As many of you have observed, the carpet in the front of the sanctuary has become very worn and the center aisle carpet did not take well to being cleaned. As a result, both areas are in need of some repair for our place of worship to have an appearance befitting its purpose, i.e. Praising God.
As we are not ready to engage in the total renovation of the sanctuary, the Admin SLG has recommended and the Worship SLG has approved replacing the existing carpet in the center aisle and front of the sanctuary (between the pews and the chancel area) with a carpet that compliments the existing carpet.
While we are at it, we have decided that it makes sense to address one other notable challenge to our worship space, i.e. the limiting distance between the chancel area and the pews. This space creates some challenges as it creates a road block at the piano during communion and when the congregation encircles the sanctuary. It limits where the choir can stand and where the band can be situated when they play together. Small groups that gather to worship in a circle at the front of the sanctuary also find the space to limit seating. To that end, we are planning to remove one front pew from the center pew sections so we can allow for another 3 feet of space between the pews and the Chancel. We will have the complimentary carpet installed in that area as well. There will still be an open first seat in the front pew (with a place for hymnal and bible to tuck in under the seat), it will just be a few feet back from where it is now.
There will be no change to the Chancel at this point but since we are making this change in the carpet, we thought that this was good time to give this additional space idea a try.
Beth Walker, Capital Campaign Construction Committee Chair
