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The indoor phase of Compton Cares is almost complete! The new kitchen- ette is fully furnished with appliances and ready to use. The stove, counter top, and several of the cabinets were donated by members or friends of Compton. Remember what this looked like last September? It's beautiful.
The new accesssible bathrooms are easy to access from the hallway. The signs make them easy to find.
By January 28 the new restrooms were open for business. The sink, mirror and one of the dividers in the women's room are shown here.
Yes, it's OK to flush. These new restrooms provide comfort and privacy that the previous facilities on this level sorely lacked!
Meanwhile, concrete work goes on outside when the weather permits. These photos were taken on January 20, when the forms were in place to begin the ramp to the sanctuary door.
Since these photos were taken, support walls for the ramps have been poured, but on Feb. 3 everything was swaddled in tarps and covered with 8 inches of snow that fell on Feb. 1. This week is milder, but wet. We hope to have an unveiling of the ramp progress soon.
Anyone who has ever tripped over the uneven pavement through the north garden to Flora Place can rejoice, because the sidewalk has been repaired as part of the project.
The main indoor project remaining is to create a new doorway from the hallway into the sanctuary for easier wheelchair access. More dust, noise and disruption, but the contractor says it will be done between Monday and Friday and all will be cleaned up for worship. We will keep our fingers crossed and our prayer caps on!
Between January 9 and January 14, I was at the church four different times. And every time, additional progress was clearly visible. These photos are from Sunday, Jan. 14, and undoubtedly there will be new views next weekend!
Cabinets, counter top, sink and floor tile all appeared in this week.
Where once a small kitchen unit backed up to two tiny rest rooms, we now have a well lighted, functional small kitchen. We are shopping for a stove, microwave hood and refrigerator to complete the look. The faucets will be installed when the plumber pays us a visit.
Also ready for the plumber are the new accessible restrooms. The entry from the hallway is finished and ready. (And no, it isn't crooked at the bottom. It's just the optical limitations of my camera.
Once inside the entry, each restroom has a door. This one is to the women's restroom. Of course there will be signs when the facilities are ready to use.
Handrails are installed and all is ready for the plumber to connect the toilet and the carpenter to install the stall divider. This view below is in the men's room.
Sinks have been fastened to the walls with care in both rest rooms. This is another men's room view (the lighting was better.)
All is ready for the plumber to come back. Barry, where are you?
Meanwhile, outside we can see that Barry's work fixing the roof drains and under ground tile on the north side of the sanctuary is complete, and the concrete guys have laid the foundation for the next phase of the ramp that will lead to the sanctuary door.
Rounding the corner and looking south, toward our neighbor Jack in the Box, part of the old plaza is demolished and more grading and footings are in place for the continuation of the ramp. We have learned that the brick facing on the remaining portion of the porch (which covers the basement utility room) is in worse shape than originally thought and will have to be replaced, raising the cost of the project. We don't yet have that estimate.
This view from the southeast corner of the sanctuary shows the demolition progress on this side. In addition, Barry is also repairing the roof drains and underground tile on the south side of the building, after we discovered the tile was laid uphill, causing the runoff to back up in heavy rains. No more mopping the fellowship hall after a storm, we hope! Stop by next week for more updates, and also some exciting views of a wonderful gift that a member has donated to our fundraising campaign.
With good weather this week, the contractor was able to pour the ramp and walk that lead up from the street level. A portion of the walk that leads to the education building door is also in place.
This close up of the entrance shows the new, wide, low steps into the building. No more giant leap! The roof drain has also been re-connected to the underground drainage system, fixing a long-standing water problem in the fellowship hall.
Indoors, the carpenter has been busy painting walls and hanging the new overhead cabinets for the kitchenette. The base cabinets will be ready soon.
Work continues on getting the floor level in the kitchenette. The old bathrooms didn't have real tile on the floor: this is concrete scored to look like tile. Getting it out is proving to be a challenge but the workers are chipping away.
Lighting is installed in the new bath rooms, and the walls have been painted. The new all-in-one sinks and counter tops are delivered and ready to install, still in their protective shrink wrap!
Figures for the financial campaign for Compton Cares have been updated to reflect the audit done on the accounts as of Dec. 31, 2007. Some totals in the categories of money pledged and received will be a few thousand dollars less than previous reports, reflecting corrections for having counted two contributions twice. But the giving continues to be generous and the support of the project is amazing. The overall cost of the project has also increased by $3,200, the add-on charge to have our plumbing contractor take care of a collapsed sewer in the alley behind the education building that became evident when the project dumpster was moved into place. Having the same contractor take care of that problem now will save money in the long run.
The Outdoor Phase of Compton Cares con- struction has begun! The concrete con- tractors began work on Wednesday, Dec. 26. When people drove by for Happy Friday and when they arrived for worship on Dec. 30, this lovely orange net greeted them. After 5 months when the work was mostly indoors, now all the world can see that we are "doing something" to the entrance of the church.
Access to the education building is temporarily blocked by the grading and forms that will become the new ramp to the sanctuary level, as well as a new sidewalk to the education building door. In these photos the grade of the new ramp is beginning to take shape.
This view is from the side of the sanctuary toward Grand Ave. The drains from the roof were discovered to be disconnected from the storm tile underneath, so they have to be repaired before work on this side can proceed.
This view of the South side of the sanctuary entrance shows how badly the steps and brickwork on the plaza have deteriorated. All of this will be replaced, and brick will be used to face the portion that faces the street. The city's Landmarks commission required that for our permit.
A bad section of the walk from Flora Place to the education building has been broken out and slated for replacement, too.
Guest preacher on Dec. 30 was the Rev. Norm Linville, filling in for Jacque as she took a well deserved break visiting her family.
The Tree of Warmth collected a second offering this year. It was cleared once, and donations given to Isaiah 58 ministries, but on the 23rd and 30th, new offerings appeared.
Progress inside the building is evident in the Gleaners' classroom. A few feet of the room was taken for the new accessible restrooms, and the utilities were routed across the ceiling. Here, the new ceiling lights and grid are in place that will hide the work when the room is completed.
Workers are using the Gleaners' classroom to store and stage their work, but the new wall is in place and primed for a new coat of paint.
The folks at GoodSearch have calculated our earnings in the fiscal year that runs from October 2006 through September 2007. Each search, estimated to earn a penny, actually earned 1.3 cents. We began on GoodSearch in July, and sometime this month, we should receive a check for Compton Cares in the amount of $40.99.* GoodSearch pays but once a year, after their total ad revenue is calculated, but already our estimated earnings for next year are almost $50, thanks in part to shopping. And we have nine more months to go! The total amount you have raised for Compton Cares since the inception of this project is $87.25 and rising. The cumulative total will be updated weekly in the Fund Raising column at the right side of this page.
* Update: the actual check was for $41.09!
Thanks to everyone who has searched and shopped. Your choice to use GoodSearch and GoodShop is making a difference at Compton Heights.
Advent has come to Compton! On Dec. 2, the first banner, the Star of Hope, appeared, along with an Advent Wreath in the sanctuary. The Hanging of the Greens made the rest of the sanctuary look festive as well.
Today the Peace banner appeared as the second candle was lit. The angel joined the empty manger in the creche. The angel's message: Be Not Afraid.
The project continues to show progress! This photo was taken two weeks ago in the new kitchen- ette. This room as well as both bathrooms are completely dry-walled and primed for paint. Overhead lighting was added after this photo was taken. The new cabinets are assembled and ready to be installed. The paint colors have been ordered as well. We are still waiting for the front entrance work to begin. All week we have had cold weather and freezing rain. Not the best for concrete work. 
Advent may reign in the sanc- tuary, but Christmas was evident in the well decorated fellowship hall for the Christmas Fellowship dinner today. Beyond the dessert table is an exhibit of Alternative Gift possibilities. If a group is tired of exchanging gag gifts, why not contribute what you would have spent to one of these worthwhile causes? Or give a gift to a worthy organization in honor of someone? As we enjoyed the food, we exchanged ideas. 
A crowd began to gather as the food appeared. Finally Pastor Jacque gave the blessing and everyone could dig in!
Please keep track of our progress on the accessibility project as well as the Compton Cares Financial campaign in the column to the right. And if you are shopping for a special gift, please consider purchasing it online, using either Good Shop or EScrip. Over time, these contributions are adding up! We thank you for your support and wish everyone a blessed Christmas. Next year, we can hold our dinner upstairs in the Library, using the new kitchen and the festivities will be accessible to some folks who simply can't get into the church building today. Being open and accessible to all is what Compton Cares is all about.
Today before a storm blew in, I walked around to the front of the church and admired the concrete work that has happened in between snowstorms. The support walls, ramp surfaces, plaza level cap and part of the new stairs are all in place. The next step will be re-facing the brickwork.
This photo was taken two weeks ago, when forms were in place but the concrete had not yet been poured. You can compare it to earlier posts to see how the ramps have taken shape.
The contractor has brought brick samples for matching to the church exterior. None of the old facing brick on the plaza could be saved and used; it had started to disintegrate. Soon we will see the bricklayers, we hope, if the weather co-operates.
