Category: New Building

Our wonderful kitchen is taking shape and ready for use! The trustees, volunteers, and building committee have done a fantastic job installing the last fixtures. We are also thankful for a recent donation of a commercial refrigerator and freezer!

Additionally, the kitchen has also passed the health department inspection, and it is ready for use! So THIS SUNDAY we will be using it to serve Brunch after church. We’ll have a great meal of pulled pork and sides all prepared by our fantastic UMW! We hope you can join us for a great meal, and for the new series starting this Sunday. We’re taking a look at the resurrection appearances of Christ after Easter!

The sale on the old building, on Seminary street, closed yesterday afternoon.  Our congregation began in 1833, and started to use that site, on seminary street in 1909.  It served our church very well for many years and many renovations.  We are thankful to God for the history of our congregation and our time there.  We carry, into our new church home, many great memories of worshipping in that space. 

In fact, we have carried a lot more than just memories. You can see remembrances of our story, and even echoes of the previous sanctuary all throughout our new space!

We are so profoundly to our trustees and building committee for their passionate and dedicated work.  We are thankful to the legacy team who have made our church history an important piece of the testimony of our church, and we are thankful to you for going on this journey with us! 

The money from the sale of the old church has been a part of the building project from day one.  Look to see it being put to work in finishing the parking lot, and helping to construct an out-building. That building will house: important supplies, our excellent Swap Room ministry, and an array of solar panels to lessen the carbon footprint of our new ministry space! 

It continues to be the goal of our church to make this new place a sanctuary of hope, where the goodness of God the Father, the salvation offered through Jesus Christ, and the blessing of the Holy Spirit is on display, and gracefully offered to all who we meet in ministry.  The work of the church continues in a new place.  We are thankful to God for where we have been, and for where we are.

As the we get ready to close on the old property this week, we really want to thank our Trustees, UMW and Volunteers for their great work this weekend. All came together on Friday and Saturday to move the last pieces of equipment from the old location to the new, and to do final preparations of the site for sale.

We hope to have another post this week about the sale of the old building. It’s been a busy time for the facilities of the church, and we are so thankful for all of the volunteer support, and for the presence of the Holy Spirit in the work of the church!

Blessings to all our readers as the season of Lent Begins! We haven’t had a building update in a while but we have two great steps to celebrate.

Village Zoning Approval

We are very thankful for the village approval of the rezoning for the old ministry site. This is an important step toward the sale of the old location, and we do have an interested buyer. Please pray for all to go well in that process as the sale of the old building does two important things for our church: It provides important funds for the finish of the new project, and it reduces the church expenses (no longer needing to pay utilities and insurance for the old site). The sale of the old location is a vital part of the plan for the new one, this step with village zoning is an important step forward to celebrate. May the Lord continue to be in the work, and thank you for your prayers.

Progress on the Kitchen!

Here are some excellent photos of a few of our trustees at work in the new kitchen. It won’t be too long before we can return to offering some food and fellowship based ministries again.

How great it will be to host pot-lucks, chili suppers, spaghetti suppers, breakfasts on Sunday Morning, and dinners on Wednesday night once again! Fellowship is such a vital part of who we are as a church, and it will be a blessing to be able to set the fellowship table again!

As we enter into Lent, we do so with thanksgiving for the good work of God, and we hope that you’ll join us in renewing our faith and our dedication to the Lord these next 40 days till Easter!

Something old… Something new…

As we get ready to have our first communion service in the new building this Sunday it’s a good time to take a look at some of the ways we are preserving our history! Communion is a sacrament the church has been keeping for 2000 years, and to host that old and sacred sacrament in our newly consecrated building is very exciting! We’ve been working hard to preserve our history in the new building and you can see that taking shape as our chapel is coming together!

You can see we have brought over the old pulpit and altar, as well as two pews from the previous building. The room is beginning to take shape, but isn’t finished. It is also planned to host the beautiful wooden cross from the old building stairwell, and seven more pieces of stained glass that have been reproduced from the S Seminary location. Visitors can see some of that glass on display already in a hallways of the new building.

Also, as you walk in, we have designed our welcome desk to feature some of the really interesting historical pieces we discovered as we did the work of packing up and moving from there to here. As you look below you can see

• Two historical communion sets (the one with the glasses is sturdy enough to carry on horseback!)
• A Bible that once sat on the altar, before the one we use now (which is planned to be retired for a new one soon).
• A stack of united Methodist hymnals that go back to the 1800’s! We’ve been singing God’s praises for a long time.
• AND a bicentennial bottle of Coca-Cola from 1984 featuring a United Methodist Circuit Rider (preacher on horseback). Our area once served by Peter Cartwright (1785-1872) who was one of the most famous circuit riders in American Methodist History. Many thanks to the donor who shared this fun piece of history with us!

As we gather for communion and remember who we are in Christ, it is a blessing to have these historical, and fun, items to help us remember that we humbly and gratefully take our part in the ongoing work of the church.

We have had our third big move of equipment from the old location to the new. Our High School youth group, and a team of great volunteers all pitched in last knight and moved a trailer full of equipment, boxes and furniture to the new location!

Our first trip of moving ministry equipment over was a huge success. We will be having several more throughout the next two weeks and we want to say a huge thank you to last night’s volunteers and for any and all who are pitching between now and Consecration Sunday!

On October 31st we will host a consecration service at 9:30 AM to dedicate the new building to the ministry of Christ and the sharing of the good news!

As we near the finish line, we want to thank our great volunteers from yesterday, who poured the last piece of concrete that was needed for us to open!

The next Step for all is THIS SATURDAY. It is a very important work day, as we will be finishing the last pieces of the building that need to be completed before our inspection.

The work begins at 7 AM and we invite you to bring along your tools, especially gloves for weeding and carrying construction materials, also anything to help move some dirt around the landscaping areas.

Even though we start at 7, we’ll work through a good portion of the day and if you cannot join us for all of it, please feel free to stop by when you can!

Thanks for all your prayer and support as we finish these last tasks!

The wood is up for the cross on the entryway. It’s one of the Pastor’s favorite features of the new building. All enter through the sign of the cross, for it is Christ who brought us together, Christ’s sacrifice that saves us, and Christ’s example that inspires us to ministry!

The sound equipment is being delivered and set up, take a look at our new sound board, piano, and setup for the worship team (both on stage). This system is built for All Types of church music, from a band-led modern service, to a choir-led choral service, to a simple hymn sing. It continues to be our goal to offer a wide variety of music at Downs UMC because we have a wide variety of people, and we connect to God in many different ways.

Just a few things are being moved in now as well. We have to be thoughtful about what equipment and items are brought to the new building for a variety of reasons. If you are excited about moving your ministry equipment over, PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE. We are asking at this time that all moving be coordinated through the church office, they have a detailed plan and schedule (and some of it needs to wait until other building tasks are completed).

And we want to thank a couple of great volunteers who put some good work in designing the first sign for our church. You may see this up and installed sometime this week!

The church is working hard to try and achieve an October 31st “first Sunday”, but at this time there are still several variables that could change that date. We will let you know as soon as we can be sure when our first worship service will be. That first service will be a very special morning which will start at the old building and then continue in the new one. Thanks to all of our volunteers putting in so much time and effort! May God continue to bless your work, and may the Holy Spirit inhabit these final parts of the building project!

Great work done this week by our volunteers! Some more important parts of the concrete work have been finished now, including the entryway! There is some important drying/curing time for this work and then we move on to parking lot grading and last minute work before final building inspections.

We hope it is exciting to see your gifts at work, and a project that brings joy to all who have been working on it. May the Lord continue to bless the work with safety, and our big thanks to all who are working in so many ways: construction, music and sound, publicity, and so much more!

We look forward to a consecration service later in the fall!

We have had some great progress on the concrete today. The south front sidewalk, the entry to the building, and the patch under the awning are all finished.

If the weather holds this week you should see even more concrete finished! Additionally we have some cleanup work that individuals and ministries can participate in this week, in preparation for moving in. Please contact the church office if you’d like to help with dusting/vacuuming, and preparing a section of the building for move-in.

Thank you again to our volunteers, and to to each of you. This project would not be happening without your support. May the Lord bless you, may the Holy Spirit bless these last bits of finish work, and prepare our hearts to consecrate a new place of worship this fall!

And MORE Concrete!

This particular piece of concrete is very important for setting our opening day! The entryway off of State Route 150 has to be poured in two sections (so we can still drive in if needed) and each section has to have a good curing time before it’s usable.

Very exciting to see the entryway being poured today! It brings us another important step closer to the consecration service. Thank you to all of our fantastic volunteers, and please continue to pray for the ministry of the church and ask the blessing of God upon the work that we are doing to build the kingdom!

We hope to see you this week at church (9:30 AM in person), but even if you are away or joining us online, we invite you to join us in celebration. God is good, all the time!

Some great concrete work going on this week!

And back at the old location we’re busy packing up the offices and the church supplies in the basement and kitchen.

The back lighting is being finished for the sanctuary stained glass and the Ad Board is busy discussing some really exciting worship questions like which symbols are most important to us and need to be utilized in the new building’s worship service. It is good work, and exciting. If you’d like to help just contact the church office: office@downsumc.org or 378-2651

We continue to ask for your prayers, please pray that God will be in these last steps of transition and finish-work. Please pray for the Lord to bring a fresh wind and fresh fire into the hearts of the people of God. And may that revival be a blessing also to our village in the name of Christ.

Also a big thank you to all of our fantastic volunteers! Without you this would simply not be possible. Thank you for sharing your skills, your time, your gifts, and your talents!

Our attention has been focused lately on Vacation Bible School which was a fantastic success. We were able to host an excited crew of kids this week (often around 50) and we were able to do so safely, with many portions of VBS happening outside due to the great weather! Thanks to our many volunteers, and to each participating family.

While that was going on though, we had some concrete work done by our excellent volunteers. Take a look below at the back walkway, the AC pad, and the small patio for the entrance into the Nursery playground!

This week the UMW is kicking off our packing by starting with the kitchen! If you would like to join the UMW in packing (starting Monday) simply call the church office 378-2651, or email office@downsumc.org Watch your email and this website for more upcoming packing and moving opportunities!

Rain, rain go away. Come again another day! What a large amount of water we have been experiencing lately! With our concrete pours being the next big step, we are very much experiencing a rain delay on any outside work.

The inside however has a few new finishes that we’d love to share. The building is now completely carpeted.

Additionally we are very thankful for an exciting new donation that the church has received. A new baby grand piano for the new location!.

The funds for this gift for the new worship service were provided entirely through the Patricia H. Roscoe Memorial Fund.  Pat Roscoe was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother and served her local church community over the years by teaching Sunday school and playing piano for the children’s choir.  She instilled the need to serve the Lord with the love of music to her children.  

This new building is the work of so very many people giving thankfully and sacrificially to create a new space for the work of God in the Tri-Valley Area. Thank you to each and every one of you for all that you have done to make this project possible. Each room, beam, and piece of equipment is there because of a faithful gift to the church. It is truly a work of the people.

Thank you for your continued support, and for your prayers. Let’s ask the Lord for a few dry days so we can wrap up the concrete work.

The next step will be the big-clean before we finally take possession of the building and can start the move-in! Right now we are looking at a post-Labor Day opening, but we hope to be working inside the new building by August.

Exciting new steps are being accomplished indoors. We know you can’t see it from the road, but take a look inside and out at the good work going on!

ALSO THE STAINED GLASS IS IN!

But this is all we’re showing online, just enough to get a look at the trim and a corner. Can you tell which window this is?

Why no online pictures? Because we are in unanimous agreement that the first time you see it, should be in person, and we’re opening the building for walkthroughs in July (keep an eye on the bulletin)

Our Awesome Volunteers!

Thanks again to everyone who helped us prepare for the new carpet in the building. It looks great, and we were so glad for your help on Saturday!

The New Carpet Looks Fantastic

Please continue to keep the project in prayer as the work continues. We are nearing a fall finish line! We are so thankful for your support in prayer, in volunteer hours, and in gifts. God is doing great things already through this project, and we are building a house of blessing for our town. Thank you so much for being a part of this project. May it be a place of the Good News of Jesus Christ, a place of hope, of church family, and the healing power of God.

Checklist of What’s Left to Do

• Pour the concrete entrance to 150
• Pour the concrete sidewalks, handicap spots, and under the portico
• Finish the Sound System Install
• Carpet on the stage and finish final trim
• Finish the kitchen
• Final work on the parking lot
• And a few more odds and ends before we are ready to get some volunteers in and begin to practice in the new space!

Some great work has been going on at the new building in the past week. We have received delivery of the chairs for the chapel!

We are also seeing some great work on the kitchen. Here you can see the hood and one of the sinks are installed!

The work on the back wall of the stage continues. We are creating a great place for our restored stained glass to be showcased:

And Just this last Sunday after church, a call was made for volunteers to help dust the large HVAC return ducts before the go up to the ceiling. Thanks to everyone who came and helped!

There will be more opportunities to serve in the coming weeks. We have ceiling work to finish, and more cleaning to do. Please keep an eye on your church announcements: bulletin, website, facebook, and your email.

Thanks for all of your support and each part of the project brings us closer to an opening day!

Progress on the exterior has slowed down a bit as we wait for the right weather to do some very important concrete pours. Warmer nights and dryer days are needed to pour the entrance from 150 (which will be done in 2 parts each with a six week curing time), and then the HVAC pad, the sidewalks, entryways, and handicapped parking spots.

Inside though we are taking some great steps to continue to finish the building. You can see here the ceiling in the fellowship hall is now completely finished, and as the HVAC work progresses, other ceilings of the rooms will be finished as well. Notice also the stove for the kitchen just waiting to be moved in once the kitchen flooring is finished!

The process of framing the stage has begun and it’s an exciting piece of work to be talking about! Here the framing of the stained glass windows has just begun.

And in this next photo we have the screens hung, and you can get a better picture of the stained glass frame! Below you can see a more full version, including baseboards, all just tacked up there for review, the pieces will all be taken down again, sanded, and stained to match the color of the doors, a nice dark walnut. With the windows mission, all design elements are not there yet, but it is exciting to see the stage take a more final shape.

We readily admit that some of this last finish work is taking a bit longer than we had anticipated, and that there have been some unforeseen delays, but the good news is that the work has never stopped, only slowed down a bit. Each week more portions of the building are reaching their final state and we think it’s pretty safe to say we’ll be in the new building by or before the fall.

Ministries are now beginning to talk about storage areas in their planning for the move, and we’ll have some exciting summer work before us once we have occupancy of the new building! Please pray for continued safety and for good weather for concrete!

You may have noticed that the building looks quite different in the evening! We have exterior parking lot lights up now.

More of the carpet will soon be added to the building. We are looking forward to seeing more rooms turn out like our fantastic new nursery

Also the appliances for the kitchen have arrived and are on schedule to be installed by opening day!

We are worshipping in person at the old location on 102 S Seminary and we would love for you to join us at 9:30 AM. Most of the music is again live (and not pre recorded) and singing is part of the service again as well!

Stage Lights! Earlier this week we had a great team of tech volunteers who met and learned how to assemble the lights for the church, and they were professionally hung, aimed, and programmed.

These are just the first four lights of the lighting system. We have designed the sanctuary with several lighting locations that are powered and ready to go, but will be unused on day one. This will allow us to expand and enhance the stage lighting as we grow. Our first four lights though, are a great start for us and will give a nice look to the stage. Nothing flashy, but enough to really see well what’s going on during the worship service.

And while this is happening at the new location, we are beginning to switch to a greater amount of live music, and volunteer participation at the old location. Our capacity for worship is now at 60-70 people and we are hoping to offer more opportunities to volunteer and help with the service again. While we may be waiting on ushers and greeters until the new building, we are happy to welcome acolytes, scripture readers, our piano players, song leaders, and a few extra hands at the tech booth.

Thank you to our awesome volunteers! Great work was done this Friday and Saturday, and new opportunities will soon be arriving to help again. We are taking on the responsibility of the final clean for the new building project!

It was a great day of work, of fellowship, and of clearing away quite a bit of dust to get ready to put down carpet!

All of this is also in addition to some great new parts of the construction we that have been finished including: Carpet and finishes to the doors!, the bases for the exterior light poles, and the base for some important concrete pours outside. Pray for good weather for the concrete work to begin.

We have two awesome opportunities to volunteer with the new building this week. Take a look at them below and we hope you can make it to one of them!

Friday April 9 at 5:30 PM

On this day we need strong volunteers ready to help us relocate some of the equipment and materials in the building so that we can prepare for the cleaning day on Saturday. Show up at the new building around 5:30 and check in with the coordinator. Mask wearing is expected for Covid safety.

Saturday April 10 at 8:00 AM

On this day we need people to bring any and all cleaning equipment – vacuum cleaners, mops, buckets, rags and cleaning solutions. We will be removing the dust and preparing the building for some really great finish work that will come in the next few weeks. Show up at the new building around 8:00 AM and check in with the coordinator. Mask wearing is expected for Covid safety

As Holy Week continues and we look forward to Maundy Thursday services this evening, there are some exciting improvements at the new church building to celebrate as well.

The walls of the worship area have received their first coat of paint and are looking fantastic!

Also check out these new doors. Much thanks to our color committee for helping us with all the design of the new building.

There is also a coat of paint on the stage back wall itself and if you look up and to the right you can see that the track is installed for our new stage curtain! It will be very important to have not just for the look of the stage but also to protect stage equipment from any errant sporting equipment when the room is used for other purposes.

A new and exciting time is coming for our church soon after Easter. We wait mostly on good weather now for a concrete pour and the arrival of some important indoor equipment and finishes! Please contact the church office if you’d like to help with the project in any way and may God bless your Holy Week.

Lots of new improvements at the sight this last weekend and this week let’s head inside and take a look!

There are quite a few new elements of plumbing being installed. The toilets are in most of the restrooms (including the new restroom in the nursery for the smallest of our members). We’ve also seen the sprinkler system being finished up in the ceilings.

The work is continuing and it won’t be too long before we start seeing carpet and talking about moving a few things in. We are hoping to be able to have an opening day in May, but a lot of that will be weather dependent related to the concrete pour.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. If you want to be part of the work crew, moving crew, or even would like to join one of our walk-throughs please contact us at the church office: 309-378-2651.

Lots of small infrastructure added to the building recently. The running of pipes and cables and wires to all the places they need to go is nearing completion!

But, as exciting as pipes and wifi can be, let’s finish this update up with a few bigger shots of some of our spaces we will be sharing ministry in!

Once again we want to offer thanksgiving for your help and support, and for our fantastic volunteers! We are looking at an opening date after Easter and when we know something more specific we will share it here.

The Lights are in, for the sanctuary and for the youth room. They are being wired and added to other areas of the building as well.

Our church is still doing some of the work on our own as well. A very large thank you to all who have worked on the ceiling grid and ceiling tiles! Here are a few of our volunteers at work.

But the new building is not the only place where the work is happening. Our United Methodist Women have begun to take apart and package up the kitchen! It’s an involved process deciding what we need to take with us and what we may no longer need, but the work has started and we are so very thankful for all who are helping.

In addition to the work in the kitchen other portions of the church are being packed up as well. We’ve just started work in the Library and we want to give a lot of thanks to the sewing group and to our sorting volunteers for tackling some of our storage areas.

Are you interested in helping! Want to join the crew as they work on the new location? Want to help us pack/sort? Please contact the church office and we will put you in touch with the different groups who are at work. You can call the office at 309-378-2651 or email at office@downsumc.org

Thank you for all of your support, and please pray for the safety of all who are working.

Some exciting new portions of the project are happening this week, and you can also see some of the great work done by our volunteer team with the hanging of the ceiling tiles!

Thank you for your prayers and support! The work continues and we are busy planning an opening day. Right now that will be largely dependent on the weather (an important factor for the concrete that will need to be poured). As we get closer to naming an opening day we will let you know.