We were very excited this morning to find that the joiners had been this week and the first structure of our building work has taken place. The curved area will provide seating, the far corner will be the kitchenette an the opposite side to the kitchenette will house the slope providing disabled access to the toilets in the tower base. You can see the location of these in the photos as well.
As part of the building works at the west end of church, a number of items have had to be removed to provide the space for the ramp, kitchenette and new ‘monastic style’ seating. Some of the old storage units are gone (which we have now a much better way of storing service sheets), 12 pews (sold to congregation members) and of course the old pipe organ.
Since installing the new digital Viscount Physis organ in 2010, our old pipe organ console has been in the tower base and the pipes still in situ on the first floor of the tower. Not wanting to simply throw out what could be a good organ for the right church, we endeavoured to find a new loving home for it.
Luckily the answer to this came – from Germany! A church needed a new organ and so in September two people (Oliver and Sonia)and a van came over to spend time meticulously dismantling the organ for transit over to Germany.
On Monday, the builders arrived. We were excited that the Mayor was able to join us to cut the first sod in our project to create toilets and a kitchenette at the back of church; creating a community space for the area.
As part of the project, 12 pews were sold to the congregation and these were on the agenda to be removed for the first day.
We will update you here throughout the project with photos and information about the project through to its completion in February 2015.
