Westminster Presbyterian Church at 47 Jefferson SE has a very nice problem to deal with. They raised too much money! A recent capital campaign with a goal of $1.5M actually brought in $400,000 more than the original goal.
Out of that money, the church plans to give $150,000 to charity and non-profit groups; $400,000 will establish a facilities maintenance fund for the 125-year-old building; and the remainder will go for structural and facade improvements.
“We’re restoring all of the old stained glass windows to get them to last another 100 years,” said Kent Riddle, chairman of the building committee. “Pristine Glass is rebuilding all the lead between the glass pieces, and cleaning the glass, but keeping the original pattern. When a window comes back to us it will look as if it’s a whole new window.”
That process began in September and will take another two years.
Another lengthy process is the restoration of the 1936 Aeolian-Skinner organ, which began in July and will take until approximately January 2008. One thousand pipes will be added to the organ’s 2,300 existing pipes during cleaning and restoration.
New railings, flooring, and facade improvements round out the building improvements. To make space for 24 additional parking spaces, a 600-square-foot storage building, and an enclosed dumpster area, an auto repair building at the back of the property was demolished last fall.
‘I think this is the sixth major investment in the church facilities since the 70s,” Riddle said. “We continue to add on and remodel and expand. It’s no surprise anymore when we do it.”
Source: Kent Riddle and John Green, Westminster Presbyterian Church
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