PEWS ARE GETTING A MAKEOVER

Shortly after Christmas the Project 2017 renovation will begin!  One of the first things that will happen is the pews will be removed and taken off site for refinishing. One of the options we had was to replace all of the pews, but given that they appear to be original to our church (1892!) and that they are well made, we made the decision to have them re-finished.  The company doing the work, Gunder Church Furniture, specializes in pew restoration and will ship them all off site to a warehouse to do the work. They will be stripped, sanded, cracks will be repaired, and they will get a beautiful new finish. At this time we are not having pew cushions installed.

The seating arrangement will switch in that the chairs that are currently in the front will move to the back and the pews will move forward.  The front pews will be a "half" pew with room for some armchairs for the handicapped.  People told us that the handicapped chairs need to have arms to help people get up and down so we will have some available.  All of the chairs (including those in the chapel) will be reupholstered to freshen it up and match our new color scheme.

The kneelers will be replaced--no more clunking noises during Mass!  Our new kneelers will have a hydraulic closure which will soften the sound and prevent accidental "dropping".  The kneelers will be upholstered with custom fabric for comfort.

With the pews out of the church, the next thing that will happen is that the floor will be removed.  There is asbestos glue under the tile that was under the pews, so we have a company who specializes in asbestos abatement coming in to take care of it.  The carpeting will also be removed in preparation for a beautiful tile floor.  This cleared space will enable scaffolding towers to be built so that the painters can get to work and the upper stained glass windows can be restored.

Stay tuned to this blog for information and updates as we undergo this very exciting project!

Our next Project 2017 Committee meeting is Monday, December 5 at 7:00 p.m.  As always, these are open meetings and parishioners are welcome to attend.