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How many engineers, architects, carpenters, framers, welders, superintendents, project managers and nervous lay leaders does it take to re-position a reredos? A lot!
Our reredos, the treasured, nearly 100-year-old priceless piece of carved church art that had stood atop the high altar at the back of All Saints' chancel since the late 1920s, had been gingerly taken down, crated and stored in May 2019 to protect it during the months of demolition, excavation and reconstruction needed to rebuild our Sanctuary to last another 120 years. And on August 11, at the point that framing and sub-flooring had been completed around the chancel, we began the five-day task of prayerfully restoring it to its position, not a single filigree or carving damaged, and reinforced to withstand even an earthquake, like the rest of the Sanctuary. From there, protected by a temporary barrier, it will oversee the completion of our Project.
This carved piece was commissioned for All Saints by Miss Elizabeth "Amy" DuPont, whose father was the first head of the modern DuPont corporation. Amy was a well-known Delaware socialite and philanthropist who is buried in the Santa Barbara cemetery. She spent summers in Montecito and developed a close connection to our then rector, the Rev. George F. Weld. Through dear correspondence uncovered by our informal archivist Carolyn Kincaid Henderson, a sweet love of All Saints by Amy is seen through her detailed concepts for our altar art, which was eventually designed and built by famed New York architect, Bertam Goodhue (also famous for his design of El Fureidis in Montecito).
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Custom Nave, Side Aisle Light Fixtures Designed, Ordered
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One of the most frustrating aspects of our old Sanctuary was the lighting - too little or too much. How many of us would
 either seek or avoid the "spotlights" from our old mounted cannisters high in the ceiling? Finding a solution was a high priority for many of you.
With the help of our architect, Bob Easton, AIA, we have: a custom light fixture which will complement our historic architectural style, hang low enough to provide an ambient glow that will fill the nave, and incorporate programmable electronics allowing us to set the intensity and even the color of light desired, shining out, down and, if needed, even up. Check out the renderings created by the talented team in Bob's shop.
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More great news: our pews have been taken from storage and are now set up in a special workspace in downtown Santa Barbara in preparation for restoration. A specialty painting contractor has been hired to work on the nearly 70 pews that have been carefully stored during construction in Orange County to:
- Clean and remove wax stains on seats, backs and kneelers,
- Sand nicks and scratches, and
- Apply stain and two coats of clear protective sealer
Our goal is to bring them back to their former luster without making them look new. Four of the pews will be altered slightly to accommodate worshipers with disabilities.
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Pandemic or Not: Virtual Worship Ongoing Option with New Sanctuary Camera System
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We've all become accustomed to watching church service at our convenience via computer or mobile device. Working with our clergy and Church staff, Project leaders have added a feature not initially planned for the new Sanctuary: a permanent camera system to enable high quality video streaming and recordings to be made of worship or other events inside the Sanctuary. The initial installation will include a single camera located below one of the hammerhead truss supports on the pulpit side of the nave. Cables have been installed inside our new walls to enable additional camera locations.
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Great Project Loan News: No Borrowing Needed!
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We reported earlier this year that Project leaders had entered into a low cost, long term secured bridge loan agreement with Montecito Bank & Trust Company to cover the expected gap between cash outflows required to pay Project costs and cash inflows received via capital campaign commitments being paid over time. Once again, the incredible generosity and commitment of our parish family has shown through: funds that we anticipated might not be paid for several years were paid ahead of schedule! While we intend to keep that Montecito Bank line of credit as a back-up, at this time we no longer expect to need any borrowings in order to pay Project costs. So the funds we had budgeted for this expense can be applied to the capital campaign's $1.5 million goal for endowment and funded reserves, to assure that our Sanctuary is carefully maintained for another 120 years. Thanks be to God!
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Your Questions Answered
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Has COVID-19 affected the project? Is everyone wearing masks - some recent project photos showed workers without masks?
The project has certainly been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic plaguing our community and the world. While we are unaware of any worker on the All Saints project who has contracted COVID-19, our contractor and a few subcontractors have experienced a reduction in their workforces due to concerns or family care responsibilities. Further, productivity has diminished as a result of fewer workers available or in the office handling administrative duties. For example, the firm handling the carpentry to rebuild our 47 windows, including the frames, sashes and safety glass, at one point saw more than half its workforce staying at home; they continue to be well behind schedule and have caused the overall project schedule to be delayed dramatically. In addition, turn-around times for our project architect and various engineers have been impacted, as has the productivity of the Santa Barbara County Building Department.
When will the construction finish?
The current best case schedule calls for formal construction to be complete about Nov. 1. We will then require some weeks to move everything back inside the newly rebuilt Sanctuary. This includes all the pews, our stained-glass windows, the new organ, the audio visual/camera system, columbarium finishes, etc.
How is the Project budget holding up?
The Project leadership team and staff continue to closely monitor the project budget. According to our latest monthly assessment, we expect expenses to come in according to plan with some possible savings. Any savings will help fund the endowment/reserves portion of the Project. Of course, we won't know the final outcome until construction is completed and all invoices paid. We are also closely monitoring the collection of gift commitments being paid over time. Thank you to all of you who continue to make your payments on time or have already paid your commitments in full. As you've learned in the article above . . . thanks to the accelerated payment of gift commitments, no borrowing will be needed to complete the project.
Will the Sanctuary be open for worship when the construction and move-in are done?
The All Saints clergy, staff, vestry and special working committee are all devoting many hours of discussion and planning around this topic. The federal, state, county and diocesan guidelines and requirements for safety will dictate when in-person services might be held and under what circumstances. The weekly All Saints newsletter will provide more information when it's available.
Regarding our new organ, is the reversal of the colors of the keys a problem for organists?
Nelson Dodge, president of Church Keyboard Center and also Dean of the LA chapter of the American Guild of Organists, reports that reverse color is no problem for organists and in fact may be preferred. The wood used to cover the keys is a decorative/aesthetic effect that is considered fancier than regular white and black keys. With the variety of exotic wood species available, there are quite a number of color combinations that are possible, including the "reverse-color" arrangement. This decorative effect of using various wood species on the keys is frequently found on high-end pipe organ consoles.
He went on the point out that when it comes to keyboards, what organists are sensitive about is the "action," which is the way the keys actually move, the stiffness of the key action, etc. Built by the Ulrich Hermann Tastaturbau company in Orlishausen, Germany, the keyboards on the All Saints console are among the finest keyboards in the world, and are usually made for pipe organs. Hiding under the beauty of the keys is impressive engineering that enables calibration of five attributes of the key action: (1) key stroke, (2) key weight, (3) pressure point force, (4) pressure point position, (5) contact point = point of speech.
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