand out. It will be a single color (white) and will probably have the ability to be dimmed as needed. We are working with some distributors to gets costs and options.
4. The “IHS” on the wall can not be back-lit because it is flush against the wall. We are looking at options to light it so it also stands out from the wall a bit. We’re leaning towards a mounted light that shines on it, but we’re still considering options.
5. The descending dove and Alpha/Omega symbols are being moved from their existing locations in preparation for painting and a new projection system. The walls where they are located now will become projection surfaces. We are discussing options for their new placement. If you have suggestions, please leave them below in the comments.

Here’s the painting schedule for phase 1:

• Entryway doors: October 12 or 13. If you are using the facility on these days, plan on entering through the gymnasium doors or the boulevard entrance.
• Worship Center/loft/cry room: October 12-16.
• Preschool halls/entries/stairwells: October 15-16.

This means that the paint job in the Worship Center will be finished in time for services on October 17/18. At this time, we don’t have an estimated start time for phase two of the painting project.

EDIT: The paint schedule has been updated. Our paint contractor was able to double-up the crews so we’ll have everything done in one week. Great news!

Early on in our renovation process, the committee made the decision to use a professional interior designer for color selection in various pieces of our renovation. It turns out, that was a great decision. We’re working primarily with Lee, a designer on staff at Carmina Wood Morris. She came and walked around our facility, snapping photos of existing carpet, paint, furniture and other décor. Before we get to the color scheme, here’s what she had to say about why she chose these colors:

Selecting color is rarely a solitary action, in itself color is reflective and dependent on the colors, materials and lighting that surrounds it.

Careful consideration of all the materials and colors that would impact the new color scheme for the sanctuary was taken into account before presenting a new color palette for review. We wanted the new paint to highlight existing architectural details such as the wood ceiling, stained glass and plaster fins flanking the Altar.

The warm colors reflected in the wood tone of the ceiling as well as the pews and the variegated slightly cooler grays, beiges and mauves found in the brick, lead us to seek out a soft color that was in contrast to these tones, yet complementary in hue. We also took inspiration from the colors found in the stained glass, translating those colors into a “watercolor” version of the blue/green.

Ideally the new paint colors would stand alone in contrast to the surrounding palette-focusing one’s gaze forward to the Altar, while also providing a soft background for contemplative thought and prayer.

After meeting with Lee and exploring one alternate option, we quickly realized her first choice was what we wanted to go with. We like the rationale and it just feels right. We hope you like it as well! Hallways and “public” spaces will be done in three different colors. The worship center will have six total colors, five in the blue family and one in the tan. The tan in the worship center is the same tan found in the hallways, thus tying the spaces together.

Please note that the colors you see on screen will vary slightly with the actual paint choices. Printed copies will tend to be darker than the actual paint as well. Without further verbiage then, here are the pictures:

The darkest blue/green is on the wall with the cross and the paint gets lighter with each successive column as you move away from the center.

The blue along the ledge connects the back to the front. The tan along the back compliments the organ and ties the paint job into the hallways scheme.

One view of the lobby area.

Another shot of the lobby. Columns will be in the darkest tan. Most hallways and walls will be in the lightest tan, with a middle tan as accent on sections facing down.

The hallway colors will also connect nicely with the color selection in the Hall of Joy.

So, what do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Now that we’re almost complete with the stucco and stained glass repair project, what’s next? Here are some of the things the Renovations Committee is working on right now and for the next several months:

• We’re finalizing colors for a repaint of the inside of the church. The worship center, lobby, office hallways and Preschool entrance will all be repainted.  We’ll be revealing the color selection here in the next few days.
• We’re looking into what to do with the projection system in the church. The committee agrees that the center screen is not adequate aesthetically or functionally. The screen blocks the cross and the image is too light because of an aging projector and ambient light. There are two serious options being considered, both of which would move the projection to two screens on either side of the worship center, where the dove and alpha/omega plaques are now.
• We need to sound proof the gym to get some better acoustics and add a sound system that’s “flip a switch and use”.
• We’re spending some time with the basement design make it the best it can be. We expect the major functions and core values for the space to remain unchanged, but we’re exploring some detail changes to make it more functional. We’re also looking into the costs/savings of a new boiler and hot water system.

As always, we invite your feedback. If you see something that needs repair or have an idea to pass along, please post it in the comments or let someone on the committee know.

You read about how we decided on a ramp into the church at the Glenhurst entrance over at the Evolution of an Idea post. At the time, we also posted a photoshopped image of what the entrance would look like. Well, we’re done with the ramp piece and just awaiting the final handrails.  Check it out:

The finished ramp, without any blacktop work being done.

Asphalt being shaped to eliminate the step up to the ramp.

The finished ramp. We'll be adding some yellow paint to mark the edges of the asphalt to avoid tripping on the edge.

We’ve also finished the garbage pad:

The finished pad for the garbage totes.

The new home for the totes. This allows us better access to the totes without getting muddy during the rainy seasons.

The entrance ramp project has been completed and the Stucco is nearly done as well.  Not much to say about it, other than the fact that all of our contractors are doing some great work for us. Here are some pictures of the finished ramp and the stucco progress:

The concrete pad for the garbage cans is smoothed out.

The finished project, drying.

The crew works on the Glenhurst entrance concrete. This is the replacement for the existing section that was demolished because of the tripping hazard.

The finished concrete work, as seen from inside the church.

The finished project from outside the church. Notice the new ramp on the far side of the brick column.

A closeup up the new wheelchair accessible ramp. There will be railings installed on the side of the ramp nearest the brick column, wrapping around the column.

A wide shot of the front of the worship center stucco repair. The two brighter columns are complete. The remaining await a final coat of stucco.

A close-up of the stucco work.