Tuesday, June 12, 2007
On Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2007 PM we dedicated our New Sanctuary
Pentecost Sunday will be a new birth of the Atonement Family! It seems every day there are surprises and difficulties, but we made it. Each day was a new challenge and you have hung in there together to keep each other strong. It has been a long time coming and has been a great accomplishment for the Atonement Family and the community. The dream three years ago with the capital campaign is a reality. The experience of worshipping in this new space will be astounding and surprising. I pray that you will allow yourselves to become aware of the different worship experience that this new sanctuary will provide us.
Dedication involved thanking those who have been a part of this project: architect Bob Saas; the contractor, Anthony D. Miller; John Quade, AD Miller’s superintendent; Ron Lorenz and the Building Ministry Team. Bishop Alan Bjornberg, of the Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA presented. The choir and praise team helped us worship and the Church School students sang. We remember the first Pentecost Sunday when the disciples were filled with the power of the spirit. We too will be filled with joy and courage to continue to become what our Lord has called us to be in this community.
Now is time that we eagerly look forward to welcoming visitors! We pray that many new people will want to come and see who we are in this new worship space. Please be aware of those who ‘”come and see” and let’s make certain that we show them who God has called us to be in this place! Every Sunday is OPEN HOUSE! Every Sunday is EASTER!
(At the time of this writing, we finally have a temporary occupancy certificate!!). A huge hurdle is the landscaping. The city is requiring us to start immediately. We have no funds for this project and to complete it will cost approximately $40,000 dollars. We have spent our landscaping funds for ‘life saving’ changes within the building and many other unexpected changes. We have learned that the two year extension was never an option. There was a misunderstanding. Apologies and finger pointing is useless at this point, we just need to comply as best we can in order to use our new worship space. Please help in any way that is possible.
We will also be closing the loan with Mission Investment Funds of the ELCA in Chicago as soon as possible. That means we will be challenged to make approximately $11,000 each month as payments for our loan. We can do this, but it will take all of us helping the best we can. At this writing, we will be approximately $15,000 over our budget for this project. This figure doesn’t include the landscaping cost.
Pray that we will not lose sight of our Mission of “Living in God’s Love and Reaching Out with Hope!” We are being called to bring Christ’s love and compassion to those who haven’t come yet. Pray that we use God’s gifts to bring love and joy to each other and those who come to wonder about us.God’s Peace!
Pastor Del
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