Fri. 3 Dec. 2021
Building
Reginald Baird
The last time we published an official update for our Building and Grounds, it was Tuesday prior to our Rite II “Homecoming Service.” It’s been almost two months since then, and the amount of change is immense. It has been neat for us to mark the time, to see how things are progressing, and we felt it was time to bring an official update to you.
I (Olin Johannessen) took a short walk with Reggie Baird through a few of the areas in which work is being done currently, and captured a lot of great video and photos along the way. We focused on the new Roberts Hall connector area, the sacristy, the main sanctuary, the nearly-completed audio-visual control booth upstairs in the choir loft, as well as looking out onto the new roof which sits atop our Roberts Hall connector.
It will never cease to amaze me the gifts we are so fortunate to receive here at St. John’s. Clearly, we could not do any of this work without the support of each and every one of our parishioners, staff, and clergy, and not only in a financial sense, but also in a spiritual sense. I love when Rob reminds us each week to keep praying for Reggie (and don’t forget about Gerry too! That man is on-site constantly, watching, helping, making sure…). I overheard Reggie saying to someone the other day that our prayers are what keeps him in positive spirits every day of managing this gargantuan task.
We are blessed to have teammates and partners in our contractors and workers. They come and work, but it feels like more than that. The relationships we build with them when they’re here, I can tell you I personally am really going to miss getting to chat-up my new electrician buddies, Ian, Bud, and Jon. Their “can-do” attitude and positive spirit makes me excited to come in and see all the crazy stuff they’ve been doing to help bring our audio-visual control booth to life. And luckily, they seem not to mind too much when I ask dumb questions.
And I don’t know how much you’ve noticed (my suspicion is that not many of you come upstairs to the choir loft/balcony each week), but speaking of that control booth… Our very own Jim Wakefield is a woodworking magician! I couldn’t help but to say so here, and I am so much in awe of the way he tackled the challenge of outfitting a 200+ yr. old building (in which there are no such things as “right angles” [he tells me that’s like, “a corner”]), and outfitted it with a modern workspace that is not only fit for a king, but looks and feels as though it has always been here! I, for one, can’t wait for it to be finished (next week, we believe!), and to show it off to all of you. Wild times we are living in, here at St. John’s.
We are blessed, and to quote Elaine Wilson, from her “Giving Tuesday” reflection: “There are angels all around… Think about the angels you know.”
With love,
Olin Johannessen
Director of Technology Integration
Associate for Music and Youth