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God has blessed us with more members than our current facilities can contain. Please check back from time to time to see how plans for our new church are progressing. On December 8, Steve Sidorick met with the parish council and outlined his services for the parish in a design-build capacity. The council has contracted with Steve to begin the process of weighing our options whether to remodel or to build on site. Serving on the Building Committee are Bob Roberts, Mark Radomsky, Darren Torbic and Judy Fryncko. They are charged with meeting under Steve's guidance and preparing a proposal for the parish council for consideration by the beginning of March 2005. First meeting of the Building Committee was held on December 20. Second meeting, January 4: Examined options to remodel vs. to build a new building. Discussed optimum size needed in new facilities. Third meeting, February 4: Discussed acquisition of additional property and met with Mr Sidorick. June 6-10: Week of Prayer and Fasting for the American Cancer Society's deliberation and guidance for our parish. August: Basic design concept, Option B, to remodel, the current facility is now under review by Building Committee. Beginning September 14, after parish council review, design packets will be available to all parishioners for their written feedback. September: Parish survey distributed for feedback on initial plan. November: Borough has given preliminary approval for our basic concept. Feedback from parish and borough is being used to produce a revision of the basic concept.
December: We met with Christopher Kunes on 20, 7:00 PM. He is willing to enter into a Design/Build capacity with the parish.
January: We met again with Mr Kunes, on January 10. He presented us with a basic cost estimate for the remodeling project. On January 20 the Building Committee met to prioritize needs and to consider possible finishes. Mr Kunes met with us again on January 31. We narrowed our focus and asked Mr Kunes to present a firm estimate of cost for the February 8 Parish Council meeting. All parishioners aged 18 and over having fulfilled their Paschal obligations of Confession and Communion as well as having been active in the parish for the preceding three months should attend and vote. A quorum of 40 is necessary to conduct business. A parish majority of 41 is necessary to pass the proposal. April 9--By a vote of 61 in favor with one abstention, the Voter's Meeting overwhelmingly approved hiring Chris Kunes to remodel and renovate the church building. We've only just begun, by God's grace. April 27--Our contract with Chris Kunes was signed. Expect construction to begin around July 1. June 16--Groundbreaking is scheduled for Sunday July 9 immediately following Divine Liturgy. A light luncheon will be provided in the parish hall afterwards. Chris Kunes anticipates his work will begin that same week. August 30--Work has not begun to date because of some unanticipated delays in receiving permits. Please be praying that this is remedied shortly. September 11, 2006--Demolition began today on the project. A few permit issues remain to be resolved. But we are now under way! September 27, 2006--Demolition is drawing to a close. In the rear, excavation is complete with footers having been poured today. Block is to be installed tomorrow. On the front, excavation will be completed tomorrow. Inside, you see how high the new ceiling will be in the nave. We won't believe that we are in the same building when this is all completed. October was a busy month. The new additions were added and bricked. The new roof was installed. The basement partitions were built. And overall, we can begin to see what the new church is going to look like. Chris Kunes's estimate of when we could occupy our "new" church was cautiously set for December 15. In fact, on December 14, we passed our code inspection. Our first service was the Royal Hours held on Friday, December 22. It was a joyous Christmas indeed. Now in the New Year, we are getting used to worshiping in our new church home. Virtually the only visible similarity to the old church in the interior is oak molding and trim in the nave which was salvaged. The cathedral ceiling effects a spacious feeling complemented by the hardwood floors. Our narthex is large enough to do Litya, Memorial Services and Baptisms. The hall and kitchen are a total transformation. We hope to have the iconostas installed by late spring and the cupola placed on the roof this coming summer. Keep us in your prayers and come to worship with us soon. |