Messages from Building Planning Committee
February 10th, 2008
The next pre-Vestry Information Session to review the plan that will be voted
upon at Vestry on February 24th will be held on Thursday, Feb. 21 st at 7 pm in
the Reception Room.
Two main questions arose in the first pre-Vestry session held last Sunday.
What has changed in the current plan vs. the plan we voted upon at Special
Vestry 14 months ago?
There are three major changes in this plan compared with the plan that was presented
to Special Vestry:
1. This plan focuses only on the building; all ministry and program elements have
been removed and will be dealt with in the context of our annual operating fund.
2. This plan separates the decision on whether or not to make changes to our chancel
from the decision to proceed with the rest of the plan.
3. This plan contains a large number of enhancements resulting from parishioners’
input since Special Vestry, including more (and more accessible) ground floor
washrooms, a folding wall in the lower gym to preserve a large multi-purpose space,
a choir robing area and the removal of the east transept window option
Why is so much work bundled into Motion #1? Why don’t we vote on each aspect
of the proposed work separately?
1. The Building Planning Committee received feedback from the community that there
is enthusiasm to ‘fix’ two key parts of our building: to refurbish our worship
space (e.g. painting, lighting, sound); and to open up and make our community
gathering/narthex space more welcoming and functional. In order to open up our
narthex space, we need to move the offices. A majority of parishioners indicated
in last fall’s survey that they preferred moving the offices to the south (St.
Clement’s Avenue) wing of the building. Moving the offices necessitates moving
our tenant, the Early Learning School, out of the Kindergarten Room, Sunroom and
Old Parish Hall to the lower level. The majority of work in the Building Renewal
Plan (Motion #1) is tied to addressing these two priorities.
2. The second reason that Motion #1 is so comprehensive is a pragmatic one. The
Diocese agreed to allow the parish to keep 100% of the proceeds from the sale
of assets based upon a comprehensive facilities renewal plan that was in the $4.5
to $5M range. A smaller project is at risk of attracting this same level of Diocesan
support.
January 28th, 2008
At last, the final building plan is pre- pared and the information package is
almost completed. This package should be available via the web as of late next
week (February 1). As well, printed copies will be available at the church as
of Sunday, February 3. Some of the highlights that are direct results of your
involvement:
- Enhanced lighting and sound in the worship space
- Better gathering space for after- service and other social functions
- More and more accessible washrooms
- Enhanced, welcoming entrances
- Operating efficiencies throughout the building
- Renovated kitchens for enhanced functionality and efficiency
- Flexible space for large events
The refurbishments and renovations in the plan are all in support of the successful
implementation of our ministry plan. The Building Plan will show phases and the
estimated costs of each phase. Rest assured that work will only begin once funds
have been obtained. Plan on attending a pre-Vestry Informa- tion Session on one
of these dates: Sunday, February 3 rd following the 9:15 service in Canon Nicholson
Hall Sunday, February 10 th following the 11 am service in Canon Nicholson Hall
Thursday, February 21 st at 7 pm in the Reception Room. If none of these dates
work for you, and you would like a special pre-Vestry Information Session for
your larger group or committee, please contact Cameron Finlay (cfinlay@stclements-
church.org) and we will try to arrange something. The Building Planning Committee
thanks all of you for your participation in the creation of this plan. There is
a great deal of love for St Clement’s Church and the work that we do in it. We
must remember too that part of our Christian stewardship responsibility is to
enable the ministry of the next gen- eration. We can help do that, in part, by
working to ensure that our church facility is ready for that challenge!
January 21, 2008
Your Building Planning Committee has met to make final decisions about the facilities
plan that will be voted on at Vestry on Sunday, February 24 th . The committee
is excited that, through the last five townhall meetings in the fall and the questionnaires
about preferences and priorities completed by 101 parishioners/families following
those townhall meetings, there is clear consensus around what should be in the
plan:
- People want our worship space to be refurbished with enhanced lighting and
sound
- People want more gathering/narthex space and indicated a clear preference
to open up the existing office, reception room and narthex hall space in the north
end of the building for this purpose; this will mean relocating the offices to
the south end of the building
- People want more, and more accessible, main floor wash- rooms: plans are
being refined to accommodate these
- People want our entrances and walkways enhanced to create a more welcoming
‘feel’ and to enhance accessibility
- People want operational efficiency in our building facilities, and encouraged
the committee to be bold in terms of St. Clement’s becoming a ‘greener’ church
- People want our kitchens to be renovated
- People want to preserve the large, multi-purpose lower gym.
While there is still debate about what is ‘necessary refurbishment’ vs ‘desirable
renovation,’ there is consensus that an investment in our facilities will support
our ministry and programs.
The Building Plan being proposed will show phases and the estimated costs of each
phase. Work will only begin once funds have been obtained.
The building plans, budgets and motions to be voted upon at Vestry are being prepared
for publication and will be available soon. Three preVestry Building Plan Information
Sessions have been scheduled:
- Sunday, February 3rd following the 9:15 am service in Canon Nicholson Hall
- Sunday, February 10 th following the 11 am service in Canon Nicholson Hall
- Thursday, February 21 st at 7 pm in the Reception Room
If you, or people you know, plan to vote at Vestry, PLEASE attend one of these
information sessions so that you understand the final plans, budgets and Vestry
motions. If none of these dates work for you, and you would like a special pre-Vestry
Information Session for your larger family, group or committee, please contact
Cameron Finlay (cfinlay@stclements-church.org) and we will try to arrange something.
The Building Planning Committee thanks each of you who have participated, often
passionately, in the creation of the plan that we will be recom- mending. There
is a great deal of love for St Clement’s Church and the work that we do in it.
We must remember too that part of our Christian stewardship responsibility is
to enable the ministry of the next generation. We can help do that, in part, by
working to ensure that our church facility is ready for that challenge!