Off to Six Flags....

Taking the family plus 2 to Six Flags today... what a hot day it will be! But then that makes the water park all the better....

It's all hung...YEAH!!!!

The drywall was all hung today!!! It looks so nice. Tomorrow the finishers come... still waiting on the windows... the ramp is waiting on engineer's stamp and then contractor is ready...

It is really starting to take shape! Praise God!

Thanks to Andrew Zehnter for helping me load up all the scrap drywall and take it to the dumpster at SCS! It was a big help. Boy the contractors are MESSY and don't clean up after themselves! Not a good impression... I remember when I worked for Jim Sedgwick at Shore Hospitality in Easton, we cleaned up every day... you could eat off our floors! Not so here! They even got some glue on the floor!

Today, the drywall will be hung...

Today the drywall hanger will hang the last of the drywall in the sanctuary! Hopefully the windows will be installed soon and the drywall finishers will come! It's really starting to take shape!!!

Good thing we revised to July 22! This Sunday is July 1 and we would have never made it!

Another Set-back this time with a cost...

Today, the plumber came to dig the sewer line to asses the problem and fix it....only that discovered another problem... The water main broke... so now we must replace the water main into the building and the sewer line... adding an additional $7500 to our costs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm trusting God to provide on this one!

WOW!!!! WOW!!!! This is what we've been wanting to see!

I knew that at day's end, we would see LOTS of progress! The drywall guys came at 6 a.m. waited till 10 a.m. (due to a miscue on supply delivery) to start hanging and by 3:30 when they stopped for the day, they had most of the sanctuary insulated and half the drywall hung! It might be ready to prime on Saturday! Wow!!!!

WOW!!! Hats off to Frank Potvin for his help today -- he allowed me to keep my word about not cutting anymore plaster! Frank cut the plaster from the walls in the downstairs bathroom and in the sanctuary to allow a channel for the thermostat wire! THANKS Frank!!!

And thanks to George Timmons for disconnecting some plumbing for us in the basement! It was a BIG help.

And of course, Jim Replogle has spent another day at the ministry center... I on the other hand, only stopped to take pictures!

This is the Week!!!!

Lots will happen this week at the ministry center... the main contractor showed up today... a day earlier than he told us! Which is a GREAT thing! We expect he will insulate and hang drywall and possibly drop ceiling as well as install new windows this week! It should really start to look different.

A plumber is also coming to try to address the downstairs bathroom problem so that can be up and running.

Yesterday, we framed up a wall in the larger room of the basement to divide that room into two classroom spaces... one for a nursery and one for children... so now, the former nursery can become a youth room.

The sign design is also in process and should be ready in a week or two. (the picture is a really rough copy... many changes will happen to the final sign.)

Now the vision takes shape...

We had another great workday at the ministry center today... Jim, Carol, Sharon, Rick, and myself got lots done.

Jim and I finally finished that wall in the front we wanted to work on this past Tuesday. And boy does it look good. It is definitely going to be a nice wall to hang a cross on and have as our focal point of the sanctuary.

Carol and Sharon spent time digging bushes and plants that must be moved prior to the handicapped ramp. And they did some MUCH needed vacuuming and sweeping. The place looks almost clean... see picture.

Rick took up some flooring and began the process of laying new floor down using the floor boards we recycled from the stage. And speaking of stage, it's done too!

We are ready for the drywall, insulation, drop ceiling and plumber.

The blessing of the day was Grant and Louise dropping by at Lunch time to see how many people they could buy cheeseburgers and cold drinks for! What a nice treat!

Finally ...

Finally, Jim and I got something done that we planned to get done. It seems that every time we go to the ministry center to work on a specific project, we either don't get to it due to other projects that pop up and are more pressing, or due to poor lighting, or due to other workers being in our way.

Yesterday afternoon, the hvac guys were busy completing their work and then last night, we discovered that a couple of the old stage joists that we were going to recycle (actually they were already installed -- we had done it late at night) were not acceptable, so we ran to one of our favorite places -- Home Depot -- of course that was after we went to our other favorite place Quiznos (no wonder it takes us so long to get things done!)

This morning, we intended to get the stage finished and we DID! WOW!!! It is much easier to get work done with light... at night the only lights we have are a couple portable ones and they aren't the best! The pics are of the stage, the heating duct work, and the sound booth.

Today, we actually got the sound booth floor finished as well! It was a good day!

Today's progress...

Today, the HVAC guys graciously moved the furnace to the storage room because as I said yesterday, there was not enough room for it in the upper location... the first two pics are of the former location and the new location. Much thanks to Mike Bartemy and his crew at Eastern Shore Refrigeration for working this out for us! It will look so much better!!!!

The electrical work was inspected today and passed! No surprise here... Chris Gilbert of Gilbert Electrical Contractors is the best! Now, we can start covering up his work!

The final picture is what one of the windows we closed last night on the inside looks like from the outside!

Our first snag...

It seems that every time Jim and I set out to do a particular thing at the ministry center, we run into some problems that delay our getting started on what we wanted to work on. Yesterday was no different. I canceled Worship Design Team so that we could build the front wall behind the stage after the HVAC was installed and before Chris Gilbert needed to have his electrical inspection... but when Jim called at 3 -- the news wasn't good... it seems that the hvac unit was bigger than our space available and we would need to build a HUGE access door on the front wall of the sanctuary....something I wasn't willing to do unless we ABSOLUTELY HAD to do it! So, I called the contractor, Mike, and talked it over with him. He was gracious and willing to make it right...so we will be un-installing the unit and moving it to the room to the right up front. Which makes it much more aesthetically pleasing and easier to service. THANKS Mike and guys!

That meant that Walt, Jim, and I needed to frame, insulate, and drywall shut the two windows in the storage room before they install the unit there....since it would be tough to do afterward... so that is what we worked on last night. Eventually we will put hardy board over the outside and paint like the rest of the outer walls. That way we don't have to replace the windows and they aren't an eyesore!

As we were cleaning up, I joked with Jim about needed to spackle the drywall in a rough way, so that it looked like the plaster walls. The drywall is smooth as glass and stands out like a sore thumb when compared to the rough plaster.

It really is our first major snag! And thank God it worked out okay!

Original Art Work for Sale on Ebay

I am selling some beautiful original art work of my friend, Wilhelm Goebel's in my ebay store. I wanted to let some of you who don't frequent ebay see some of the beautiful pieces that are for sale. They are too beautiful for a limited audience! The top turkey call is about to sell and the bottom two turkey calls are sold already and the original oil paintings are for sale. ENJOY!

Note... the bottom two turkey calls were done with a sharpe marker... what talent!

A Real Work Party Today...

When I arrived at the ministry center this morning at 9 a.m. after taking a load of metal duct work to the dump to be recycled, there were 3 vans from Eastern Shore Refrigeration and 1 Replogle Construction van. In addition to Jim, there were 6 guys from Eastern Shore Refrigeration and then a short while later, Chris Gilbert and his helper J.D. showed up. Needless to say the sanctuary was a busy place.

By the day's end, the HVAC guys had the system set and half of the duct work hung. And Chris is working hard at completing the upstairs electrical rough in. Jim and I did what we needed to and left. We will be back tomorrow afternoon and evening to frame the wall behind the stage in order to accommodate the electric and drywall.

These indeed are exciting days!

A Great Dad's Day....

Father's Day 07 was a good one... had a great worship experience today at Community of Joy. Enjoyed some time before worship with my kids and wife. One of the best presents that they gave me was to all come with me to help set up for worship. It was nice to have the extra help.... setting up is one thing I WON'T miss at our new facility. The girls were a BIG help!

Then we took Emma to Camp Mardela for the week... and on the way we stopped at Sonic for lunch... Sonic is a fast food drive-in. If you sit inside, you use a phone to place your order and the food is brought to your table.... it was interesting to say the least.

Then after dropping Emma at Camp, we went to my Dad's and spent the afternoon with my parents, sister, and niece and nephew. Completed the day with Caroline driving our van around the farm... she really is getting itchy to drive!

Another Long Day at the Center

Got a phone call this morning at 7:36 a.m. on my cell from Jim Replogle... saying he could be at Home Depot by 8 to get our day started.... (we were going to meet at 8:30). Jim has put in some really long days and lots of back breaking hours at the ministry center this week working on the various things we are doing... he is a great partner and a good carpenter! It's been fun!

Today we built the sound booth.... at least we mostly framed it up. But before we could do that, Jim fixed the bottom step going to the basement and I cut some more plaster... I don't care if I ever see or cut plaster again! I concluded my day at 6 p.m. after unloading all that plaster into the dumpster at SCS!

Look at all the wires running into our sound booth/control center!!!!

Also, Pat Mahan, Judy Urrasio, and Carol Replogle cleaned some windows in the basement today.

I gave our neighbors and a my friend Steve a tour of the facility. Next week should really be the week that lots of things happen!

Now Selling on Ebay...

Finally, after a long time trying to get someone to help me get a classic Triumph Motorcycle running that has been in the garage since 1993. It RUNS!!! And is now for sale on Ebay... Isn't it beautiful!

Judy Urassio has donated it to the church's building fund... it will be a REAL BIG help for getting the little extra's done we would like to do before moving in! THANKS Judy!

The walls are up...the stage is down...

Today the contractor framed the walls on the sides of the sanctuary. It will look so nice to be a fresh, clean wall.

The stage is at a new lower level now too! Ready for the HVAC and Drywall soon!

The temporary sign and the front entrance are now lighted at night for a few hours just to give a change and to call attention to the center at night!

Also, notice in the pictures --- the wiring is mostly run for the lights and for the outlets in the side walls. AND the provisions are made for the wide screen flat panel televisions that we are installing on the two front walls!

The only bummer of the day is that we learned that we must cut some more plaster out of the way on the back wall. I was really hoping that we were done with cutting plaster... it is so MESSY and the dust stays with you for a while! Look at the dust on the floor and that is after being swept!

In the mail today...

Was a letter from our Prayer Team Leader, Louise Mahan.... what a great letter... It reads..."Dear Prayer Partner: When Jesus' disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray... He said to them, when you pray, say: (and then she had a sticker with the Lord's Prayer on it) What a great prayer! Please be sure to pray for the transition of Community of Joy from Salisbury Christian School to the new ministry center that is being prepared. Be sure to thank God for His goodness in leading us to the property on South Blvd. Also thank God for the willing workers who are giving of their time and talents to prepare this location for worship. Community of Joy is a group where relationships matter. Pray that we remain strong in our relationships with each other as we work to make the transition. Let us pray that others will be drawn to serve God. Hope to see you Sunday morning when our prayer team meets at 9:30."

I just love the way Louise is leading us in prayer! She is doing a FANTASTIC job! What a POSITIVE force this team is in the life of our congregation! We have already seen much fruit as the result of our prayer efforts, not least of which is our coming together in this time of transition! And then there is the provision of God financially and otherwise! And don't forget the awesome experiences we are having as we work together!

Thanks be to God for Louise and her leadership! Thanks be to God for his provision and blessing!

Reports for today are GREAT!

Jim called a few minutes ago to report the exciting things that are taking place... we now have a contract from the contractor....the side walls in the sanctuary are nearly complete, the electrical is almost ready for inspection, the windows will be in on Thursday and can be installed soon after, the ramp contractor is engaged and can meet our deadlines! YEAH!

Things are moving... but LONG Days...

Lots of things are happening at the ministry center.... the electrical contractor, Chris Gilbert, is really working hard and getting lots done even with the challenges of plaster and a cement block building.

The other contractor is due to work today on framing the walls in the sanctuary.

Jim Replogle continues to give LOTS of time at the center... yesterday he and I worked from 1:30 p.m. til 10:30 p.m. with a break for supper. We went to lower the stage, but got side-tracked in one of those inevitable time consuming projects where you start on one thing and as you uncover it, something else shows up and so on. We got the back wall behind the former organ pit framed correctly yesterday. The previous church had cut a doorway in that wall but did not properly frame the opening and they had some floor boards with no support under them. So, we took out what they did, and built a header across the opening and supported the floor. Needless to say it took a LONG time.

Then with the help of Tri and Carol (doing the inevitable supply run), we lowered the stage and made the cut outs and blocking in the walls for the flat panel tvs.

Now today, Jim will be back working on the nailers for the new drywall where we lowered the stage floor and took out the curved wall!

WOW! I never dreamed we would do this much work on the building... But it will all be worth EVERY minute we spent on it! What a nice facility it will be!

Now that's REAL Progress...

We've had some trouble getting our main contractor to keep his word... He goes missing in action some and won't return our calls... so, when he said he would be there yesterday at 1:30 to close the ceiling above the stage, we wondered if it would be so... and as you can see... it was!!!!! That was holding other contractors up and now we don't have to worry about doing that. In addition today he says he will be there to frame some walls and I hope he does.

Chris Gilbert of Gilbert Electrical Contractors has been working hard the last few days getting our new electric run. What a great person to work with Chris is!

LOTS of FUN!

Today we had our historic first picnic at our new ministry center location. We worshipped at our rented facility and then after cleaning up went to the new location and turned lots of heads! We had an inflatable raft filled with ice to keep the cool things cold. A canopy to add to the ambiance. And we played lots of music to be festive. The kids had fun playing with hula hoops. And folks liked looking inside the new facility.

It was fun to see the cars slow and heads turn...necks almost breaking to see what was happening in this location. It must be that the former church group didn't do those kinds of things. We even had 4 people specifically walk up to meet us! It was FUN!

We were intentional with using louder music to create an excitement... after all we are in a college neighborhood. Some worried about being too loud... but that was not the case! The music helped with festivity!

A Vision that Makes Memories and Memories that Make a Difference!

One of the visions that Dick Hazel has for his farm is that it would be a place where people of different races could come together and interact in such a way that it would affect our relationships in our community in positive ways... he shared with me today that this is the vision that guided him in his investing in the children of Delmarva over the years and it was/is the vision behind setting his farm up as a place of education for children.

The pics are some of the kids who enjoyed the JAKES Day today at Mr. Hazel's Farm. The boy with the wood duck box couldn't have been happier... and so was Dick Hazel... and I agree it is a worthwile vision as well!

A Surprise Visit...

Captain Willie Dykes of WBOC flew the WBOC helicopter over and landed at our JAKES Day today...that's Jack Pieroni with Capt. Willie...

Worth It ALL!

This young man 's smile was bigger than his fish and his fish was BIG... that's no fish tale! This is why we do the JAKES Day... it is worth it all to give kids a chance to explore part of God's world in ways they might not otherwise get to do!

Thanks Jack Pieroni and Dick Hazel for this day!