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UPDATES - JANUARY

UPDATE:  JANUARY 9, 2001

On Saturday, December 23, the Session and Trustees met together to discuss the clean up and rebuilding.  The Session gave their full support to the Trustees to oversee the work.  A sub-committee was formed to deal directly with the companies that do the work.  The sub-committee is Bob Brandt, chairman from the Trustees, Rich Roush from the congregation, and Pete House from the Session.

Alex R. Szeles Inc. was approved to do the clean up work in the education building.  They have been on site for about 3 weeks.  They removed the ceiling and insulation from the Sanctuary and Education building, the carpeting in the Sanctuary, and also cut about 15 feet of the flooring from the Sanctuary so that engineers could see the damage under the floor.  They cleaned all the furniture and stored it in trailers on-site.  They cleaned and packed all the toys, books, hymnals, and Bibles and took them to their facilities in Harrisburg to be ozonized to remove the smoke smell.  This week they cleaned the rest rooms and kitchen that received minor smoke and soot damage.  Now they are installing new insulation and the ceiling in the Education building.  Finally they will repaint the education building and they hope to have it ready for our use by January 21.
 

UPDATE:  JANUARY 24, 2001

Vance, the Project ForemanPhase one of the restoration of the church is nearly complete.  The crew from Alex R. Szeles Inc. is finishing the clean up of the Education Building which will be our place of worship until the sanctuary is restored.

They installed a new ceiling in the Sunday School room.  Originally we had a suspended ceiling with 4' x 8' tiles.  Although they used the orginal light fixtures, the new suspended ceiling has 4' x 4' tiles with a rippled texture and "revealed" edge that gives a new look to the room.  The crew employed a laser to ensure that the ceiling was exactly flat.  At each juncture they would hang a card that would reflect the light of the rotating laser.  Then they would adjust the tracks until the laser beam lined up properly with the card.

The walls in the Sunday School room, kitchen, bathrooms, and hall were repainted and the carpet in the children's area was replaced.  All the windows were washed and the floors were cleaned and sealed.  All the contents in the kitchen were cleaned and returned to the cabinets.

Today they are moving the furniture that had been stored in the trailers back into the Sunday School room.  The pulpit furniture will be set up near the East end of the room.  The metal chairs will we be set up for the congregation.  Some of the more comfortable wooden chairs will be at the front (hint, hint).  Worshipers can pick up hymnals and Bibles from book cases along the wall as they enter the room.  A coat rack is now located in the entry way at the West door (next to the Fire Company).  If you park in the Fire Company's lot please park in the designated places only and not directly in front of the garage doors.  Ed Smith of Smith Carpet and Furniture is going to bring a 9' x 12' carpet for the kitchen to give parents a place to take infants and toddlers during worship if the need arises.

The upright piano we had in the Education Building has been cleaned and returned.  However, because of its age and condition, and because we need to use the piano regularly for the next 8 or so months, the Women of the Church have decided to replace it using some of their funds.  We should have a new piano for our worship on January 28.  The condition of the church organ is still being evaluated.  The Baby Grand Piano was damaged by wet insulation that fell on and in it.  The cost to repair it may be as great as the cost of a new piano so the insurance company may choose to replace it instead.

The Insurance Adjuster has building engineers and archeticts drawing up plans to restore the Sanctuary to its original condition.  Alex R. Szeles Inc. and the company drawing up the plans will both give the insurance adjuster bids so that he can determine the cost of the project.  Then our Trustees will oversee phase two of our rebuilding:  the restoration of the sanctuary itself.

For the last month Trinity Lutheran Church has graciously hosted us.  Their worship has been at 9:00 a.m. and we have used the sanctuary for our worship at 10:30 a.m. during their Sunday School hour.  Some our younger children even went to their Sunday School classes.  We want to thank them again for the spirit of Christian Unity they demonstrated in hosting us.

We have received many encouraging letters and very generous donations both from individuals and from churches.  I would like to share one in particular.  Temple Ohev Sholom in Harrisburg sent a contribution and a letter.  They are also rebuilding because their santuary was damaged in October, 2000 by a fire started by a burglar.  They write, ". . . we know only too well the profound emotional, as well as financial toll that invariably accompanies this kind of calamity.  Your friends and neighbors wish you well in the rebuilding of your physical facility, not to mention your spiritual sanctuary."  We also wish them well as they rebuild, and we thank everyone for their continued encouragement and support.

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