Of Things Seen and Unseen

Seen and unseen—renovations are almost never one or the other and, for me, that's especially true of the recent renovation of our worship and fellowship space.

Whether it's renovating unseen things such as:

• Utility tunnels beneath Fellowship Hall that are no longer used, making it safer for Bill Pugh and his team who tend our wonderful spaces each week
• The attic space above the Sanctuary, where we now have metal walkways with handrails instead of 12" wide wooden planks to provide safe access for our staff when working on lighting or sound or heating and air conditioning keeping us comfortable in the extremes of Houston weather day in and day out
• Walls that are now sealed, a roof and a rose window that do not leak, and protection for the stained-glass windows so they are now protected from the elements and able to send their message in light to every worship service
• Reliable electric switch gear to provide power to the heating and air conditioning systems, lighting systems, and sound systems
• Acoustic improvements hidden high overhead beneath new paint and plaster

Or whether it's things that are seen:

• A Sanctuary space that is comfortable, filled with hued light from the windows and accessible to every worshiper so that they can lead in the service regardless of their physical needs
• The Fellowship Hall and kitchen space where we can gather each week, share a meal, learn from and about and lean on each other

Whether unseen or seen, these are just a few of the renovations that help make worship at South Main something very special and personal for me.

Dave McNiel is Operations Committee Chair during the Generations Campaign