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• Will there be car and traffic noise from the large window above the altar?

  • The windows are thermal and double paned. Both sides of the glass are ¼” thick and there is ½” of argon air space in between for a total thickness of 1”. It is doubtful road noise will be an issue due to the distance from the road and thickness of the window.

 

• When sitting in the sanctuary, what will we see? Cars, trucks?

  • The height of the large altar window will be about one foot above the current paneling on the front of the sanctuary wall. The view for the congregation will be upwards. It may include treetops but likely the sky and clouds.

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• Is stone front wall too close to the altar for the Pastor to move around easily?

  • This consideration is being addressed in the plan.

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• Why paint the wood ceiling!?

  • The Refresh team had several discussions about painting the ceiling. The purpose of painting the ceiling is to brighten the sanctuary, accentuate the wood beams, tone down the amount of wood, and most importantly bring your eye to the focal point of the cross. Please give this some consideration and the team hopes it will grow on you as it did with us!

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• What is the durability of the white paint or whitewash on the sanctuary ceiling?

  • The current wood ceiling has not been cleaned since the 1960’s! It is dirty and there are even handprints when you look closely. The goal is to lighten the ceiling and there may be more cost with cleaning, sanding, and staining the ceiling wood vs. painting. A high-quality product would be used on the ceiling to maximize wear and tear if painted.

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• Will the fellowship hall ceiling be painted also?

  • Yes!

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• Where are the organ speakers in the new plan?

  • The new sound system will incorporate the organ, band, and vocal systems into one which will be smaller and more discrete in appearance.

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• Will the stone walls extend to display flowers and other ornamentations?

  • Since we do not have flowers or ornaments every Sunday, it was felt it was better to use stands when indicated instead of a permanent display area.

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• Could the chapel area be only chairs to may it easier to re-arrange for visitations or meetings?

  • Non-stackable wood chairs will be supplementing the new pews. Storage of the chairs when not in use is a consideration. Pews in the chapel can be moved to the Sunday school wing temporarily if the space is needed.

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• How will the wood luxury vinyl plank handle nicks and scuffs? Will a puncture look white?

  • Stephanie McKenna Interior Design shared that vinyl has a very durable surface that has been proven to hold up to commercial traffic. If any black shoe scuffs occur, they can easily be removed with a tennis ball on a pole.

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• Could the door to the sacristy be moved from the altar area to the north-east side of the sacristy on the floor level?

  • The team thought this was a great idea and it has been added to the plan!

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• Will the green carpet color be trendy and need to be replaced in a few years?

  • This was given consideration by the team and the team has put trust in our interior decorator who acknowledges that green in some shades can be in the neutral realm. It will complement our wood tones well and be in harmony with nature all around us.

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• What will happen if we don’t get all the funds from the congregation?

  • Once the pledge cards are returned, the finance team and the Congregational Council will provide options of how this project could be funded. The congregation will have information about the plans for funding prior to the second vote to proceed with the project.

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• Why were handicap-accessible bathrooms not discussed in the plan?

  • The scope of this project was sanctuary refresh, and the issue did not surface in early discussions. The team is now aware of the concerns regarding handicap accessibility in the bathrooms, and our contractor along with David Frame are looking at possibilities for both the men’s and women’s bathrooms as well as the cost to add this to the project.

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• Will there be extra carpet purchased for patching? Will a new square match an older one?

  • Yes. Additional squares will be purchased. One of the reasons to switch to carpet squares is patching. Most commercial buildings use squares to replace worn areas easily. It is difficult to control light exposure to carpet but there is flexibility with square placement which can help camouflage a replacement square.

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• Why are we taking on such a big project?

  • Building maintenance has been put off for years and now needs attention. Many of the changes are related and the time to address them is now since one thing affects another. Our congregation is more than 165 years old. We are preparing our worship space for the generations to come to continue Christiania’s ministry.