The Rev. Sara Warfield
Roberta Peterson, Junior Warden
Judy Bevilacqua, Senior Warden
Scripture: Mark 4:25-41
Introduction: Rev. Sara
Today, as you probably know, we are talking about resurrecting our sanctuary. This Sanctuary Resurrection conversation started a few years ago when an anonymous donor gave $10,000 in honor of Richard Martin, our longtime member and greeter who died in 2020. It was designated for the purpose of making our space more welcoming, as Richard had done in his own unique way all the years he was here.
Recarpeting the sanctuary rose through the Vestry’s conversations as the simplest solution to vastly improve the welcome of our sanctuary. You don’t have to look all that closely at our red carpet to know that it doesn’t really say “inviting” or “beautiful,” which is what I always want worship in our sanctuary to be. There are holes and stains and tears, and just the weariness of wear. New carpet seemed like the obvious way to best use the donation.
But when we really started looking into that option, we realized that the tiles under the pews were about as inviting and beautiful as the carpet. Did we really want to put brand new carpet around this tired and faded and scuffed tile?
And then when we started looking into the tile. We discovered that they are made of asbestos, a health hazard if the tiles are broken or crushed and inhaled into the lungs. Legally and for the safety of our congregation, we had to get intentional about how we would work with and around these tiles. Removal of the asbestos, we realized, was not an option financially. We needed to work with what we have.
After that—and any of you who know home renovation are familiar—we realized that we couldn’t do one thing—laying down new carpet—without needing to make dozens of decisions that had at first seemed unrelated. If we wanted new carpet, we needed to think about our wiring and electrical, which means we needed to think about our musical and Zoom setup and placement—all of that on top of the effect of drilling in and out of asbestos tiles to remove the pews and install carpet on top of the tiles.
It was a domino effect. To the question of “what would make our sanctuary more welcoming?” we added, “what is the safest way forward for our congregation, especially with our limited resources?” Which then evolved into, “what opportunities do these potential changes present for us to make our space safer and more accessible—indeed, more welcoming?” Which finally led us to the question we’ve shared with you: “How is the Spirit leading us to make changes to our sanctuary so that we can live even more deeply into our call to welcome the stranger, love our neighbor, and lift up the gifts of the Spirit of all who walk in our doors?”
Now we are using that donation to recarpet, and we are going to carpet over the tiles, which is our safest and most welcoming option. But in order to do that, the Vestry and I have come to the conclusion that it’s no longer a choice to remove the pews and replace them with chairs, but a necessity—as a matter of both our community’s health and safety and the costs associated with all our options.
This isn’t a decision your leadership made quickly or lightly. The Vestry and particularly your Wardens and rector have been researching and discerning all this since our community conversation last October. We know this is a big deal for many of you.
So I’m going to pause and let you take that all in.
Now you’re going to hear from Roberta Peterson, our Junior Warden who has tended diligently to our building and grounds for over two years. She will explain the logistical and practical reasons behind this choice.
Then Judy Bevilacqua, our Senior Warden, will speak to some of the thoughts we’ve already heard from many of you last October and since about having chairs instead of pews.
Then you’ll get to hear from me just a little more. This all might be a little longer than our typical sermon time, but I think it'll be time well spent.
Roberta Peterson, Junior Warden Practicalities & Numbers
I think it was in October 2023 that I was able to give you an update on our Sanctuary Resurrection Project. However, over the past 8 months I have done a lot of research surrounding our broken pews and kneeling rails, carpet replacement and, how to work around asbestos tiles. Within this research we have found that moving from pews to chairs is not a choice but a necessity and a practicality.
This practicality gives us the best option for better visibility, accessibility. I think most of you were at our most recent Bell Ringer performance. You saw how much space they took up in front of the altar. This made it difficult for communion and some of our front pews were not accessible. You have been here on Sundays when our Pop Up Choir or our Cellist has been with us and seen how cramped they are in front of the altar. You know our musicians perform every Sunday in a space that is too small for their necessary sound equipment. Kathy nearly fell trying to get out from behind her piano when her feet got tangled in wiring. All of these things can be eliminated with chairs without losing seating space. Chairs can be arranged to enhance visibility as well.
Now I want to share some numbers I have found: Some of the number are approximations and some from quotes we have received:
Even though new pews cannot be used due to asbestos tiles I check on the price. The cost to replace our old pews with new ones would be $18,000 to $22,000. This would not include kneeling pads, labor for removing existing pews and installation of new ones.
To refurbish our old pews the cost would run at least $12,000 not including kneeling pads or labor for removal and re-installing.
Asbestos abatement was quoted at $17,800.
The cost of chairs is approximately $10,200 plus shipping of approximately $1,000. Using chairs the asbestos will not be removed because it will be sealed. The cost for the sealant is included in our carpet quote.
The savings of purchasing chairs vs pews is approximately:
$27,600 if new pews and $19,600 if refurbish old pews which doesn’t include labor cost but does have asbestos removal costs factored in.
The bottom line is: For our health and safety as well as our financial situation chairs are the logical choice.
As for our existing pews, we are thinking of ways to repurpose some of the wood for other items in the sanctuary like a new font or a new altar. At this point we are still dreaming about some ideas to use the repurposed wood.
Some of you have asked about using pews either in your homes or for garden benches. I am told that these pews can be cut down to make a smaller bench but, for outdoor use they would need to be sanded and refinished with a marine type of paint or sealer to repel moisture.
We hope to have both carpet and chair samples available soon for all to see.
Judy will share more information regarding the research being done on the
types of chairs that are available.
Judy Bevilacqua, Senior Warden
Chairs: Details & Concerns
Thank you, Roberta for your tenacious work & your deep wade into very tricky waters! Today, our Gospel reading confirms that Jesus is truly IN the boat with us through all the “elements” we face. And that “faith” is the sometimes the last response. At least for ME.
Soooo….as both Sara and Roberta shared, we are left with a “verdict” not made by us, that our pews, that have so faithfully served us in our rich collective history, cannot continue into the future. We are left, going forward, with the burning question: “How shall we then SIT?”
Well, my job was to search the internet to find a remedy….they were called “pew chairs!” It was a surprise to find them everywhere! Hidden in plain sight. Especially to find them in our local churches Episcopal included. But we had a LOT of questions to answer! Many of those questions came straight from you, when we started this conversation last October. BRIEFLY those questions were:
Are these chairs safe & stable- for us seniors! Will we be able to get up?
Will these chairs accommodate people of different sizes and shapes and abilities? Because our pews accommodated ALL.
And how will this work for small and squirmy children and their parents?
How comfortable are they? (What about my lumbar problems? ☺)
What about the folks who love to kneel during our liturgy? Do we have to give up that beautiful tradition??
And other questions: How much will they cost? How long will it take to get them? And the shipping costs? And what will happen to the old pews?
This led to hours of research, asking questions of manufacturers and taking field trips to local churches that have already made a switch from pews to chairs to interview them. We asked how their parish responded, of course, we needed inspect & actually SIT in the chairs to try them out! And oh my, YES….they are comfortable! Sara may have to keep her sermons short!
And one by one we got a lot of questions answered.
We learned that these pew-chairs can stand alone…or be hooked (or “ganged,” trade term), together as needed, to create a longer bench or “padded pew” section, if desired! So this helps to create a “one-size-fits-all” seating option, for all sizes and also helps parents with babies & small active children. It also creates added stability and weight. And yes! we can order any number of chairs with “arms” that will aid folks who need a “boost!” So questions 1-4 got answered!
We also learned these chairs are easily moveable and stack up to 6-7 high for redesigning our space whenever we desire. We can make our aisles wider for wheelchairs and walkers. We can easily re-arrange our space for a conversations or a special meeting…we can create DEPTH in the front ~ for our “Pop-up choir,” our “Bell-Ringers,” and Baptisms! and create a blessed “safety zone” around our musicians so we can walk in front of them without the obstacle course!
We also discovered there ARE creative resources for kneelers! ~ using stools, portable pillows or a slide-out kneeler. The cost, we discovered, was WELL within our “means” and estimated budget.
It all started to feel calming and like a slow path was being made for this “resurrection” of both our St. Luke’s Mission & Vision, her sweet Sanctuary of Welcome & Worship and her unique history of Beauty & Art.
Proceeding “slowly” has yielded good benefits. And I was reminded of the “SONG of GOOD HOPE” Kathy taught us all to sing in worship: ”Take your time now, it’s not as bad as it seems, we’ll be fine now, it’s just some rivers and streams in between us and where we want to be… just stay close… and the Song of Good Hope….will walk with us ~ through EVERYTHING,”
…..‘cause’ Jesus is in the boat!
Rev. Sara
Closing
The decision we came to is rooted in the values of our faith: the highest of these values, as Jesus says, is “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
I don’t know if God has opinions about the setup of our sanctuary. I do know I’ve presided over a communion of potato chips and a bottle of water on a very dirty sidewalk in San Francisco, and it felt as holy as anything I’ve presided over in a church. There is nothing we can do to prevent God from showing up.
But there are things we can do to make sure we’re loving our neighbor. We love our neighbor by keeping one another safe and healthy. We love our neighbor by making space for their different bodies and abilities when they come through our red doors.
We have the opportunity to broaden our welcome and our accessibility—which is to say our love—with this project.
When you came in this morning, you were handed a Sanctuary Resurrection card. If you’re on Zoom, Riley will post a link to an online card. It will also be in the Wednesday newsletter. This is an opportunity for you to respond to this decision—to name your feelings, your fears, your wonderings—about what is to come. And for your responses to be heard. We’ll be reading the responses out loud during worship next week—unless you don’t want us to, which is an option you can mark on the card.
You can fill it out anytime—during the silence after the sermon, during Coffee Hour where there will be a box to collect them, at home this week. But I do ask you to first, please write legibly, to please keep your responses brief—it says 10 words or less, but if you go a little over that’s okay. And please bring the cards back next Sunday. They’ll also be available online this week.
I want the whole community to hear and to hold and to honor everything that’s coming up for you.
I’ll share mine with you today:
I feel excited about the greater safety and accessibility and adaptability chairs will bring to our sanctuary.
I’m afraid of not hearing and holding all the different voices in our community.
I wonder what our worship will look like and feel like in a year.
Today is only the beginning of this Sanctuary Resurrection process. We will be pausing every step of the way to celebrate and honor our past, to grieve what is lost, and to get excited about what’s to come.
—
In today’s gospel, a violent storm has kicked up and the disciples are afraid that the boat they’re in is about to go under. So they wake Jesus up—yes, Jesus had been sleeping through it all—and they say, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Then Jesus quiets the storm and says, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Now we could interpret that like Eugene Peterson does in The Message translation: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”
But that’s not how I hear it. I hear it like, “My friends, why are you afraid? I’ve got you. I know it’s hard to trust sometimes, but I’ve got you.”
It’s not about NOT being afraid—or sad or excited. It’s about not stopping at that fear or sadness or excitement and planting ourselves there. But instead trusting that Jesus is right there whenever we call for him—to calm the waters, to create safety, to keep us on the path. To remind us that he’s got us.
Amen.
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