Dear St. Paul’s family,
We are now well into the major construction project that we have been anticipating for years. If you have been on campus over the past month you cannot have missed that fact! As with any construction project, there are almost daily surprises, such as unexpected barriers and interruptions to utilities, but we are trying to keep St. Paul’s running as normally as possible. Things change from day to day, and when there’s a change we try to get the word out by email and Facebook; but there are some things that we hope will stay pretty constant throughout the next three years.
Worship services will continue as normal. Weekday services and the Spanish Eucharist are held in the chapel, and entrance will be via the west Transept door on Nutmeg, if the North Porch door is closed.
All of our usual committee and community meetings will continue, with some relocation to accommodate everyone in fewer meeting spaces. We still have the Great Hall, the Fireside Room, the church itself, the Library, and a few small meeting rooms in the basement level of the Great Hall available for classes and gatherings. Judy MacDonald is a genius at finding space for groups and minimizing conflicts.
The staff will continue to be available on our usual schedules. Starting mid-August, the following will have their offices in the basement level of the Great Hall: myself, Kathleen Burgess, Jeff Martinhauk, Judy MacDonald, Bob Oslie, Wayne Riehm, Maya Little-Saña, Erin Sacco Pineda, and Molly Green. Brooks Mason will remain in his office next to the Great Hall, and Martin Green and Gabriel Arregui will be moving to the office next to Brooks. A lift will be installed in the corner of the Queen’s Courtyard to allow disabled access to the offices downstairs when the elevator is out. During particularly noisy periods of construction, or when the elevator is out of action (for a period of weeks in the fall), some of us may schedule meetings offsite: James Coffee on Fourth Avenue is a favorite spot! We also have the offer of a ground-level community room in a condo building two blocks from the cathedral, if we need it.
Access to the campus is liable to shift from time to time: right now the way in is through the Queen’s Courtyard. Please pay close attention to all our communications so that you know what to expect when you come. On Sundays we now have ample parking offsite and a shuttle. Hopefully you won’t have any sense that coming to church will be complicated or challenging: please take advantage of these services!
Watch for notice of a special farewell liturgy for the office building on a Sunday later in the summer, after we move to the Great Hall basement. It has served us well for 51 years, and you will have a chance to say goodbye.
Finally, please pray for the staff and for the construction’s workers, that all will be safe and that we will maintain an environment of love and patience throughout this stressful time.
Your sister in Christ,
Penny
