One of the responsibilities I have as Rector is to work with the Wardens and Vestry in tending to some of the temporal concerns of the parish. My primary input, of course, is from the spiritual domain, since each of the material matters taken up by the Vestry involves an underlying theological principle.

Sometimes this is as simple as providing for the safety and security of our parishioners and visitors. Other times it involves seeing that the Word of God is able to be clearly heard. Still others, it is working to provide a welcoming space for those seeking Christ, as well as effective facilities for accomplishing our Christian mission.

And so, I serve as an ex-officio member on a number of parish commissions, committees, and foundations where these concerns come up. While my other pastoral duties sometimes keep me from attending every meeting, I make many of them, and try to keep well-informed about ongoing projects when I have to miss.

Because several projects in this area have been in the works for some time now, I thought it might be useful to summarize for you their current status, particularly as most are either nearing completion or about to be presented to the congregation for further consideration.

Lightning Suppression and Fire Protection for the Church. The Historic Pohick Church Foundation has taken the lead on both of these matters. Last year, the Foundation commissioned a study to determine what steps were needed to better protect our church building from fire. The study essentially came back with three recommendations: 1. That we install lightning rods on the church, since, as the highest structure in the area, it was at risk (theologically sound sermons notwithstanding!); 2. That we upgrade the fire detection devices inside; and 3. That we install a “dry” water sprinkler system inside (meaning there’s no water in the system until a series of fail-safe measures has been satisfied).

Last year, the Foundation approved monies for numbers 1 and 2, and started planning to fundraise for the third item, since it will cost in excess of $100,000. The Vestry subsequently authorized all three measures.

By the time you read this, the lightning rods will have been installed on the church exterior by the same company that installed these devices at Mt. Vernon (incidentally, Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod, and so it was around in colonial times). Also included will be an upgrade of our grounding and surge protection capabilities to keep especially our organ from blowing up in the event of a strike or near strike.

Our wardens and sexton are presently working to implement installation of the fire detection devices, but since these are integrated with those in the parish house, the entire system may need to be upgraded, meaning extra cost. Finally, the Foundation is accepting donations for the sprinkler systems, and is pursuing grant monies for the same.

Church Sound System. I wrote about this several months ago, and a subsequent survey found strong support for this initiative - so long as we keep the acoustics natural sounding and the amplification devices as invisible as possible. Working together, the Property Committee and the Historic Foundation have already met with one company and will be interviewing others shortly before comparing the options explored. Installation by early next year seems a realistic expectation.

Master Plan progress. Roberta Fede continues to ably guide the Building Committee in their work with the architectural firm retained by the Vestry a year ago (The Kerns Group). The committee has been through several plan revisions with the architects in an effort to make the phasing of improvements affordable to the congregation, while still addressing first the most pressing of our space needs. The Committee hopes to have the fruits of their work ready to present to the Vestry and the congregation within the next two months.

Signage and Anti-Clutter Campaign. This past summer, the staff voiced exasperation over the build-up of “clutter” over the years, particularly in the main office. Not only has this made for a poor work environment, but because the office area is often what many visitors see first, it has hardly been the visual model of welcome that we desire when ministering to them. As a result, the staff has been laboring over the past few months to reduce the clutter and create a friendlier environment. They invite your suggestions (and help!) as they continue this project.

In a similar vein, one of the objectives in our Strategic Plan is to improve church signage (Goal 1, Objective 8). This has been done incrementally over the past few years in view of VDOT’s construction work. Now that their project has concluded, I have asked Jane Piver to work with the relevant committees under the Outreach, Property and Communications Commissions to design a master signage plan.

The overall goal of this initiative is twofold. First, the signs need to make our presence better known to the surrounding community, and to do so in a tasteful way. Second, the signs need to inform visitors where they can find our various buildings and facilities once they have come onto our property. And so, again, Jane, Ken Wrona (Jr. Warden), Doug Smith (Outreach Commission Chair), and Susan Pehrsson (Communications Chair) welcome your suggestions.

As I wrote above, every temporal concern of our congregation has a spiritual underpinning. By being good stewards of the former, we can become more effective ministers of the Gospel.

And so, let the Holy Spirit lead you. As the individual blessings of your time, talents and treasure suggest, consider supporting one or more of these initiatives as they are being worked upon in the weeks and months ahead.