Sanctuary Construction Update – Week #6
Another week of preparation for the foundation as expected. The rebar is mostly in place, and it is easier to visualize the footprint of the building now. The diagonal trench will be the location of the wide nanodoor, and the trenches in front of that are for the supports for our awning. We don’t have a date for the pour yet but are expecting it will be sometime next week.
Sanctuary Construction Update – Week #5
Another week of preparing for our foundation. We had a couple of hiccups as they found some unexpected pipes, concrete, and leaks in the foundation footing areas. This is not unusual with construction. We are not sure yet whether this will cause any delay. The good news is that we have some new pipes sticking up, so we can euphemistically say the building is starting to go up.
Construction Progress – Sept 2024
Enjoy the time-lapse video of the Sanctuary Construction thru September 2024.
Sanctuary Construction Update – Week #4
Work this week continued with preparing the site. The soil is prepped and ready for the foundation. The outline of the building has been marked in orange spray paint on the soil. It is hard to see on the webcam, but easier on site. The squares closest to the coffee cart spot are for poles to support the awning. We are getting a bigger sanctuary! The next couple of weeks will be busy with getting all the underground infrastructure ready…
Back in the Swing of Things
It’s always nice to be back in the swing of things! The choir’s “comeback performance” from their summer hiatus was on groundbreaking day, and I don’t think I could have asked for anyone better to celebrate that with! I am always filled with such kindness and with such elation when music is back in my life, especially after these long summer breaks. Even though some music is still present in the service during the summer break it’s always nice to…
Invitation
Happy fall! This past week the RE elementary class has started the fall curriculum titled “Invitation”. This curriculum will teach on how to live in love as well as focusing on how Unitarian Universalism is a lived faith that inspires us to act, live, and love our values out in the world. Our RE Youth are finishing their Coming-of-Age program as they are finalizing their credos to read in front of the church during the Youth led service on October…
Centering Love – Shared Work
It’s great to be back after my summer break! I missed you all and am looking forward to the new church year. On Sunday, I preached about Generosity as a Spiritual practice and its role in centering love in our shared work as Unitarian Universalists. Starting on October 13, I invite you to participate in donating to the Share Ourselves food pantry. By donating to Share Ourselves, our community at OCUUC can help support their critical work of alleviating food…
Leaders Shape the Future
Traditionally, your Board utilized their August meeting to conduct a retreat during which they participated in team building exercises and determined specific goals to guide their activities for the coming year. This year the Retreat was broadened to include Chairs of standing committees, past Board presidents and OCUUC staff; in all, we had 30 church leaders participate. The September Board meeting processed the input from this half-day Retreat in order to determine our annual goals. These two meetings have illuminated…
Active Listening
We’ve all been told that listening and hearing are two different things; that hearing is passive, whereas listening is active. So, we can hear what someone is saying, but we might not be listening, which involves not just the words, but the emotions and ideas being expressed both verbally and physically. Listening is quite hard, actually. It requires us to pay attention to the entire person. As we take in the information from the other person, it is very natural…
Sanctuary Construction Update – Week #3
The old building is really gone now, with just a small pile of rubble left. The old building’s foundation was 8 inches deeper on one side than the other. Yikes! It’s all gone now. The web cam is making it easy to check our progress, and the time lapse videos are just so much fun! Check the web page! Work this week has been focused on preparing the site. They dug down several feet and found our soil is wetter…
Sanctuary Construction Update – Week #2
What a week of progress! Hoffman & Associates’ construction crew started off the work week on Monday, September 9 by removing the exterior parapet walls and removing material from the interior of the building to prepare for its demolition. “Demolition Day” followed on Wednesday, September 11 with a large CAT (Caterpillar brand) excavator tearing away the rear of the building. The activity was out of range of the construction camera but Rev. Sian and Bob Loeschen were there to document…
Sanctuary Construction Update – Week #1
Following our groundbreaking event on Sunday, September 1, our contractor began the day after Labor Day (September 3) to prepare the site for demolition. Bricks and pavers in the courtyard were removed to be reused later in the project and a chain link construction fence was installed surrounding the work site. They also capped the sewer and water supply and Edison removed the electric meter, de-energizing the building. Recyclable materials, including lumber, were removed from the building. A kick-off construction…