The tiles on the chancel furniture have been replaced to match the new floor tiles. See the old tile on the candle stand directly to the right of the flowers.
All the chancel furniture tile inserts now match the chancel floor.
New carpet has been installed throughout the narthex, down the hallway towards the gym, and down the hallway to the offices and school.
The carpet coordinates with the sanctuary floor tile, and will also coordinate with the new pew upholstery fabric.
This has been a week of massive efforts by many workers and volunteers to prepare our wonderful sanctuary for worship. The sound system has been reactivated, and one of the livestream cameras has been moved for even better views. The cleaning crew came in to vacuum all the pews and clean all the nooks and crannies. Volunteer ladies have been polishing the wood on the pews, and replacing the felt sliders on the bottoms of the chair legs. Other volunteers put the hymnals, Bibles, attendance cards, and offering envelopes into the racks. More volunteers moved the chancel furniture and the organ back in, and the choir chairs back into place. Communion ware is being returned to the sacristy, as well as all the robes for the sacristans, ushers, and pastors. The ushers’ gear has been returned to their closet.
Dave Groth built a temporary font for us to use until our permanent one is ready (hopefully by Easter 2026). It is a bit larger than our final font will be but is a similar concept. Thanks, Dave!
All of the outsides of our windows were professionally cleaned, including the clerestory windows for probably the first time since we moved in! (The interiors were cleaned by the painters when the stained the wood.). Let the sun shine in!
The super-complicated white tile circle surrounding the baptismal font is finished. The floor tiles are all laid in the chancel. The communion rail has been reinstalled.
Final tiles will be installed on the step up to the chancel.
Wiring for the audio and livestream systems live underneath a special panel in the floor. The systems will be reactivated in the coming week.
Refreshed baseboards are being reinstalled.
Chair rails are being reinstalled, and new ones will be added behind the ushers’ chairs.
What’s left to do before we can move back in? All those final little touches. And cleaning. Lots of cleaning.
Many of the pews are installed.
Wooden squares have been installed in the seven spaces leading forward until the decorative tiles can be installed.
The circle in the entryway to the nave also has a wooden circle as a placeholder until the decorative image is installed..
The white tiles are being installed in the circle surrounding the future baptismal font.
White tiles are being laid in the chancel.
We’re getting so close!
This is the circle at the front of the nave where the baptismal font will live. The font will be an octagon shape, and will set on top of the pipes within the dark gray octagon tile shape. It will be surrounded by the white tiles, some of which are shown. The white tiles will also cover the floor of the chancel.
As we enter the nave, there will be a large tile circle with the Luther Rose. The circle will be the same size as the circle at the front which surrounds the baptismal font. The true colors of the tile work in the symbol will be determined by the tile choices.
For the seven tile squares leading up the center aisle to the baptismal font, these are some of the options we are considering. The white tile will be the same white tile shown in the picture above of the floor surrounding the baptismal font, which will also be the same white tile used on the floor of the nave.
Some of the pews are secured in place.
More and more of the sanctuary floor is covered with the beautiful gray tiles.
Intricate cuts are made to surround the duct work.
Come to the Voters’ Assembly this Sunday at 12:30 PM for more updates!
“Your pew” is in there somewhere. Can you find it?
They’ve laid several more rows of the tile. The tile-layers are meticulous and doing a beautiful job.
They have to cut precise angles to accommodate the curvature of our sanctuary. You can also see the holes, also precisely cut, for the screws to reattach the pews to.
They have laid rows of smaller tiles to accommodate the slope of our sanctuary floor.
Here is the box for the sound system cables to live in.
They’ve come around the corner and are working from the north wall. When this section is complete, they’ll reinstall the pews there so they can work on another section.
The grout is a great color match.
The work going forward is progressing, as well. The spaces for the seven decorative squares are being created. The Interior Society is working with the architect on the design of the images for the squares and the large circle.
The main, darker tile is being laid, beginning at the entrance. A circle has been cut out for some decorative symbolism to be installed later. Also, there will be seven square decorative spaces leading to the font. In this photo, you can see the first square cut out and the beginning of the second.
Here you can see the cut out for the first decorative tile and the lay out for the remaining six leading to the big circle showing where the decorative tile surrounding the new baptismal font will be.
The circle shows where the lighter tile surrounding the baptismal font and the font itself will be. Also shown is the final decorative tile square space before the font.
This shows the tile together with the new paint color plus the oak cross. The baseboards will be reinstalled, and will tie it all together.
Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders completed construction of the 1"x4" (actual size) frame made from Poplar wood. The mortise and tenon joints were glued and secured by using multiple pocket-hole screws. Each section is approximately 13'x5' so that it can be easily transported by moving truck to their shop for finishing and as part of the base for a complete setup of the new pipe organ before all of the components are brought to Bethany for installation.
Baseboard and trim pieces have been removed and restained by the painters.
We’ve got tile, yes we do. We’ve got tile, and mortar, too! (And this is only half of it!)
A sump pump is being installed in the courtyard to manage the water.
Due to the new plumbing work which found its way into the sacristy, the walls were going to need some patching and painting. As a bonus, the entire sacristy is being painted. It definitely needed to be freshened up.
A carpenter from the organ company is working in place in the loft to get precise measurements for the cabinetry.
As part of the plan to control where rainwater goes, stained and sloped concrete is now in place in the courtyard between the sanctuary and the Harris Wing.
While up on their ginormous lift, the painters are cleaning our clerestory windows! Are you even ready for all that sunshine?
We chose a slightly lighter shade for the panels behind Jesus and the cross. Look up to the top to see the difference between the lighter shade and the overall shade. Also, the bronze Jesus statue and cross have had a much-needed thorough cleaning.
The painters have sanded the windowsills and restained them to repair water damage. They are also refreshing the woodwork around the stained glass windows and throughout the sanctuary.
The courtyard between the sanctuary and the Harris Wing is getting a facelift. The tree and bushes have been removed by our Trustees (Thanks, Men!), and a trench was dug to help remediate the water issues.
Steel wire mesh is ready for the stained and stamped cement to be poured in the courtyard.
Back inside, the painters are patching and prepping for the second coat of paint.
The statue of Jesus and the cross are now covered in preparation for painting behind them. The painters are also vacuuming the dust and dirt up by the clerestory windows.
A couple of our hard-working trustees figuring out how to resolve the water-in-the-ducts issue. We’re so thankful for their skills and dedication.
Installing rebar for the concrete.
That’s a lot of cement.
Ready for concrete.
Back in the sacristy, there is electrical and plumbing work happening for the new baptismal font.
This is the massive lift that the painters use to reach the highest points. They’ve been cleaning off the years of dust as they go.
The new paint complements the wooden ceiling beautifully.
You can see the new paint compared with the old paint here and in other pictures.
The new paint is also very pretty with the oak wood trim and the stained glass windows.
Massive lift that the painters are using to reach all the way up to the clerestory and ceiling to prep for painting.
One of two scissor lifts that the painters are using to patch and prepare the the drywall for painting. We have over 100 spots for them to address.
The old speakers on the tall columns have been removed and the holes have been patched over.
In the courtyard between the Sanctuary and the Harris Wing, the tree and bushes have been cut down as part of the water mitigation solution. Next will be regrading, pouring stamped concrete, and adding a gutter(s) to get the water to drain properly.
Electricians were here to install can lights under the organ loft, resulting in better lighting for our musicians. They also did some preliminary electrical work for the new organ.
The painters have removed the old speaker panels and will be patching the void with drywall. They’re also installing screws in the drywall throughout the sanctuary which will help resolve issues we’ve had with cracking.
Leveling compound is being laid in preparation for the tile flooring.
Piping has been installed to run water to the new baptismal font.
A couple holes have been dug outside as we try to mitigate the water in the ductwork issue.
The baptismal font and pools have been removed. All the flooring that is to be removed has been removed.
The preparation for the underground work has been completed.
The pews and speakers are covered.
Getting the glue up from the old tile was a big task and took several tools.
Glue successfully removed.
Using a wet saw to cut through the concrete.
The font is going down. Sledge hammer, a variety of saws, and good ole man power are put to work.
More font work.
And the font came tumblin’ down.
More wet-sawing.
They’re cutting a trench in the concrete to run the electricals.
Remember, you can always peek in safely from the outside windows.
And the wall came tumbling down. The organ loft wall has been completely removed.
Don’t bother dumpster-diving. It’s just a bunch of dirty old carpet, wood scraps, and junk.
See the screws coming up from the floor? These are what hold the pews in place. They’ve been painted with orange to prevent tripping.
All of the VCT flooring and carpet has been removed. More of the wooden structures from the organ have been removed.
Removing the tile and glue from the entryway. It’s a slow (and noisy) process.
We are underway! Come back to this space for periodic updates on our renovation.
For your safety, please do not enter the sanctuary at this time. You may peek in through the outside windows to view the progress.
The Crew has started to remove the various floorings. It’s noisy! They’ve also removed the communion rail.
Pews are shifting.
The organ loft wall will be coming down.
X marks the spot. The bridge has got to go.
They built a wall - for our safety, and with room to get their big lift in and out.
See the display in the narthex with the tiles we’ll be using for flooring, and a marble and limestone piece which are potential materials for the font. The tile layout diagram is posted on the wall, and also below.
This is the plan for the tile layout, as it currently stands. You may also find a printout of this in the sanctuary by the actual tiles on the floor!