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Bell Tower Dedication a Joyous Celebration of God's Abundance
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On Oct. 23, All Saints joyously assembled under sunny skies at 9 a.m. to dedicate our "renewed" Bell Tower, joined by several neighbors who had been watching with us in fascination over the months. Workers carefully deconstructed our 1900-era, Ojai Valley sandstone Bell Tower, stone by numbered stone, and painstakingly rebuilt it on 35-foot-deep pilings, around a 22-foot-high rebar and concrete core, returning virtually every stone to its rightful place.
Rev. Aimée led the congregation in the Sanctuary Preservation and Readiness Project Prayer followed by a scripture reading by Capital Campaign Honorary Chair
Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree. Following the ringing of the Bell in its new home by Project Facilities Committee Chair
Chip Nichols, the congregation processed into the Sanctuary through the main door for the first time since Bell Tower construction began last May.
To see additional photos from the Bell Tower dedication, just
click here.
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Parishioners gather for the dedication of our rebuilt Bell Tower.
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| Rev. Aimée leads the parish in prayer. |
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| Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree reads during the dedication. |
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Major Sanctuary Update Delivered at Town Hall Meeting
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Following the service parishioners stayed for the fourth of our Sanctuary Project Town Hall meetings since September 2013.
Rev. Aimée and Senior Warden
Tom Mack opened
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Senior Warden Tom Mack gave opening remarks as well as an update on the organ. |
with an overview of where we've been and where we're going.
Chip Nichols presented the new Project Budget which is the result of weeks of intensive investigation throughout the Sanctuary. Each line of the new estimated budget was built from "scratch" to minimize as many future surprises as possible.
Project Architect Bob Easton presented "current and after" drawings showing the existing steel posts and beams and the new system of structural steel that will be added in Phase 2 as one of the key elements of the seismic strengthening that represents the lion's share of our Project costs.
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| The black lines show the existing steel connections inside our Sanctuary. The red lines depict the new steel "moment frames" to be added to ensure the structure remains strong in the event of an earthquake. |
Tom Mack
next told the story of the Organ Committee's search and selection process resulting in our contract for C. B. Fisk to build "Opus 151" to fit our Sanctuary's specific needs, and described the leadership's deliberations in finally selecting the new organ's location at the rear of the Chancel. Read Tom's report here.
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| "Opus 151" is the name of our new organ. |
Project Facilities Committee member Sheri Benninghoven then presented the revised floor plan, reflecting some 13 separate listening sessions over the course of many months with representatives of all service groups and ministries which function inside the Sanctuary to ascertain their hopes and needs.
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Sheri Benninghoven presented the updated floor plan and animation. |
Sheri then narrated animation of the Chancel, Nave, Organ, Seaside Chapel and Memorial Chapel, created through true-to-scale computer imagery. Click here to see the animation.
If you were not able to attend, or you attended but now have questions or comments you did not raise then, please email info@asbts.org. Your input is welcome!
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| Click on the image above to open and see the document. |
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Revised Balanced Budget Presented
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By Chip Nichols, Project Facilities Committee Chair
Construction of the "renewed" Bell Tower came in under budget, but defective wall and roof framing and foundation deficiencies discovered during rebuilding the Tower led leadership to commission a full investigation of the rest of the Sanctuary to avoid any major unbudgeted surprises when we start Phase 2 construction next year.
The revised budget that resulted from that work includes increases for structural steel and framing as well as additional architectural and engineering fees to address the added complexity. However, these are offset by reductions in other key elements of the 40-line construction cost schedule, and the result is bottom line costs and allowances of $11,671,346 vs. estimated revenue, including interest income, of $11,677,231 -- creating a small projected budget surplus of $5,885.
Please click this link to read Chip's full budget narrative and this link for the revised project budget.
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Organ Committee member and Senior Warden Tom Mack told the engaging story of how C. B. Fisk was chosen as designer and builder of our new organ and how and why the new organ's location was selected. The saga included a visit to a 30-year-old Fisk organ very similar to "ours" and wonderful testimony from the owners of that organ  at St. Matthews Pacific Palisades.
Tom called the organ location decision the most difficult one the project has faced. The competing interests included seeking a large improvement in acoustics while minimizing the impact on the look and feel of our sacred space. The result: a beautiful design illustrated by a scale model, at the altar end of the church, which fully incorporates our reredos or altar piece.
For Tom's more detailed description of the organ selection process and of the organ itself, just click on this link.
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Click Any Image Below to View Animation
Animation Shows Updated Chancel, Memorial Chapel, Organ and Seaside Chapel
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| The view from the new Seaside Chapel to the Chancel. |
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A preliminary view of what our new Memorial Chapel/Columbarium might look like.
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Online Photo Albums Ready For Viewing
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| Click on this photo to see images from the Bell Tower dedication and worship service. |
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Click on this photo to see photos from the Town Hall gathering.
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Click on this photo to see the deconstruction and rebuilding of the Bell Tower.
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Questions Posed at Town Hall; See Answers Here
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Sylvia Weller asks a question during the Q&A portion of the meeting. |
Here are just a few of the questions posed; be sure to click this link to see many more and all the answers!:
- What will be the new height of the lectern? Will it be visible to the full congregation?
- Will the space for communion increase or decrease?
- Can the Seaside Chapel be designed for use on Sundays by families with energetic children?
- How did the architect come up with the design of the Flower Guild and Altar Guild Rooms?
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Rev. Aimée answers questions during the Town Hall Q&A.
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| Karen Teleen-Lawton asks a question during Q&A. |
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| From left: Tom Mack, Sheri Benninghoven, Bob Easton, Chip Nichols and Rev. Aimée. |
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Next Steps: Busy Year Ahead Before Construction Begins in a Year
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Once Vestry authorization is in hand, considerable work will begin regarding interior design, layout and detailed functionality. Opportunities for additional input will be scheduled. At that point, the architect will proceed to prepare the working drawings and other documentation needed to put this work out for bid. Construction contracts will be a firm, not-to-exceed contract with provision for sharing savings resulting from sub-contract renegotiations and construction efficiencies.
Permitting work will also take a great deal of attention: we have already filed with the County for an amendment to our Conditional Use Permit and have been informally advised that our filing is complete and that the necessary hearings before the Historical Landmark Advisory Committee, the Montecito Board of Architectural Review, the Montecito Association and the Montecito Planning Commission will be scheduled.
We have also been keeping the neighborhood fully informed about our progress and we believe that we will have its full support. And so, we are hopeful of beginning Phase 2 construction in late summer or early fall 2017, and completing it by Easter of 2019.
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Working Committees Appointed: Columbarium and Sunday Transition Team
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The following individuals are serving on two key Project Committees. The Columbarium Committee will help select a firm to provide design services, niches and other necessary items, as well as make recommendations on design, policies and terms. Members of that Committee include: Pete & Becky Adams, the Rev. Paul Collins, the Rev. Aimée Eyer-Delevett, Ken & Francie Jewesson, Georgia Lynn, Chair Pat McClure, Kathleen Winters and the Rev. Dr. Michelle Woodhouse.
The Sunday Transition Team will focus on where and how we will conduct Sunday ministries during the roughly 18 months that the Sanctuary will undergo its renovation. The following parishioners serve on this Committee: Chair Charley Cairns, the Rev. Paul Collins, the Rev. Aimée Eyer-Delevett, Pamela Hawes, Anne Hopkinson, Leslie Huber, Andy Rosenberger and Leah Watson.
Please pass along your questions, comments or suggestions to any of these individuals or Rev. Aimée.
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Oh, Yeah: How is the Fundraising Going?
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We now stand at $9,930,085 raised via 233 gifts. During the stewardship season, the fundraising for the Sanctuary Project has focused on about two dozen key prospects.
While we strive to reach our goal, we are encouraged by the campaign's broad base of support and the many donors who have made second gifts to the project.
As we all know, the capital campaign raises funds for the one-time costs to strengthen and ready our Sanctuary plus adding to the endowment. The stewardship effort asks for a pledge from each parish family; this annual commitment goes to the Church's operating budget to pay for salaries, utilities and all other operations costs.
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| Click on the image above to see the latest campaign status report. |
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