Community Bible Church – Moving Forward Together

What an incredible week of seeing the pieces come together…

• Received the Occupancy Permit
• Received Final Inspection Report
• Receivec Final Plumbing Inspection
• Received Final Electrical Inspection
• Received Final Architect’s Inspection Report
• Received Final Mechanical/Electrical Engineer’s Inspection Report
• Received Final Fire Alarm Inspection Report

• The chairs have arrived
• The kitchen counter is installed
• The dishes are here
• The auditorium is polished
• The carpet is installed
• All the signage has been ordered
• The new Welcome brochure has arrived

The Ministry leaders are settling into their rooms.

SATURDAY, OCT 3rd is Stittsville’s Villagefest!!  On Saturday morning a parade will be passing our building at 11 am. If you are helping with Villagefest please arrive before they close off the road at 10:30.  But what a great way to begin our ministry, by joining in a community celebration!  We are running children’s games and giving away free hotdogs and drinks. E veryone can come and help either with Villagefest or working in the church (cleaning, setting up chairs….)

• There are still more tasks to complete, so come on out and help with this and Villagefest 9 am – 2:30 pm.

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SUNDAY, OCT 4th – We hold our FIRST Sunday morning service in our new location at 1600 Main!!  Steve will be speaking on, “How does a Home Hardware Become a Church?“  There may be a few unfinished items on the task list, but it will be great to be together, praising God for His goodness to us!

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"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Ps. 100:4,5

FRIDAY, OCT 16th:  Dedication Prayer Service, 7 pm at 1600 Main.  This is a family friendly prayer service on the eve of our Grand Opening.  We hope to have groups for children and youth as well as adults in the sanctuary.  The service will last about an hour and fifteen minutes and will include worship singing, prayer for CBC and for outreach to the community, among other things.  We will seek God’s face and His blessing.

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SUNDAY, OCT 18th:  GRAND OPENING!! 

We will need lots of help:  extra kids workers, welcomers, greeters, etc.  We will have a dedication service at 10 am followed by an open house with cake, juice and coffee where we can show people through the church.  Each ministry will have workers in their area to talk to people and answer questions.  Please contact Pam Stewart if you are able to help.

And the volunteer support has been wonderful, involving everyone – adults, families and youth. 

Most rooms have now been painted.  Just a few areas still need work:

• Ductwork needs a touch up.
• The doors and trim are being primed, so will ALL need to be painted willow brown.
• Lots of cleaning to do. 
• Garbage to be taken away – bring your boxes please.
• Furniture and bins to be moved.
• The fire alarm system is being installed this coming Tuesday (22nd).

Sound, lighting and electical are scheduling their own work sessions.

This week’s highlights included:

• Kitchen cabinets were installed.
• Drapery for platform curtains was ordered.
• Wrought iron railings were ordered.
• Painting, electrical and cleaning continued.
• Signage prices are coming in.

The Spraying of a Stage Ceiling (Thanks, Terry!)

"The family that paints together, stays together!"

The Raising of a Foosball Table.

Youth in Action!

The building inspector was here on Thursday – there are still a few fire related items to complete.

Angus MacDonald has offered to head up the floor cleaning team.  He has already recruited one helper.  Let Angus know if you can help out in this area.  It will involve evenings and possibly a day cleaning as well as we preapre for our move-in.

This is a very busy time in our church life, with many programs and activities going on.  Here is a list of fast-approaching dates to keep in mind…

Sunday, Sept. 20:  Prayer Walk beginning at 2:00 pm, starting at 1600 Main Street and continuing around the neighbourhood.  Come on out and walk a route in the surrounding area, praying silently or aloud for the people living in that area.  Prayer cards are available and for more information, contact Adrienne Woolf.

Sunday, Sept. 27:  Our anticipated date for MOVING OUT of AY Jackson immediately following the service.  Everyone is requested to help us pack up and load cars, vans, trucks, trailers and DEPOSIT all our belongings in to the new building.

Sunday, Sept. 27:  Mixed Bridal Shower for Stephanie Mousseau & Martin Schouten, 2:00 pm at Gordon & Kay Stewart’s home.

Saturday, Oct. 3:  11 am – 2 pm- Stittsville Villagefest where we will be having a free hotdog BBQ and kids’ games at our new building.  We need lots of volunteers for setting up, Kids’ Games (Bev Saemisch), BBQ helpers (Barb Boyd), takedown & cleanup.  Contact Pam Stewart or area organizer if your are able to help.

We will also need a work crew to finalize anything needed to be ready for our first Sunday in the new building.  Times TBA

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Ps. 100:4,5

Sunday, Oct. 4: Our much-anticipated first date in the new building!

Sunday, Oct.11:  Thanksgiving Sunday and “Sneak Peek”/Family Reunion Celebration with past congregants of CBC, showing our appreciation for their contribution over the years.  If you have current email addresses for former attendees of CBC, please contact Flo Alexander.

Friday, Oct. 16:  Dedication Prayer Service, 7 pm at 1600 Main.  This is a family friendly prayer service on the eve of our Grand Opening.  We hope to have groups for children and youth as well as adults in the sanctuary.  The service will last about an hour and fifteen minutes and will include worship singing, prayer for CBC and for outreach to the community, among other things.  We will seek God’s face and His blessing.

Sunday, Oct. 18:  GRAND OPENING!!  We will need lots of help:  extra kids workers, welcomers, greeters, etc.  We will have a dedication service at 10 am followed by an open house with cake, juice and coffee where we can show people through the church.  Each ministry will have workers in their area to talk to people and answer questions.  Please contact Pam Stewart if you are able to help.

In addition to the above, please remember the September Prayer Life Groups, Chuckle Club that has just started up, and the various Childrens, Jr. & Sr. High groups also meeting (see online calendar for more details)!  Whew!  GOD IS GOOD!

PRAYER

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thess 5:16-18

Prayer will continue to play a key role at Community Bible Church this fall under the leadership of Bob Douglas.  Immediate plans include:

• Teaching on prayer will be highlighted in September life groups on prayer and sharing SOAP Bible readings.  See the September 3rd “September Life Groups” blog.
• Adrienne Woolf is heading preparations for a prayer walk on September 20 in the neighbourhood around the new church building at 1600 Main Street in Stittsville.
• A Friday night prayer service will be held on October 9 at the beginning of the Grand Opening weekend for the new church building.
• Activities are planned for a new prayer room in the new church building.
• The weekly prayer group will resume in October after the September life groups are finished.

The Prayer E-Chain will also continue to operate.  To request prayer through this ministry, click on the “Request Prayer” link on the CBC homepage.

It was an awesome time last weekend with 28 volunteers coming out and 30 on Monday.  THANK YOU for your helping hands and willing hearts, making the Labour Day weekend less laborious for us all!

In addition to painting on the weekend, cleaning and laying of the flooring upstairs also took place – everyone pitched in!

This week’s schedule looks like this…

THURSDAY – the power will be off all day for Ottawa Hydro to do their work.

FRIDAY – the church will be open for painting from 8-4

SATURDAY – painting from 8-4 – it would be great to have a large group out to get most of the painiting finished.  Hopefully the ceiling above the stage will be sprayed black too.

The following week will be CLEANING including all day SATURDAY the 19th as we prepare to move in.

By the way, TODAY, we met with a local sign company to review our requirements.  In the course of the conversation, the representative remarked that CBC was “the buzz of Stittsville”, as many are curious how a former Home Hardware store could be turned into a church!  He had read the articles in the Stittsville News and was glad to have a sneak peek at the inside.  He was quite impressed with what had been done so far.  

We have momentum.  We have the attention of the community.  God has given us this incredible opportunity to participate in His work through 1600 Main!

As we have done in the past few years, we are having several Life Groups meet over four weeks of September.  Have you received your personal invitation?  This is a great opportunity to set aside some time to gather around God’s Word together during a very busy season.  This year the churchwide series will focus on prayer and how getting “soapy” can change your life!  Please consider joining one of the following groups:

• Leaders: Anne & Chris Sturgeon; location: Sturgeon home, Stittsville; first meeting: Sunday, September 6, 7-9 p.m.
• Leaders: Neil & Alexia Jackman; location: Jackman home, Stittsville; first meeting: Sunday, September 13, 5:30-7 p.m. (children welcome)
• Leader: Laura Buder; Douglas home, Kanata; first meeting: Wednesday, September 9, 7-9 p.m.

For more information you can contact the CBC office. 

Over the next several weeks, we will also be highlighting the awesome plans that the various ministries of CBC have been hard at work and prayerfully developing.  There will be plenty of opportunties to be involved and participate, including many outreach-oriented activities.  All the work on the building is happening so we can better meet needs and growth of the Body!  Moving forward together!

We are looking forward to a great weekend of “labour” on this Labour Day weekend!  If you are able to come, please bring a step-ladder, paint brush, roller, drop sheet, etc.  We have a few here but not enough to do the whole job.

If possible too, we would LOVE some more muffins – just drop them off on Saturday.

Here’s a schedule for the next week of work efforts:

Saturday, September 5, 8am - 4 pm

• painting walls
• painting upstairs youth room and two offices
• weeding flowerbeds
• cleaning graffiti off exterior walls
• finish ductwork painting

Monday, September 7, 8 am - 4 pm

• more painting!

Tuesday – Friday, September 8-11, 8 am – 4 pm & 7 – 9:30 pm

• installing doors
• installing cabinets
• installing laminate flooring
• and… more painting

Saturday, September 12, 8am – 4pm

• cleaning (and painting)

Other notes:  The revision permit for the three changes from the original plan has now been issued by the city so all is going well there.  Please pray about our chair order.  The company has experienced a flood and so are delaying our chairs.  Other hurdles have been overcome so beautifully, but we do need our chairs to start our services here.  They were to arrive September 10th.

The Grand Opening Weekend is now planned for October 10th & 11th!  We are hoping to be moved in for at least two weeks before then.  Stay tuned for those plans!

It has been a busy week of renovations and many people have worked very hard to meet inspection deadlines so the work can continue without delay.  Here are this week’s highlights from Kay Stewart:

• Successful wiring work day on Saturday resulted in rough wiring getting passed this week.
• The exterior red paint is disappearing.
• Building inspector gave us the go ahead to insulate and drywall interior walls.
• Roofers prepared the roof for the HVAC unit to be installed.
• Main stage and sound stage built.
• Plumbing contractor working in utility and children’s rooms.
• Nursery, stage and sound stage measured for carpet.
• Wonderful work session with 17 volunteers was held Thursday evening.  Almost all the insulation was installed and a great start was made to the drywall!

Other Notes:

• Architect to clarify some revision issues with the city.  Pray that this will not slow our process down.  There is an issue with three revisions that were made.
• Drywall taping to start Monday.
• Kay learned what a “woofer” is.

Next Work Day:  Saturday 8 – 4 - please bring a lunch!  We need a crew to do wiring (2 to help Mike and others to do wiring for the sound); a large, strong crew to install drywall; and a couple of ladies to bring muffins.

Painting Crews are needed at the first of September – exact day to be determined.

RENOVATING CHURCH A FAMILY AFFAIR

Renovating their new church home on Main Street is a family affair for members of Community Bible Church.

Almost everyone is pitching in to clean, garden, put up drywall and install rough wiring.  Husbands and wives and sons and daughters all have a role.

Community Bible Church bought the building at 1600 Main Street at the end of March and secured a city permit to renovate the premises on July 23.  Immediately, crews of volunteers moved in to put up steel studs to mark out the planned sanctuary, kitchen, prayer room and classrooms.

The aim remains to complete the renovations and dedicate the renovated church by late September or early October.  The church now meets at A. Y. Jackson High School in Kanata.  People interested in learning about the congregation can check the church’s web site at www.cbcstittsville.com.

The crews of volunteers and sub-contractors are being directed by a husband-and-wife team from the congregation, Gordon and Kay Stewart.  Gordon is a retired builder with many years of experience supervising building projects.

Jim Lewandowsky and his wife Caroline are typical of the volunteers – Jim helping with the rough wiring and Caroline spending hours in the church garden on summer evenings and weekends.

“I know it’s work,” said Jim of the rough wiring he is doing, “but it doesn’t feel like work.  Everyone is so easy-going and relaxed.”

“I love the garden,” said Caroline.  “I have connected with a lot of passers-by – people asking questions and making nice comments.”

It’s the camaraderie that volunteers enjoy most.

“I want to spend time with Jim,” said Caroline.

And Mark Egilo, who brought along his son Jonathan on a recent Saturday, said he has got to know other church members much better by working with them.

“It’s a great way to get to know people in the church,” he said.  “It’s relationship-building.”  For Mark, it is also satisfying to see the tangible results of his work – like Jim he was doing rough wiring.  “You are leaving a legacy,” he said.  “You can see the benefits of your work.”

Jonathan Egilo is enjoying the work, too.  His father bought him a new pair of work boots and he is learning as he is working.  “It’s good to help in the community,” Jonathan said.  “I kind of like construction work.”

Derek & Jay sand the exterior

On a recent Saturday, six volunteers turned out to do electrical work, another six for drywalling, two for gardening, and one for cleaning washrooms.  Five baked muffins to feed the workers.  Derek Peasley and his son Jason were busy sanding the exterior siding in preparation for painting.

“It has been a wonderful experience to watch the volunteers arriving for each work session, and always just the right number that is needed,” said Kay Stewart.  “It is exciting to see a former hardware store being transformed into a house of worship.”

Making sure we are "wired"!

Next workday is postponed for one week and is now scheduled for SATURDAY, AUGUST 22nd to insulate and raise the rest of the drywall.  The electrical crew needs a few more hours to complete their work for the rough wiring inspection.  They have been working hard, but it is a HUGE job.

 Each week brings with it a tremendous amount of progress.  It is so encouraging to see how God is putting each detail into place, including all helpful hands and willing hearts to be a part of His plan for CBC.  Our last workday held Saturday, August 8th had 20 volunteers involved with wiring, drywalling, weeding, cleaning of bathrooms, sanding prep of exterior siding, and the donation of muffins.

Andrea and Caroline, keeping our garden beautiful!

This week has been no exception!  Many other little things are going on, but here are a few of the week’s highlights:

• Steel studs are all up and drywall completed on one side.
• Rough plumbing is finished and passed by the plumbing inspector.
• Two used, identical double stainless sinks and faucets have been donated for the kitchen.
• Taping, filling and sanding of drywall contract has been given out.
• Insulation has arrived.
• Interior doors have been ordered.
• Architect made a site visit and will get the mechanical engineer to make a couple of changes.
• Building inspector made an initial visit and found all is going well.
• Sheet metal crew has main auditorium ductwork nearly completed and oldest furnace has been removed for demolition.
  

  Neil, Steve and Dale: working while Gary supervises!

• Sound and light team was in to plan their part.
• Nursery team was in to plan their room.
• The stage was measured for curtains.
• The budget has been brought up to date and we are on track.