Construction Update

Construction Update

Check out our "Pink Hard Hat Reports" and view
the gallery of pictures below showing our construction progress!

Pictures are taken every two weeks or when progress is made!

For four years or more we have been praying, fasting, giving, designing, visioning, and planning. Indeed there is a time for everything and the time for those things is certainly not done. But now, thanks be to God, it is a time to build! For three years we have been praying our mission prayer and God has answered. Right now there are bulldozers on the property, making room for those many new people who will come to know and serve Christ in this community. In our first phase, we are constructing a two-story education building and preschool which is scheduled to open Spring 2008!

April 2008: Movin' On Up!

By the time you are reading this, the Hampton Park campus should be up and running! On Sunday, April 6th, many people braved the cold, wet weather to take a sneak peak tour of our new discipleship facility. Everyone was excited about the wide hallways, spacious classrooms, beautiful floors, cabinets and countertops! Thank you all for your patience as we have needed to be flexible with our “move in” date. And many thanks to all of those who came out at all hours of the day and night to hang curtains, put together furniture, set up classrooms, and dig holes for our new playground. Many hands make light work! Special thanks go to our general contractors from Kjellstrom and Lee, who have been amazing to work with for the past two years and also to our architects from the Kearns Group, who have been patiently working with us for almost ten years now. And of course, to our own Horizon Team we owe a huge debt of gratitude for hours and hours of tireless work over several years to make this a reality. And thank you to each church member and every person who has contributed prayers and/or contributions to this project. This was truly a team effort! So many others deserve our thanks and will be recognized at our consecration service on May 17th. Finally, let us not forget to give thanks to God for all that we have received. Our prayer is that this facility will be a place where people will experience and learn about the love of God, and will then move out into their homes, schools and workplaces to serve Christ in many ways. God is good!!!

July 2007: Building a Foundation

I never before realized what goes into the foundation of a building until last week when I was filming a Pink Hard Hat report at our Hampton Park property. Trenches, rebar, concrete, and cinder block – all carefully planned, timed and pieced together. Few of us will have the opportunity to see all that has gone into the foundation of our new education and preschool building – the above ground brick, siding, roof and windows will be far more visible. But hundreds and even thousands of people will benefit for decades to come from the careful construction of the foundation. Children will hear their first Bible stories in our new nurseries. Preschoolers will play and learn and sing in a Christian setting within the new walls. Children, youth and adults will study the Bible in the rooms built on this solid foundation.

Last week I also had the privilege of witnessing the fruit that comes from laying a solid foundation. I traveled with the Rock Gospel Show Choir to Washington, DC and around Richmond, listening to the youth share the love of Christ with hundreds of people. They ministered to children in Boys and Girls clubs in impoverished areas, interacted with youth in the residential treatment program at United Methodist Family Services, and sang spontaneous hymns with people attending a free lunch and foot washing ministry at Centenary UMC in downtown Richmond. Our youth weren’t just singing FOR people. They were singing WITH people, praising God, dancing with them, learning their names and their stories. They shared the message of hope in Christ through scripture, song, testimonies and prayers. And they did it with boldness and joy!

I have had the privilege of watching many of these youth grow up in and through the ministries of Woodlake UMC. Their faith is built on a firm foundation that began for many of them in our nurseries, and continued in Sunday School, TeamKid, Vacation Bible school, children’s choirs, and now our youth choir and youth ministries. Thank you to the hundreds of church members who cared enough about the children, youth and adults of this community to build a facility that could facilitate the building of that foundation of faith. The fruit of your sacrifice of love is plentiful! I witnessed it in a powerful way last week. And I have no doubt that the fruit of our sacrifice in constructing our new facility at Hampton Park will be even more plentiful.

As a final note, I want to share with you part of a letter that was received by the Rock Gospel Show Choir last week after the conclusion our worship time at United Methodist Family Services. The note was from Katie Marsh, a teacher in the residential treatment program at UMFS. Katie grew up in Woodlake, and attended WUMC, where her parents are still active members. In the note, she expressed gratitude to God for the blessings that had been a part of her life, and for the teaching and example of WUMC that has led her to a life of service in her adult life. There are countless other adults who call WUMC their home who have gone on to serve God in a variety of ministries here and throughout the world. One is serving in the Peace Corp in Costa Rica. Others have served through Teach for America. Many have served in our armed forces. Some have entered full-time Christian service as youth directors, pastors, or Christian educators. And many are living out their faith in their families and their vocations, changing the world by their example. The foundation of faith and service that was given to them at WUMC is producing abundant fruit!

Thank you all for continuing God’s plan for our church as we build upon a firm foundation at our facility at Hampton Park. Our projected completion date for the education building and preschool is February 16, 2008. May God bless us in this endeavor, and may Christ enter the hearts of all who enjoy the benefits of our new building.

In Christ’s service,

Pastor Donna

June 2007

The Horizon Team is pleased to report that we now have a building permit for the discipleship facility at our Hampton Park campus. Also, a recent meeting with the contractor and architect we received the updated bid price for the project. The price was in line with what we expected, though we are in the process of reviewing the details to be sure that all cost saving measures have been included. While that review is underway, the architect has released a Letter of Intent on our behalf to the contractor to authorize them to begin work on various long-lead items such as the fabrication of steel and rebar assemblies. We anticipate completing the review and signing the necessary change order in the next couple of weeks. Soon thereafter, we can look forward to seeing some exciting things happening on the site as the contractor begins laying the foundation and starts actual construction of the building.

May 2007

Spring is a time for new growth, and this certainly applies to Woodlake United Methodist Church. Many of you may have noticed that our contractor has been working diligently to clear our Hampton Park site in preparation to begin construction of the new Discipleship facility. While that work is going on, the Horizon Team has been working with the architect, civil engineer, and the County on the revised site plan application. Our plan had to be revised to reflect the fact that we will not be building the temporary dedicated worship facility at this time. We also took the opportunity to explore the option to add the picnic pavilion and play field into this initial phase. These features were part of our master plan, though the plan had them in a future phase. At a recent meeting with County officials, we were given preliminary approval for these changes and expect to receive final official site plan approval in the next few weeks. As we get more information on the estimated cost of the pavilion and play field, the Horizon Team will present the option to Church Council for consideration. We also expect to receive the actual building permit for the Discipleship facility shortly, so construction on the building should begin shortly after the site work is completed. Once again, I would like to thank you for your prayers and continued support of this project. Stay tuned for more updates and the always-entertaining and informative Pink Hard Hat Reports!

January 2007

After many years of hard work and dedication on the part of the members of several committees, the church staff, and the entire congregation, the moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. At our recent Charge Conference, a resolution was passed to approve the construction and financing plans for building the discipleship (education) building on our property at Hampton Park. And this week, heavy equipment was delivered to the property to begin clearing the site in preparation to build. This is an exciting time for our congregation. The new facility will provide more and better opportunities for making Disciples of Christ. Please stay tuned for further updates and especially those “Pink Hard Hat” reports featuring our own Donna Holder. We as a congregation have faced a number of obstacles along this seemingly endless journey toward the start of our building project. But every step of the way, you have responded faithfully, prayerfully, and thoughtfully. Difficult decisions were made without the divisiveness that threatens other congregations. We are so blessed! Thank you again for your prayers and support.

Gallery of Construction Progress