This past Sunday, we celebrated Homecoming, reflecting on our upcoming 150th anniversary, the upcoming construction of our new building that we hope will start next year, and the loss of our current administration building, Park Chateau, and temporary loss of our parking and 6th avenue courtyard while the construction is in process.
We asked you to look back and reflect on what you will miss about the old buildings, and to look forward to what you look forward to being able to do as a community in the new one. Below is a compilation of what you said.
These are the raw comments from the community, so let's keep that conversation going! Feel free to add to the lists in the comments!
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| Administration Building |
Goodbye Administration Building, Parc Chateau, 6th Avenue Courtyard, and Olive Street Parking Lot
• Where do we line up now for our outdoor parades? (St. George’s Day and Palm Sunday, etc)
• Space and utility connections for Showers of Blessings
• Goodbye guild room: Forums, many hours of filming, what is an Episcopalian, Integrity potlucks
• Fond farewell to St Paul’s parishioner who lives in the apartments
• Goodbye to the old youth group over where I grew up in the church
• I accidentally parked in the lot and when I came out of 12:00 serivce my car was blocked with volunteer activity. The people were really nice about it. They helped me back up and it was no big deal
• When the dust has settled and we think about landscaping I would love to see a rose garden planted with lilies and other bulbs planted in succession. To sit in a garden and meditate on the glories of God, to breathe in the perfumed air, watch the birds and insects on their busy ways, is tantamount to heaven. A few benches, a water feature, would surely be perfection.
• Jeff’s office and Penny’s office – my first welcome into SPC
• Parking concerns
• I will miss our Spanish style architecture block of the church campus
• Space in the guild room for interfaith shelter guests.
• Personalized youth group art in youth room on walls
• Chris Harris’ wedding reception in the Courtyard!
• I had many spiritual direction appointments in the room next to the dean’s office.
• Saying goodbye to homelessness memories – learning to cook and grocery shop all over again. Senior low income housing major life change – my life back in control.
• Sad to see the end of the guild room.
• Parking lot – meeting spot for hikes, pride, walkers, carpooling
• Gardens in all locations, all the perennials, hopefully they’ll be boarded with caring folks
• Stable spaces, known chairs
• The stinky carpeting in the Guild room
• Miss the parking lot during construction
• Miss the South Parking lot for Showers of Blessings?
• 6th street plaza, the pride picnics
• Classes in the guild room and dinner
• Chris and Joe’s wedding reception in the courtyards and clergy parking lot. So much love and fun.
• A Park Chateau we had a wonderful party for Harold Potter
• Goodbye Sixth Ave Courtyard: Chris and Joe’s wedding reception
• My confirmation class in the Guild Room in Spring 2016
• Remember the Cathedral Bookstore run by Kathrun
• Peace (no (illegible))
• Loading and unloading props etc for drama events
• Mehans wedding. Courtyard and changing room
• Special assigned spots in parking lot
• Goodbye longs (illegible) to Cathedral (no parking) to more parking
• Forums in Guild Room as well as various arts programs
• Meeting the youth group in 2015 as a teen
• In the children’s room, 1980s my children painted the disciples on the walls. They were there for years.
• Farewell to the admin bathrooms! Yay!
• Courtyard for performances. Gatherings for social and common space.
• In the early 1990s, Guild room became a “safe zone” for a series of Forums for our LGBT members and their families to come out in trust and acceptance
• Utility Room became the work space for pouring over 100 years of Vestry minutes to establish the history of the organ
• 5th st – Highland dancing. 2 Babies.
• Heather’s wedding. Courtyard and changing room.
• Sharing our spiritual journeys in the Fireside Room. People shared and connected in deep ways.
• The first time I walked into Sunday services I felt so at home. Many pleasant times in the courtyard.
• 20s and 30s Fireside room – fellowship
• Boys playing football during choir break in the courtyard
• Seeing David’s new office that looks out on Balboa park
• “The Invitation” each Sunday at worship touches me deeply each week
• Processing up the aisle of the national cathedral as a presenter in the farewell to John Chane as he was made bishop
• In the guildroom I filmed over 100 hours of forums
• Chapter meetings in the guild room. Spiritual autobiography.
• There is a narrow sidewalk leading from the 6th ave courtyard towards the NE parking lot. That walkway used to lead to a house on the property where that lot is. The house was the northern of two houses that the church purchased later. One for church offices and the other was used for lodging I think. Both came down in 1968 when the new admin building was constructed. That little walkway is the only thing left of that house.
• St. George’s day
• Memories of Park Chateau as home for sextons (Dick Anderson, Jim and Jane Minchinton, older congregants) and source of budget balancing income.
• North Parking Lot previously a home for the assistant priest and his family in the 50s was Fr Predergrasts home and garden (look carefully and you can see remains of the walkways)
• Human sized outdoor parking with shade trees!
• Choir boy parties
• Our first luncheon was so welcoming!
• Getting Bible donations for Sunday School
• Lining up in the parking lot for St Georges Day
• Administration building, memories of walking with noon mass celebrants, esp Fr. John Thomas and Canons Lee Teed and Alden Franklin
• Chateau – being a lunch/tea guest of Fr John Thomas after noon mass one time
• Many sacred moments In 6th ave courtyard – showers of blessings
• Will miss the olive st parking lot for all the choir rehearsals; kids and adults since 1986
• I remember watching the walls of the admin building being poured flat and tiled up into place
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| Proposed new building and campus |
Hopes, Dreams, and Hello to the new building, parking, and courtyard
• Re-thinking how we use the old remaining space like ministry center
• I hope to perform my one woman vocal show in the new space
• State of the art theater space for community performance and meetings
• Theater for performance and lectures and movies
• Looking forward to new gardens and green space
• Affordable housing
• Secured underground parking spaces
• Parking for choristors and family
• St paul’s can host more community and cultural events because we can offer enough parking
• Partnership with other ministries, ie uptown ecs rent space to them
• Tours to European cathedrals
• A small /charter school
• Welcome more space for ministries, especially showers. Welcome more convenient layout to make working here easier and more efficient
• Not talking about the new building anymore
• A larger and more accessible library
• Wondering how much fun ahead for all who come here can have and enjoy
• I imagine more space that will attract more people to st pauls
• Non profit café operator
• The general availability of space/rooms, + security
• Anything that gives congregants and neighbors a chance to have a voice in the new building usage
• Chorister parking
• Showers for homeless!
• Dedicated storage for banners and such so they will suffer damage
• Community gatherings with food
• Pleasant new neighbors who will want to join us (and enjoy us!)
• Labyrinth outside – store/grass paths
• Have a coffee bar + bookstore Christian? Place to hang out!
• Church income
• Anticipate new counseling space – pastoral care
• Blackbox/forum space in new building + underground parking
• Raising a family in a welcoming and supportive church community
• Unsure don’t know plan
• Pews? Or Chairs?
• Dedicated room for young people and café w/ consistent coffee staffed by parishioners w/o homes
• Looking forward to the debt of “seven simple songs (in the key of Beethoven)” in this Great Hall
• Hope to see a space with acoustics that allow for dramatic presentations and lectures
• Good work and storage space for outreach ministries supplies and work surfaces
• Storage for overflow of vestments, silver, altar supplies
• A good entry system that is not subjected to a “million” keys, insecure codes, etc.
• Dedicated reserved parking for the altar guild – not combined with other servers and volunteers
• Art studios
• Art space – painting, coffee
• Peace and Justice
• Space for community workshops, ie art classes cooking classes tai chi, yoga, meditation
• A dedicated choir room!
• Adequate parking (as I think the residential aspect will further impact the already limited street parking)
• An endowment which will supply our growing needs for the future
• Growing relationships in this faith community
• Music practice resort - Revisit the future of the music space along the vision that Pacem put in ministry some 20 years ago
• Choir rehearsal space with a/c along the line of FUMC in the valley
• Neighborhood coffee/bookstore tea / reading room
• Meditation teaching and meditation garden (could be indoors)
• AA mmetings for women and men
• Dancing
• Laundry facilities for homeless (schedule w/ showers)
• We must continue to host showers of blessings – hopefully on our campus!
• So many souls have been enlightened by the services and contributions SPC has provided. May these continue
• Welcome Millenials. Coffee, table for children
• Café – hot coffee in the cold months (illegible) inside? With sides
We are engaged in two floor restoration projects this fall: tiling the Sacristy floor and hallway, and restoring the floor in the Great Hall. Both projects are being funded by a generous anonymous donor.
