Building a facility?

The photo above is the "Ladies Parlor" at one of the most successful all-purpose buildings that I've seen.  I'm posting it as a reminder that, while readers of this blog almost certainly are focused on the volleyball court, or basketball court, or indoor go-cart track, or swimming pool or hockey rink that a church might construct al all-purpose building to house, that you will get a whole lot farther in getting your project done if you consider all your constituencies.

At Trinity Lime Rock we're in a growth phase (yes, I know that mainstream congregations are supposed to be shrinking rather than growing, especially in New England) and the notion of building an all-purpose building probably has more possibility behind it now than it had a decade ago when I originally proposed one almost as a joke.   Additionally, because so many parishes are closing, it's currently viewed as a bit irreverent to suggest new construction.

However, at present our Sunday School is outgrowing their facility, and the choir has seriously outgrown theirs.  Our art program would be scheduling additional shows were it not for a conflict over the available space with Crescendo, the regional chorus that we spawned about eight years aog.  Our sports program seems to be growing even faster, and we keep coming up with community  activities that we could do if we only had the facility to do them in.  So we're actually in a position of needing to re-thing space utilization.

The Ladies Parlor in the photo was likely a fundamental requirement of Memorial Hall of the Liberty Methodist Church, in Liberty, NY, when it was constructed; as much so as the kitchen or the Sunday school rooms, or the basketball court/volleyball court/space for parish dinners.   While the building was largely the gift of one local family, it doubled the church's footprint, and it needed to deal with the needs of the entire church community -- including, back then, a place for the elderly ladies of the congregation to do whatever elderly ladies do in a Ladies Parlor. 

My personal recollection of this room was that was where I attended Methodist Youth Fellowship (yes, teenagers WERE involved in that church -- likely due to the athletic facilities it had).  Behind the sliding doors at the back of this room (see photo) is the basketball court.  Interestingly, even though the building was already a little long in the tooth by the time I became familiar with it, I never saw those doors opened.  Clearly it was still an imperative that this concession to Victorian times remain separate and distinct.

And well it should have.  It was, after all, part of an all-purpose building.

Summer Sports Field Day

This year in Summer Sports we decided (or, actually, the woman who directs the Sunday School decided, and I concurred) that we ought to end the summer with something new.

Acutally, it wasn't new at all -- it was pretty old, in fact -- and that was a field day. 

The 45 minutes allocated for it were not adequate to have a full-fledged field day in any usual sense of the world, but we gave it a good shot.  Here's a short video of some of the proceedings for your enjoyment:

We think it turned out pretty well.  If you're having difficulty selling the idea of physical activity in your parish or congregation, maybe something like this is the kind of thin entering wedge that might let you get started. 

At very least, it's something we'll be repeating at Trinity Lime Rock!