By Father Casey

You know that feeling when something important is coming up, but it's far off in the future, so you put it out of your mind, but then the next thing you know, it's right on top of you, and you think, how did that get here so quickly? It happens to me a lot at church. Major days like Christmas and Easter will be months away until, all of a sudden, they're next week. Same with the start of the program year in September, or the beginning of Lent, or marriage ceremonies I've been invited to officiate. I'll enter them into my calendar and think, I have so much time until then…and then wake up one morning and realize the future is now. 

I wonder if this very thing may be happening regarding the renovations to the church and sacristy and our corresponding move to Roper Hall. We've been talking about it for years, and it's always seemed so far in the future – something that we would "one day" have to deal with. But in the mysterious way of time, the future is not the future anymore; it is now. This weekend and next are our last acts of worship in our church building mostly likely until December. The move is here! 

I continue to hear from folks who wonder what we will be doing and why it's necessary. After all, one can walk through our church, and everything seems lovely. So what could possibly be so broken that it takes months to fix and millions of dollars? Well, in hopes of helping everyone feel more knowledgeable, let me tell you about some of the issues we're addressing:

• Perhaps you've noticed the buckets in the north transept, which have been catching drips from our leaky roof for months. This summer, we'll be able to complete a roof replacement, which began two years ago and included the solar panels. The buckets won't be needed when we're finished.
• Have you noticed the many burned-out lightbulbs? No matter how often we replace them, they keep burning out because the wiring in our light fixtures is not designed for new generations of bulbs. Retrofitting the existing fixtures isn't practical, so we're installing new, custom chandeliers. The bulbs will all work properly when we're finished. 
• Have you attended a service at night, and unless you sit directly beneath the light fixture, you've struggled to see your bulletin? That's because our church has insufficient lighting. We are addressing this with the aforementioned new chandeliers and scores of new sconces and spotlights in the aisles. The church will be much better illuminated when we're finished. 
• Have you ever sat in a pew and noticed a screw sticking out from the book rack or felt the seat or back creak as you settled in? That's because the pews are mostly made of composite materials; at 50 years old, they have reached the end of their usable life. They are being replaced with solid wood pews made by a renowned church furnishings manufacturer in Pennsylvania, and the ends are customized for our church. Our pews will be comfortable and ready for the next 100 years when we're finished. 
• Have you ever struggled with hearing loss and couldn't hear the service well, no matter where you sat? We are installing an induction loop so congregants with hearing assistance devices will be able to hear the entire service, and we are updating old speakers, microphones, and amplification equipment to improve overall sound quality. The sound will be much better when we're finished.
• Have you ever been fearful using the steps to/from the altar? That's because depth perception on our all-white steps is very poor, so we're adding a contrasting edge to the steps to improve safety. The church will be safer when we're finished. 
• Have you ever come to church in a wheelchair or with a walker? Finding a good place to park is awkward for these folks, as we don't have a single, designed place in our church for chairs or walkers. Our new pew configuration reserves spaces for both. Meanwhile, we're also adding a ramp from the north transept to the chancel so non-ambulatory ministers and people can approach the altar. The church will be more hospitable when we're finished. 
• Have you ever attended a small service with only a few people and felt dwarfed by the large expanse of the nave? The new transept chapel will provide a much more intimate space for services of 50 or fewer people, including a gorgeous new side altar and moveable chairs. The church will be more versatile when we're finished. 
• Have you ever walked through the sacristy and seen the limitations our liturgical ministries face? From poor HVAC to inadequate storage for the Altar Guild to a leaky roof to generally tight quarters…we will address all these issues with a comprehensive renovation. The church will have a sacristy that reflects our values about worship when we're finished. 

I could go on, but hopefully, you get the point. This project is not just about vanity; it's about preparing our church for the future. We inherited this wonderful place from thoughtful, generous people, and we want those who inherit from us to be just as grateful.

It all begins in June, which means we have two more Sundays in the church before everything gets underway. And please know that we are still eagerly seeking help raising the funds to finish everything and fully provide for the Infrastructure Fund managed by the Endowment, which will fund future maintenance. Because the maintenance needs of the future – all those projects that are just on lists with far-off dates – they'll be here before we know it. One day, we'll wake up, and the future will be now, and I hope we'll have what we need to do what we will need to do.