Blue Sky Plans for COTM

Quite a while ago I wrote on this blog about the "Blue Sky" project. Since even before I came there has been talk about some renewal of the physical church plant. Some of the ideas proposed are relatively minor cosmetic improvements (replacing the chairs and repainting the sanctuary, for example). But I was encouraged to look a bit beyond that to see if there are other architectural things we might to do to make our place more inviting, missional, and theologically expressive of the Gospel.

So down the road we went. Now we have a bunch of different related projects that form a kind of wish list. I doubt we'll do all of them, but it is worthwhile talking about things that seem out of reach, too. So... Here's what we've come up with so far...

1. New Chairs
2. Repaint the Sanctuary
3. Replace the Carpets in the Chancel, Lounge, and Sunday School Rooms
4. Update Exterior Signage and Landscaping
5. Paint the Murals in the Sunday School Room
6. Renovate the Chancel
7. Enhance the Entrance to the Church
8. Add A Baptismal and Memorial Garden on the South Side of the Church

As I said, we know it's unlikely that we'll suddenly come upon the cash to do all of these projects, but it's worth exploring what is possible in a clear blue sky of potentials!

New Chairs
Melana has sourced several possible chairs to replace the 1977 Steelcase chairs we currently have. One option is the relatively conventional church chairs now is use at places like SSJD, St. Augustine of Canterbury, etc. They look kind of like this...

Currently, the most important features that people identify are that the chairs should be stackable, have some place to put hymnals, have some way of hooking together, and should be tough enough to take many years' abuse. Sauder has lot of possibilities for this kind of chair.

Melana showed us some other possibilities as well, such as another chair from Steelcase that is a bit updated from what we have now. She is also fond of the Moller Church Chair.

Repainting the Sanctuary
A fairly obvious face-lift thing to do: repainting the interior. Right now it's gray with a whitish accent color. Melana suggests a simplified pallet in which white would dominate. Not just any white, but a specific white that would work just right.

Replace the Carpets in the Chancel, Lounge, and Sunday School Rooms
Melana showed us some samples from Interface, which is a Canadian firm that has led the way in both Green Manufacturing and in using carpet squares laid down much like tile. One of the several advantages of the carpet squares is that if one gets badly stained you can simply pull it up and replace the the one tile. She has ideas about a more fun design for the Sunday School Room and then something more subdued for the lounge and worship spaces.


Update Exterior Signage and Landscaping
Here's where things start to get really interesting. Everybody agrees that we need better signage. The reason that people notice the Hare Krishna Temple across the street and not us is that they have better signage! So check this conceptual drawing out:


A nice big banner to take advantage of the already-existing horizontal pole sticking out from the bell tower. At one time, a giant rainbow flag hung from there--but as we all know the meaning of symbols change over time!

In this one you can see Melana's concept of having some kind of horizontal sign to complement the vertical banner. It would have some kind of permanent element (our name, perhaps) and then some kind of LED element that would replace the function of our current acrylic letters. The cross would remain, and the three elements would be designed to work together like this...

In terms of landscaping, here is a version of the site-plan with Melana's idea drawn over it. The original design is "ghosted" underneath.

In this drawing, Avenue Road runs along the left edge and Dupont is along the bottom edge. The original plans from the 1976 Renovation indicate that much of the steps on the left side of this drawing (the east end of the church) were supposed to be removed, but that was never done. Melana proposes taking out some of those steps and basically cleaning up the lines of the planter beds. This plan would also replace the rotting railroad ties with more attractive stone (probably matching or complimenting the church). Plants going into the bed would be low-maintenance varieties.


Paint the Murals in the Sunday School Room
I've been wanting to spruce up the "Godly Play Room" since I came. Susan Bleasby has developed a marvelous concept for two huge murals on either end of the room. Here they are again...


It's the Kingdom of Heaven on one end and God's Kingdom on Earth on the other end. We would also, of course, replace the florescent tubes in the ceiling with more attractive hanging lights of some kind and replace the carpet.

Renovate the Chancel
Chancel renovation is a bit trickier. From this drawing you can see where Melana and I have gotten so far in our discussions...

So here the the current raised portion of the chancel has been removed and replaced with an oval-shaped platform on which the altar sits. This platform would have a rail for people to kneel for communion. It would be movable (perhaps on locking casters of some kind). So it could be brought out of the corner and into the center of the church, for instance, or simply centered under the stained glass window.

In the drawing Melana also proposed a second platform for the ministers to sit and to hold the Ambo. This is still a work in progress, but it shows how we are trying to make the space more flexible and resolve some of the issues of the current chancel (which is too far into the corner and too angular--the priest ends up facing an unpopulated corner of the room rather than the congregation).

Another important element Melana is thinking about has to do with the two curving walls in the corner behind the altar. She thinks we should creat a subtle light effect by painting the back side of one of the pannels. Light coming in from an existing window would then bounce off the paint and create a color wash on the front side of the other curved wall. (Those who know our church well will understand what I mean). It's a great idea.

Removing the two curved walls would mean abandoning the radial orientation of the church to that corner entirely, which would require redoing the ceiling and a host of other problems. But this chancel idea is definitely worth working on some more...

Enhance the Entrance to the Church

In this plan you see the main entry to the church as it is now, with Melana's proposal superimposed. People enter through the bottom doors, dog leg to the left, then swing around a 90 degree corner to the left and then again to the right (where it gets really narrow). Chief among the problems in that the proper entrance to the church is not clear from the outside of the building. Melana thinks that a nice canopy of some kind would make the entrance unambiguous. (Cf. Rosedale United Church's new glass canopy designed--I believe--by Ian McGillivray). The pink block shows where the canopy could go.

Melana also aligned the two doors and enlarged the area where you make the left into the church. On this drawing the green shows the amount of space currently there for making the turn left, while the aquamarine color shows how her proposed changes would enlarge the space and make for a more proper vestibule.

Add A Baptismal and Memorial Garden on the South Side of the Church
As Melana dreamed about possibilities, she noted an unused portion of land on the south side of the church. She then remembered how I felt a strong need to do something to architecturally emphasize baptism more than the current font allows. What she came up with was a garden in that space with a baptismal pool large and deep enough for adult full-immersion baptism and also a memorial wall with niches for the interment of ashes. Thus baptism and burial are linked (as they properly ought to be) and also baptism is located at the intersection of the church and the world (as it ought to be). The Garden would be screened off from the street, but large enough to have a serene outdoor kind of feeling.

The challenge was then connecting that garden to the church interior. There needs to be sufficient continuity to link the baptismal pool outside with the font inside. There also needs to be a sense that the sanctuary space continues into the outdoor space. So she proposes a set of three door under the already existing three windows on the south side of the church. They would be glass--acoustically and thermally opaque yet visually transparent. She imagines them pivoting on a point a few inches from the inside edge.

This is brilliant. I don't know if we can do it, but my God would it be beautiful! Imagine the feeling of sitting in this little urban oasis with the pool and the burial niches and the gorgeous stone of the church. Imagine doing baptisms out there! I love it.

So...
Now for the practical stuff. We need to introduce these ideas to the congregation. We need to hear people's ideas and develop the the plans further in response. We need to think about costs and scope. Not to mention what kind of permits are required for what kind of change. It's daunting, but exhilarating. Apparently mine is a kind of "go big or go home" kind of ministry moment. I suppose this is what "entrepreneurial ministry" looks like in established Anglican churches. Cool. I can do that.

What I have to be careful about is that this doesn't replace the other kinds of evangelism and mission we are about. I'm very keen to develop some other initiatives. This may cover the "Attractional Evangelism" piece, but I also want to develop program that will help people grow in Discipleship ("Process Evangelism") and found new groups that incarnate God's love in this neighborhood ("Relational Evangelism"). So much to do. I'm praying god will send me more people to help. It's really amazing. Praise be to God. Time for supper...

-t