321 South Seventh
Springfield, IL
217.528.4311
Reverend Susan Phillips
RENOVATION
Renovating our church will create accessible, beautiful, and functional spaces for our ministry and our mission partners. Central to our plans is an elevator that will provide access to all five levels of our building and access to an additional 20,000 square feet for gathering, meeting, learning and worshiping space.
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Construction has begun August of 2023.
AUGUST 2023 UPDATES
Our congregation began sincere conversations about who we are and where we believe God is leading us almost five years ago! In October of 2018, we hosted several Geography of Grace workshops with sixty members. Since then, we have also hosted a Community Asset Mapping Event with 39 community leaders and support from Partners for Sacred Places, another congregational workshop visualizing our future, a design Charrette, a feasibility study, an architectural design process, and launching Our New Season: Building Community capital campaign.
Last week, we gathered on Wednesday evening and celebrated 100 years of ministry in the 1920s section of our building. We shared memories of Sunday school and adult classes, committee meetings, weddings, funerals, early Sunday services, pastoral care, Boy Scouts, Health First, Samaritan Ministries (food pantry, social services, and rent assistance), choir rehearsals, music libraries, community events, and the history archives. The stories were special, the dinner was delicious, the connections were beautiful!
Thanks to those who shared stories, music, food, and decorations!
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This week, the physical renovation work began! Thanks be!
Church volunteers shared their skills to gently dismantle elements in the small 1920s chapel so we can reuse them in our new history room in the renovated space. We discovered a few surprises along the way, including a small bench under the Communion table where servers or celebrants could have sat when the table was pulled forward. Also, the original floor was all one level. The elevated chancel on the west wall was added at a later date (and unknown to us).
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We should be receiving information this week about the necessary asbestos abatement and scheduling that work in September. The construction team from O’Shea has been on site to begin the next phase of their work as we shift from design to building.
Also this month, we have a gratifying update on our capital campaign.
We have had 60 households pledge close to $880,000 (over our goal of $750,000).
We also have contributions from 9 households who did not pledge.
This month, we are at 71% of our total pledge goal: $625,580!
Thank you to everyone who has contributed funds, prayers, labor, and love!
Thanks be to God for breathing life into our ministries!
Latest renderings of the new chapel
Architecture Promotes Healing
Renovation Presentation
Charrette Report Spring 2020
Dimension IV architectural firm was retained by First Presbyterian Church to provide a multi-session Design/ Planning Charrette. The primary goal for the Charrette was to visualize the potential of the facility to meet the requirements of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) for universal accessibility and revise as appropriate how the facility can best meet the current and anticipated future mission and goals of the congregation.
Design Summary
Visuals Speak Workshop 8.2019
Sixty church members worked with Molly Grisham to envision how God is calling us to serve our community as faithful disciples of Jesus and led by the Spirit.. The overwhelming clarity for building renovations is an elevator. We also highly value our community partnerships.
Community Asset Mapping
Asset mapping is a critical engagement tool – bringing together a wide group of stakeholders and leaders from throughout Springfield and greater Sangamon County to generate ideas and guidance on ways that First Presbyterian Church can use its space and building for new uses, partnerships, and collaboration.
Asset Mapping Summary
Geography of Grace
10.2018
As a congregation, we are rooted and reaching. We honor our past, our roots, while nurturing our growing future, our branches. In these workshops, we listened for God’s voice leading us in new paths informed by our history and shaped by our present community. This is our heart and soul work. The Geography of Grace curriculum was developed by the Center for Courage and Renewal.
