Monday was a long day... the excavator and dump trucks arrived at the church yard around 8:30 a.m. and began the process of cleaning up the debris and filling in the hole where the church once stood. Cathy and I and our boys spent a few hours hauling metal chair and table skeletons and whatever else we could find out of the rubble while the excavator worked at loading the remnants of our building into dump trucks. Several hours later, around 6 p.m., the last of the rubble was loaded and the excavator was pushing gravel into the hole that was left.
This morning when I look out the kitchen window, all that is to be seen is a level gravel yard where once the church stood. The only reminder that there was once a building there is the pile of scrap metal awaiting a truck to haul it away and the church sign, standing lonely in the empty yard. It is nice to get the rubble cleared away and the yard cleaned up, yet it is sad to think that only a few short weeks ago a beautiful church stood in that now empty space.
Our thanks goes out to Earl Goudy and his crew for the work that they did yesterday on our behalf. They spent a long day hauling debris to the landfill, then trucking gravel from Hilltown to fill in the hole. Thanks for your hard work gentlemen! Also thanks to Trevor Sabine for sending his excavator to work at levelling the fill as the trucks hauled it in. Approximately 20 loads of fill were brought in from Blair Mullen's pit and our thanks goes out to him as well for graciously providing us with the material we needed to make the job complete. And last, I would like to say thanks to Earl Prime for spending the afternoon at the sight and helping get the job done. The efforts of a number of people working together made for a job well done!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
What's New
Last night, we had a local board meeting and Earl Prime, chair of the building committee, was invited to share an update of what has been discussed so far. Out of that discussion, it has been decided to announce a general church meeting to be held May 3 in order to candidly talk about possible locations and building size. We will meet again on May 17 for our annual meeting and at that time vote for a preferred location which will then be taken to the District for final approval. Again I would ask that you take time to fast and pray for God's leading in this process. Decisions like this are often difficult, yet as we fast and pray, God often has ways of showing us His will, and making mountains look like mole hills. Thanks to Earl and the rest of the building committee for the hours they are putting in and the recommendations they are presenting to the board.
The insurance situation was also brought up and the board has been updated as to where the insurance stands. At this point we are simply waiting. Earl Goudy has been asked to clean up our sight because of his generous offer to donate his time to that project. However, due to circumstances, he will not be able to begin that work until Monday or Tuesday of next week. The adjustor has a list of contents from the church that should be enough to warrant us receiving the maximum payout for contents of $30,000. There has been a meeting with contractors to determine cost of replacing the old building and once they get back to the adjustor with their pricing, there should be a payment forthcoming from the insurance for the building.
There is also damage to the parsonage that needs attention. Quotes have been received from First on Site, an emergency restoration company, as well as Blair Mellor, a local contractor, for the necessary work. We are again waiting on the insurance company to get back to us with their offer before we can begin the work. That call should come within the next 2 days and then work can get underway with the repairs.
Other difficult topics were discussed around the board table last evening as well, including ongoing conflicts in the church. As your pastor, I wish to apologize to any of you who have been offended or disappointed in my actions over the last few months as events have unfolded. It is my intent to handle any conflict according to directions that are laid out in the Scriptures, specifically Matthew 18, and I have felt that we have followed that protocol quite closely. However, there are still some issues that need to be resolved, and as was stated by more than one of our board members, perhaps we expect a little more of our pastor. The board has resolved to take whatever measures are at their disposal to bring reconciliation to a difficult situation. Please be praying for God's hand in this as well.
We have a wonderful group of men and women who have been given the confidence of the church to be our leaders. They have a stressful year ahead as the building process unfolds and they continue to deal with the regular business of the church as well. Please be praying for each of them, seeking wisdom for each as we undertake this project. God is good, all the time!
The insurance situation was also brought up and the board has been updated as to where the insurance stands. At this point we are simply waiting. Earl Goudy has been asked to clean up our sight because of his generous offer to donate his time to that project. However, due to circumstances, he will not be able to begin that work until Monday or Tuesday of next week. The adjustor has a list of contents from the church that should be enough to warrant us receiving the maximum payout for contents of $30,000. There has been a meeting with contractors to determine cost of replacing the old building and once they get back to the adjustor with their pricing, there should be a payment forthcoming from the insurance for the building.
There is also damage to the parsonage that needs attention. Quotes have been received from First on Site, an emergency restoration company, as well as Blair Mellor, a local contractor, for the necessary work. We are again waiting on the insurance company to get back to us with their offer before we can begin the work. That call should come within the next 2 days and then work can get underway with the repairs.
Other difficult topics were discussed around the board table last evening as well, including ongoing conflicts in the church. As your pastor, I wish to apologize to any of you who have been offended or disappointed in my actions over the last few months as events have unfolded. It is my intent to handle any conflict according to directions that are laid out in the Scriptures, specifically Matthew 18, and I have felt that we have followed that protocol quite closely. However, there are still some issues that need to be resolved, and as was stated by more than one of our board members, perhaps we expect a little more of our pastor. The board has resolved to take whatever measures are at their disposal to bring reconciliation to a difficult situation. Please be praying for God's hand in this as well.
We have a wonderful group of men and women who have been given the confidence of the church to be our leaders. They have a stressful year ahead as the building process unfolds and they continue to deal with the regular business of the church as well. Please be praying for each of them, seeking wisdom for each as we undertake this project. God is good, all the time!
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