You are invited to learn about an exciting project underway at Holy Spirit Church to Finish the Floor. After many years of focus to pay down the debt, Holy Spirit is finally in a position to move forward with the next phase to finish our church based on the design work completed in 2014. The parish has waited a long time to start the work that will greatly enhance the worship space and make it more inviting and reverent. Thank you to those who have and continue to contribute to the parish financial stability which enables this project to move forward.

The scope of the project is to cover the concrete floor of the current worship space with a flooring material. The tabernacle will also be moved into the worship space. All wiring will be embedded below the floor.

Materials and colors have not yet been chosen.
 

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Flooring Project: Adjustments
Many of you heard at the information sessions in November that the current layout was chosen by the parish in the feedback interviews. But there are a significant number of people that preferred the original layout so we worked with the architect to come up with adjustments that attempt to capture more of the intimacy of being in-the-round. The changes that you see in the layout are the result of those adjustments. So, try out one of the chairs on the sides if you want a more intimate feel.

Flooring Project: Still more to know
This week we'd like to address the wall behind the sanctuary.  At present we've got the folding blue wall that was behind the choir in the first pilot covered with a white curtain (who wants to stare at a blue divider) and green banners.  But, the actual plan calls for a wall that will extend all the way up to the ceiling and will be flush with the dormer of the window.  There will be walls enclosing the ends with doors for access to the music storage.  The tabernacle will be by this wall where the cross currently stands.  In the future, a cross could be mounted on this wall or hung from the window dormer.

Flooring Project: The More You Know
There may be some confusion about the raised platform in the current layout.  It is not the full size of what the platform will be, as building a platform that large would be a bit expensive for a pilot.  The three platforms were built to show that the sanctuary would be raised and illustrate the improved sight lines.  The actual size and shape is outlined in green tape on the floor and will be a hexagon shape.  It will have two steps up, a ramp along both sides, and include raising the presiders chair.

Flooring Project: More than just a floor
The art and architecture of a church has a great deal of meaning and symbolism. We want the floor to be beautiful and functional. But there's much more to it (many books have been written about it).  The materials for the sanctuary space will be different from those in the assembly space to mark off the sanctuary as a distinct space.  We want the sanctuary to be a holy, sacred space, not a space that one casually walks across.  The sanctuary holds the tabernacle (the presence of God), the altar (where the consecration occurs), and the ambo from which we hear the word of God.

Flooring Project: Baptistry
From the feedback from the first pilot it became apparent that many of us very much enjoy being able to view baptisms performed during mass. In both of the pilots that we've run we loose this visibility as the baptistry should be located near the entrance so that we can dip our finger in the water and renew our baptismal promises.  To solve this problem, the architect suggested a baptistry in which all, or part of it, could be moved to the sanctuary area when baptisms are performed during mass.  Until this longer term vision is implemented, we have acquired a smaller, movable baptistry that will be appearing in the near future.

Flooring Project: Seating Capacity
Some of you have noticed that there are fewer chairs set up than there was in the original layout.  There are two primary reasons for this. As previously described we are raising the sanctuary space to improve sight lines and to make it a more sacred, reverent space. But this means that we need to create a walkway around the sanctuary wide enough for two people to pass each other.  In addition we are planning for pews someday which will have a wall in front of the first row to hold a kneeler. The result is the removal of about two rows of chairs.  More on the other reason next week.

Flooring Project: Seating Capacity (part 2)
This is a continuation of last week's update to explain the other reason for fewer chairs. Since we have engaged with an architect we have learned that the original layout did not meet fire codes as some walkways were too narrow.; especially the walkways that were just behind the pillars. The current layout is fire code compliant. But the result is the loss of one row of chairs from the back to the front on both the right and left sides of the church. We don't think this reduced seating capacity will be a problem as membership growth is much slower than it once was.

Flooring Project: Taberacle
The tabernacle was mentioned briefly in a previous update, but we want to address it more fully. Projects like this need to be approved by the diocese. During these meetings with the diocese, the one requirement that we've gotten since 2014 was that the tabernacle needed to be moved to the church.  So the tabernacle will be moved out of the chapel as part of the flooring project and be placed along the back wall where the cross currently stands. The wall around the tabernacle will have a design to enhance and distinguish the tabernacle space.