Blog Archives
Fall Blitz Underway – Dedication Postponed
The fall blitz is kicking off today at Northwood Christian Church in Beaumont, TX. Volunteers will be busy the next two weeks completing the work on their new sanctuary, classroom and office space. More details and pictures will be coming. One important change has been made: the church has decided to postpone the dedication of the new building until January 2011.
Fall Blitz in Beaumont, TX: Volunteers Needed
Northwood Christian Church in Beaumont, TX, housed hundreds of volunteers who helped neighbors rebuild their homes and their lives following Hurricanes Rita (2005) and Ike (2008). Volunteers took over their multipurpose building for weeks at a time and members at Northwood were thrilled to provide the space – even though they had lost their main building, which contained their sanctuary, classrooms, and office space, during Hurricane Rita. On a typical Sunday morning, the rec room of their multipurpose building was transformed into a worship space. Sunday afternoon, the space was then converted to accommodate work groups. Now, after five years of working, dreaming, praying, and planning, Northwood is on the verge of returning to a permanent place of worship. This summer, Disciples Volunteering coordinated a major building effort. Volunteers from congregations across the country came to frame, roof, side, insulate, and sheetrock a new building complete with sanctuary, office, and classroom space on the footprint of their old building. The new building is nearly complete.
Now is the time to finish the work. Now is the time to thank the folks at Northwood for their sacrificial giving despite their own loss. Now is the time to volunteer, to spend a day, a week or two weeks in Beaumont. Disciples Volunteering is calling for volunteers to come Get Dirty for Jesus! and help finish the building.
The work will take place Nov. 7 – 21. The new building will be dedicated on Nov. 21 at 3:00 pm in January 2011 in a special time of worship and celebration. More information is available here and a flyer for printing and sharing is here. Register at this link. A registration fee covers the cost of housing and all meals; weekly and daily rates are available. Please contact Brenda Tyler at 888-346-2631 or btyler@dhm.disciples.org with any questions.
Dispatch from Beaumont
It occasionally happens, for any number of reasons, that a scheduled mission group needs to cancel. This is unfortunate, but we certainly understand that situations arise that necessitate a change in everyone’s plans. If you’ve ever been on a Disciples Volunteering sponsored Mission Trip, you know how much we emphasize the importance of ‘flexibility’ to all our volunteers. You should know that we try to practice what we preach, including staying loose, limber, and flexible ourselves. Last week in Beaumont brought one of those weeks: a group cancellation requiring a bit of stretching from all on-site. Everyone flexed quite well, and while some work on major projects continued (especially hardieboard siding), the Long Term Volunteers and a number of church members, including the youth group, tackled several smaller projects, too. Volunteers installed panic bars on some of the doors, caulked around the outside of the building, wrapped cedar trim on the porch posts, and framed air conditioning duct chases.
Thanks to Summer Intern Alex for the pictures and the update!
Wrapping and Roofing at Northwood
Four mission teams are in Beaumont this week continuing work on the new sanctuary at Northwood Christian Church. They are: Central Christian Church, Columbus, GA; First Christian Church, Republic, MO; Community United Christian Church, Aledo, TX; and Park Hill Christian Church, North Little Rock, AR. The week began with wrapping Tyvek moisture barrier around the building, cementing over the new plumbing, and continuing to work on decking the roof. Tuesday was a full day as volunteers finished the Tyvek wrap, continued the cement work, loaded shingles on the roof and began shingling, installed some facia, and installed all the regular exterior windows plus half the sanctuary windows. Yesterday brought more roofing and the beginning of siding the building. It’s been a great week!
Thanks to Summer Intern Gabriel Davis for the pictures and update!
Update from Northwood Christian Church
Nearly 5 years ago, Hurricane Rita destroyed the sanctuary at Northwood Christian Church in Beaumont, TX. Since that time, the congregation has been sharing their only remaining space, a fellowship hall/gym with kitchen, showers, and the youth room, with volunteers who have come to help the community recover. In June, Disciples Volunteering began leading volunteers in the reconstruction of their sanctuary. While the first month has seen lots of rain, including a race against storms spawned by Hurricane Alex, the work continues to progress. This week, volunteers from Kansas City and from Richlands, NC are continuing to work, focusing on the roof. Yesterday’s work included straightening trusses, decking, and installing drip edge and facia. The plumbers were also on site doing their foundation work (the slab was retained from the original building and is being modified to accommodate the new layout).
Here are a few recent pictures, including one of the volunteers this week. Click on any to go to an album that will be updated as pictures are sent.
Thanks to summer intern Alex Stewart for the pictures and work update.
