After seven months of study we began the second part of the Phase One. We held three meetings with the advisors to develop a focus and direction for our renovation project. The goal of the advisors meetings was to develop a ministry document which would become the basis for all design plans. Bryan calls this document the “Guiding Concepts.” The guiding concepts are not an architectural drawing or plan to specify square footages or materials to be used.
hearts and minds needed to be open to all possibilities.
At the second and third advisors meetings, people were invited to sit in small table groups. Team members served as table leaders as we took the ideas from the first brainstorming session and discussed each one. This was perhaps the most important step in the entire renovation process. Every idea from the first advisors meeting was on the list, more were added, and each one was intentionally considered. This was a crucial way to help church members be invested in the process. Some of the many ideas involved seating, accessibility issues, lighting, projec- tion issues, and the placement of a cross. At the third advisors session we prioritized the ideas, first in the small groups and then as a whole group. The result was SUMC’s guiding concepts, a list of worship and design priori- ties which offered scope, focus, and direction for the renovation. [See page 15 for the guiding concepts agreed upon by the people of SUMC.] This document became the basis for the renovation team’s work over the next 14 months, as we entered Phase Two.
We created an exciting plan that we
believed met the needs of our church.
Rather, it is a conceptual document that speaks to character and ministry. The agenda for each advisors meeting was different. The first meeting was a large group brainstorming session of about 50 people. We reviewed the work that the team had already done, and then Bryan posed these questions: “What do you need, want or wish for in worship?” Answers were varied and discussion was lively. As you can imagine, many of the needs and wishes sat on two ends of a spectrum. It was uplifting to hear our congregation dream together about what worship could be.
One thing that was not on the agenda
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was money. This was an intentional part of Bryan’s process. Several times along the way, team members were asked, “What is your budget for this project?” We answered honestly, “We don’t know yet. The final design will determine the budget.” The team knew that no renovation could come to pass without funding. But Bryan’s approach, which we heartily affirmed, was that there should be no constraints placed on us during this visioning portion of the process. Our
Bryan defines Phase Two as “design development and construction.” With our new knowledge of worship and liturgy, and a clear picture of what our congregation’s worship needs were, we excitedly headed into the design phase. It was time to turn the guiding concepts into bricks and mortar. We focused on these areas of our worship space: 1) the chancel, 2) the nave [the central part of the sanctuary], 3) the narthex/gathering area and balcony above it. Our only physical constrain was our existing exterior walls. We chose to design a renovation, not an addition. The first order of business was to hire professionals to make our design a reality. Our church used a design-build firm, where the architect and the contractor are within the same company. It was the most cost effective for us. With the design-build firm in place, we began making our way through the guiding concepts, section by section. During this phase Bryan’s role changed. Rather than teacher, he became the facilitator in our discussions and assisted us in staying fo- cused. He served as the congregation’s representative to the architect, supervised our selection of various furnishings and brought in vendors like seating manufactur-
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2010 • WORSHIP ARTS
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