Fire Recovery Update - 2/29/12

February 29, 2012

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Here are some of the latest updates regarding our recovery from last Sunday’s fire.

We will be moving Sunday morning worship to the upper level auditorium of the Cherokee Community Center for the next four Sundays (basically the month of March). While the sanctuary escaped major damage, there is a thin layer of soot on all the surfaces that will require extensive cleaning. In addition, before we feel comfortable resuming services in there, we need to make sure that the support system beneath the sanctuary is structurally sound, and that the electrical, lighting, and computer systems are all in working order. We anticipate that we will be back in our own sanctuary to worship on April 1, for Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week.

We will be in the Community Center, rather than the high school auditorium, which was previously reported, since that facility allows easier access for those with accessibility needs. For that reason, we invite those who are most able to park further away to consider leaving the closer spots in the south parking lot available for those who need to use them. We are working on having a team of youth available to assist the elderly in accessing the building.

We will be suspending Sunday school during the month of March as well, including Confirmation. The classrooms were largely untouched by smoke, but there is some soot on the surfaces in the Education Wing, particularly in the nursery. Sunday school teachers are welcome to come in and survey their materials by the end of next week, to help us determine what can be cleaned and what needs to be thrown out. All materials, including personal materials, should be inventoried for damage and can be replaced under our policy. Our arrangement with Service Master is that our own folks can come clean classrooms if they wish, but please help us keep track of the hours you volunteer to do so.

I am thoroughly amazed and inspired by the overwhelming number of offers from church members to come in, get dirty, and do whatever it takes to help in the recovery. At this point, we are following the recommendations of both our insurance company and our Service Master agents, who strongly advise that our people refrain from being in the kitchen and dining hall for the foreseeable future. This is so that they can make sure that the areas are of no structural or electrical danger, and so that professional people can handle the difficult initial waves of debris removal. All of this work is covered by our excellent insurance policy.

Thanks for your prayers and support throughout this significant moment in our history. Our Trustees, as well as our lay leader and chair persons of the Administrative Board and Building Committee, will be meeting tomorrow night to be apprised of the latest developments and lay the groundwork for moving forward. We encourage you to come to worship this Sunday at the Community Center to hear the latest updates.

Now, more than ever, it is great to be the church together.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org