Special thanks to Natalie Bradford for adorning our outdoor cross in time for Pascha!
Roy (Andrew) Martin
Roy (Andrew) Martin designed & is assembling the Kiots to hang the holy icons at church. He promised the ladies that they would be installed by Pascha (4/8).
Is it a library, a children's area, or a storage room?
This room started out filled with boxes. The men built a mezzanine storage area and moved a lot of stuff off the floor. The ladies moved some of the children's stuff into it, painted the floor, and bookshelves were installed. More to follow.
Street sign
This is the sign by the street. Fr. John is concerned that everything we do be beautiful, as befitting our service to the king of kings.
Sign by the church
This is the sign near the entry to the church.
Signage
We had trouble getting Norfolk's permission for the church signs, but it finally came through.
Skyrocket Cypress
Mark Mills planted three skyrocket cypress behind the cross. They grow tall and grow fast, and will provide a dark backdrop for the light cross.
The new cross
The new cross has been installed. We didn't have many options for the color, and Fr. John refused to have a black cross.
First Divine Liturgy.
This is the first Divine Liturgy in the new facility.
The iconostasis is gone.
The old iconostasis was purpose built for that space, and cannot be moved. So we tore it down.
The children had fun destroying the old benches
Mark Mills spent a lot of time building the benches. A passel of children with a five-pound sledgehammer made short work of them.
The last Divine Liturgy in the old space
Father is just beginning his sermon.
The new worship space.
We ended up putting the chairs near the back of the Nave. We placed the reader's stand on the left side. The choir stands will go on the right. The analogion will go at the front of the runner. (An analogion is a slanted stand where the icon for the day is placed for veneration.)
The back of the Sanctuary.
We are leaving most of the stuff in the old space for now; the altar won't come over until after Wednesday's Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
The Sacristy
Fr. John was very good at saying what went to storage and what was meant for the sacristy. We still need to install the hanging rods for the vestments.
The Purge
Susanna Carlson is purging the music folders. We got two boxes worth of old liturgical texts out of the folders.
Finishing up the chairs
Susanna Carlson and Ray Rusnak finish up on the chairs. We experimented with the placement. Too far forward and they would serve as a psychological barrier.
Replacing the brass bottom glides
The (free) chairs came with brass bottom guides. We had to pull them off and replace them with felt so they wouldn't scratch up the new floors.
Hauling things into the new church.
Kathy Wilson is another tireless worker. Karl Rusnak is in the background. Other's who helped were Jim Kalumba and Daniel Riccio.
Cleaning up
Susanna is vacuuming up the debris. We will still be holding services in this space; the last service in this space will be The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
Taking down the icon shelves
I love work. I could watch it all day.
James hauling another load.
James Beecham is tireless.
Mark Mills taking down the icon shelves
Mark Mills build the shelves for the existing church. We may be able to reinstall them in the Fellowship Hall of the new space.
Thor lends a hand.
Nicholas loves the five-pound sledge.
Packing up the church
Today we take nearly everything from the sacristy back.
Certificate of Occupancy
We got our Certificate of Occupancy. Things are proceeding apace.
Panorama of the Nave with the Sanctuary
Panorama of the Fellowship Hall
The sanctuary
The drinking fountains
The cross is installed
Closer view of the cross
The stairs for the Sacristy exit
The side of the church
The janitor's closet
Toward the Sanctuary.
Nearly everything is done. The molding needs to go down and various electrical plates installed.
From the Ambon
Some of the tables and chairs people are donating are beginning to arrive.
Almost there.
The fellowship hall is looking good.
Minor trim work needed.
Look at how much room we'll have.
The ladies restroom
Changing station
Both bathrooms have a changing station
The back of the church is looking good.
Air Conditioning
The Air Conditioning Units have been installed.
Things are looking good.
The view from the cheap seats. So to speak. We are getting close. It looks like our first service in the new building will be the 5th Sunday of Lent, known as St. Mary of Egypt Sunday. Or for the secular among us, April 2nd 2017.
The Nave is looking good
Take a look at that nice flooring. The chandelier looks good, too.
Sanctuary Flooring
The flooring is installed in the sanctuary.
The Subflooring
The new subflooring is going in.
The Ladies room floor
The Ladies room floor is in.
The Men's Room Floor
The floor is installed in the Men's room, too.
Mechanical Room
The door frames are installed. If you look carefully, you'll see the doors in the room, ready for installation.
The tile is going in.
Things are looking better and better.
Test for Echo
Listen to how acoustically 'live' the room feels, with a nice decay.
Painting is in progress.
The Nave has been painted, as has the church entrance. Everything is taped off, and the painting should be complete next week.
Entry Lights
The entry lights are installed. They come on automatically when it gets dark.
Rear Lights
The rear lighting is installed as well.
Pad for the A/C units
The pad for the A/C units has been installed.
Side entrance
The porch is being built for the side entrance.
Physical Labor Therapy
Fr. John finds Physical Labor relaxing. Oh, and the heat is finally on.
Entrance Doors
All ready for the three lights outside the entrance to be installed.
The kitchen cabinets have been installed
Due to the expense, we were unable to install any more than this. Hopefully, as our finances improve, we'll be able to install more.
Counters in the Fellowship Hall
The counters have been installed in the Fellowship Hall.
The Hallway to the Bathrooms
As you enter the church, to your right is the hallway leading to the bathrooms. Note the ceiling tiles are beginning to be installed.
The Men's Room
The Fellowship Hall
This picture was taken from the front corner of the fellowship hall. What you see covered in plastic are the new chairs for the sanctuary. The pillar is the support for the engineered beam we had to install to hold up the roof. To the back of the picture is the area where the sink, stove, and refrigerator will go.
The Fellowship Hall
The fellowship hall is coming along. They are beginning to install the ceiling tiles.
The Church Office
This is the Church office. It's not large, but it will suffice.
The choir area
Dave Drillock was concerned that we might not have electrical outlets near where the choir will stand. We'll have two
The Sacristy
This is the Sacristy. Not a lot of work has been done in here.
From the Ambon
This is the view Fr. John will see.
The Nave in Progress
The drywall is in. The taping and sanding is coming along.
The drywall is almost done
Work is going well. The drywall is almost complete in the Nave.
Men at work
The ceiling drywall is being installed. The work is going slowly because the gas hasn't been turned on. You can tape and mud the walls, but it takes a long time to dry in cold weather.
Men at Work 2
The insulation is in, and the drywall is going up. You can get a sense of how spacious the new facility will be.
The Dark Side of the Church
This is the side most of us will never see. However, you can see that the exterior door into the mechanical room has been closed up, and the siding is complete.
Windows
The siding is complete, as are the windows for the Nave.
New Windows in the Nave
The building previously had windows that were boarded over for some reason. We have reinstalled those windows and added a couple more. Because of the tall trees near the building, that side of the church is often in shade. Still, having some natural light is a good thing. This side of the building also had a deck that had to be torn down.
New Siding
The new siding, flashing, and soffits are going up. The siding is a light blue/gray color. We decided against white because the white siding that was available was more expensive. The front of the building is done; the rest is still in progress. The temperature has to be above 40 degrees or the vinyl siding will crack. The temperature has been so variable lately that it is holding back progress. We are in conversations with metal workers and hope to install a large, metal byzantine cross in front of the building.
The Mechanical Room
We were concerned about the lack of storage. Then because of where the electrical was, we needed to make the mechanical room larger. Which forced us to expand the Sacristy so the Sanctuary was centered in the space. Voila, more storage.
The Sanctuary is in progress
The Sacristy is to the left, and the mechanical room/storage to the right. Because of where the electrical came into the building, the mechanical room had to be larger than expected. Thus, a larger sacristy. (More storage!) The actual sanctuary will be almost the same width as what we have now, but it will be about two feet deeper.
The Sacristy is to the left, and the mechanical room/storage to the right. Because of where the electrical came into the building, the mechanical room had to be larger than expected. Thus, a larger sacristy. The actual sanctuary will be almost the same width as what we have now, but it will be about two feet deeper.
New Windows in the Nave
There was no natural light in the Nave. Now there is.
Bad Idea #2
During demolition, we quickly discovered the shed roof over the fellowship hall was under engineered. We had to install a new beam to hold up the roof. We'll end up with one column in the middle of the fellowship hall.
Framing the new bathroom
Originally, the ladies bathroom was in the back of what will be our nave. We took it down, and are building a new one in the back of the fellowship hall.
Joining old and new
We took down the old men's room and ran new lines to the new ladies room.
Fr. John with his father-in-law, Gunnar
Gunnar came to town and help with the demolition.
New Plumbing
Because the building was build on a slab, we had to cut channels in the slab to run the new plumbing.
Gil tossing insulation
The kids soon learned why no one wants to deal with fiberglass insulation.
John Basil on trash detail
Hauling bins to the dumpster was a huge ordeal. We filled four 40 yard dumpsters.
Heidi "helping' with demo
Even the little one's want in on the fun.
Kris looking smug
The building had a fireplace where our sanctuary would be. Taking it out removing the sheetrock and then unscrewing all the metal studs.
The ladies of demo
We couldn't have done it without them.
Susanna and Diane
The ladies never stopped. Perhaps they used their repressed anger at the patriarchy to give them energy.
Mark Mills
We took down the walls marked with an "X". Mark had recently broken his foot, and was working with a walking cast.
Fr. John preparing to discipline the congregation
We are a disobedient bunch.
Tom Wilkens taking down the old kitchen
The old kitchen was located where our sacristy and sanctuary is going to be. We had to take it down.
Bad idea #1
We had planned on removing the subflooring and having polished concrete flooring. However, the cement floor wasn't poured level; it was a foot lower at one end than the other. On to plan B -- adding additional subflooring and putting down vinyl tile.
Ben Andrus at closing
Ben Andrus with the building key. Now the hard work begins. We agreed to do the demolition ourselves to save money.
Fr. John at closing
Fr. John with the key at closing. We found a bank-owned building selling for $300K, well below market value.
736 Sheppard Ave
This building is over twice the size of our current facility. We will be putting on new siding, adding new windows, replacing all the hearing and cooling, replacing all the electrical, and reconfiguring the inside. We have over 50 parking spots. The parking lot needs some repairs, as does the siding. The interior was configured to be a fellowship hall and classrooms, so we will have to gut the interior. But for $300K, and about $600K below market value, we got a steal. The Diocese of the South has been a big help in making this purchase affordable for our small parish.
1065 E Bayview Blvd
This is our current building. We have reached our maximum capacity; we cannot grow without more space. We have been raising money for years, but most church buildings go on the market for $1 million and up.