Projects & Visions, Reflections from the President
Fall feels like it has arrived in full force — with heavy rains, after a summer of drought, and a flurry of new activities. I want to share a bit of news…
At the end of September we officially welcomed Bradley Hunt as new tech staff for our hybrid services. We have seen Brad behind the camera since the spring and are delighted that he will now take on coordination of Zoom and other technical aspects of hybrid services. He will be supported by church members who volunteer on the camera and help with microphones. Many thanks to George Carvill and Janis Chaillou for training Brad and for their tremendous commitment to managing tech activities for so many months. We are grateful that Brad has accepted this new role, to church volunteers for their much needed support of tech, and for a generous donor whose gift supports this new position.
About 15 people joined a walk around the property on September 11 as we thought about possible use of our property and new visions of activities that could take place outdoors. Marty Shaw has created a poster which is in the foyer sharing many of these ideas. Please look at this poster and add your own ideas if they are not represented. We are fortunate to have Sara Ozawa from the Conway School of Landscape Design working with us this fall to create a design concept for use of our grounds. You may have seen her and other students surveying our property in mid-September. Survey flags are dotted around the grounds as part of the survey process. Sara she will be back for periodic visits to the church as she works on her design which we will receive in January 2023.
Finally, we are in our final phase of the campaign to raise funds for our “Pave the Way” Driveway Drive. An appeal was sent out at the end of September to members, friends and community users of the building. We hope that you will give as generously as you can. Although we had the driveway graded just prior to our August art auction, the September rains have once again created deep ruts on sections of both the driveway and the parking lot. Our priority is to pave the driveway but we have asked for and received an additional estimate to pave a portion of the parking lot closest to the building. If enough funds are raised we can complete additional paving. Paving work is likely to be done in early November. It is clear that this project is timely and important for us to maintain continued access to All Souls Church.
With blessings, Leslie