April Capital Improvements Update

Spring, as they say, has sprung, and we’ve had a lot of positive energy around here as a result!

The new plants on the north side of the lot are in full bloom, and now that the weather has warmed up, additional planting, pruning, and irrigation installation will begin along the 103rd Avenue side of the church. Kris Coates, our landscape designer, is already planning where to put the most recent donations of iris and cactus.

The upholstery fabric for the chairs in the Fireside Room, after being held up in the dockworkers’ strike, has finally arrived and looks good. Desert Flower Interiors is hard at work finishing up the chairs; they may all be done by the time you read this! By the way—Sinda Moore, the owner of Desert Flower, is the decorator who suggested painting the fireplace in the Fireside Room the striking blue it is now.

Redecorating is ongoing in the south entrance to the Sanctuary, too. Directed donations have enabled us to paint an accent wall, slipcover the chairs, and reframe the portraits of senior pastors that hang there so they will all match. (Thanks to Lee Carlson for the great paint job!) We have also hung two new carvings by Kenneth Lipp in the south entrance; the Presbyterian logo was donated by Janie Williams, and the “Peace” carving on the wall behind the Welcome Desk was donated by Rev. Richard Zabriskie and his wife Karen.

In addition, this year’s spring cleaning took place in March. The windows on the campus were professionally washed, inside and out, and the curtains and drapes washed (by Vonda Hagen) or dry-cleaned. Tina and the new Busy Bees group cleaned window tracks, dusted everything in sight, spot-cleaned the carpet in Swain Hall, and generally spruced things up. All of the Swain Hall carpet will be professionally cleaned in June.

And, the votes are in—the center of the courtyard cross will be a circle of patterned granite, set in concrete. We’ve also received the remainder of the bricks needed to complete the east arm of the cross, so we will FINALLY be holding the courtyard dedication in the very near future.

Last but not least—now that the cleaning and the capital improvements are well on their way, we’re going to expand our efforts to spread the word about our church. Debbie Thompson papered the neighborhood with flyers for the Good Friday fish fry, and the Worship and Education Commission has approved spending part of our publicity budget this year to purchase the addresses of new residents moving into the 10 nearest zip codes. I will mail those folks a welcome packet including the church brochure and the Fellowship Dinner schedule—and yes, the Fellowship Dinner subcommittee is already working on the 2015-2016 schedule and programs.

Don’t keep all this good news to yourself; bring a guest to church to share the joy of Easter (or at least a fellowship dinner)!

~Beth Mabee