Capital Campaign Update: Spring/Summer 2010

We're excited to announce that during April we'll be giving the Porte Cochere Entry (under the Narthex) a thorough renovation with new slate tile floors at the entry and in both restrooms under the narthex. The stairs leading to both restrooms will receive new carpet, along with new lighting. There will also be a new wall of closets installed across from the mens' restroom. We hope to make this significant entrance to the church a much more attractive and welcoming space.

Also in April, we'll be finalizing plans for a complete renovation of the Fellowship Hall under the Sanctuary. Anyone who has seen it in recent years knows that it's a worn-out and depressing space with stained, smelly carpet and bad lighting. When we first presented plans for a Capital Campaign to the congregation in 2005, we showed photos of the disgusting carpet stains in this space as one of the main renovation needs. It hasn't gotten any better five years later! Our goal this summer will be to transform it into a modern and attractive space equally suitable for an elegant reception or a large church gathering. We plan to present more details about the renovation plans toward the end of April and begin work in late May with completion by August.

More information and photos coming soon...

Giving Update

As the books were closed on 2009, we're happy to report that we received $45,513 in December giving toward the Beacon for the Gospel Capital Campaign! This brings our total to $454,391, just $50,000 short of the total $505,000 that was pledged.

This is great news and will help us to complete the remaining projects more fully and effectively. Please pray that we would still receive the remaining $50,000 that was pledged, and perhaps even reach the full $600,000 Beacon goal that was originally envisioned in order to complete all of the renovation and restoration projects.

What's next in 2010?

As we close out 2009, it's worth reflecting on all that has been accomplished with the Beacon for the Gospel Capital Campaign. In early 2009, the finishing touches were put on a completely repainted sanctuary. In the Spring, the 2's and 3's department was transformed by a dramatic renovation. During the summer, the Capital Campaign provided $30,000 in seed money for the historic Aeolian organ console to receive much needed repairs.

In late June 2009, the official 3-year giving period of the campaign ended, having received over $400,000 in sacrificial giving. We know that for most people, it was not easy to give this money. Most made sacrifices and gave up vacations, dinners out, home improvements, or other good things in order to put these funds toward the vision of a renewed urban evangelical church at Memorial, serving as a Beacon for the Gospel to our city. These gifts kept coming in during the worst economic times in recent memory. Many gifts are still coming in, as people have desired to continue giving to help complete the full project list that was originally envisioned. We praise God for providing all of this through means other than our own.

So what's next?

The campaign still has more than $75,000 in the bank to put toward final projects. We spent the last few months waiting to receive additional giving and to see how much of pledged amounts might still come in. We are currently planning how to allocate these funds between important projects like a renovated Fellowship Hall, exterior lighting, 4's & 5's classroom, and exterior landscaping and playgarden. We will be formalizing these budgets in coming months and will keep you posted our progress.

In the meantime, more giving is still needed to help us complete these projects, so we appreciate all continued support and prayer.

2's & 3's Classroom - Before & After

The Capital Campaign team completed another transformative renovation in Spring 2009, converting the 2's and 3's classroom (in the basement of the Matthews Wing) from a dark and dingy space with loose floor tiles and sagging ceiling, into an ideal child's play and learning area. The design scheme uses bright colors with an urban motif, reminding kids that we are an urban, evangelical church. The floor tiles resemble a roadway complete with street signs and two roundabouts. The walls showcase graphical images of city landmarks above a treeline, with the grass-colored floor and refurbished playhouse alluding to a cottage in the middle of Forest Park, our neighbor across the street.

The Campaign Team's hope is that this new classroom will foster a more positive and creative envirionment for kids to receive Christian teaching, and will help remind children and parents that we value them and our shared commitment to spreading the Gospel to our City.

The renovations you see pictured below consisted of a new ceiling, light fixtures, vinyl tile and carpet squares, paint throughout, door hardware, faucets, and select removal of old furnishings and replacement with new items:

ENTRY BEFORE:

ENTRY AFTER:

REAR CORNER BEFORE:

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PLAYHOUSE BEFORE:

PLAYHOUSE AFTER:

OLD CEILING AND LIGHTS:

NEW CEILING AND LIGHTS:

OTHER PHOTOS OF THE COMPLETED SPACE:

Reaching the Beacon Goal

We recently sent out a letter and an update on giving to the campaign with a renewed request for pledges to help us raise the remaining $95,000 needed to reach our Beacon Goal of $600,000. Below is a summary of the letter:

In June 2006, Memorial’s friends and members pledged $505,000 to “sharpen our tools” to optimize our historic building and grounds for gospel ministry. Through this Campaign, we’re preparing for the coming decades as we bring the welcome of Jesus to our neighbors and their families and communities here in the heart of St Louis.

Our goal has always been to raise $600,000, and we are currently about $95,000 short. We ask you to prayerfully consider helping us in this final push to reach $600,000. What will this gain? It will light the church’s exterior as a literal Beacon for the Gospel in St. Louis. It will provide for a more complete renovation of the basement fellowship hall. It will construct a top-notch play garden by our award winning landscape architect Ted Spaid. Picture the worn-out asphalt disappearing, and finding in its place an SUV-sized interactive sculpture of a lion surrounded by lambs, with little children playing among them.Three large projects remain, and these three promise to make quite an impact:

1. New exterior lighting—to make Memorial's building and tower, visible from Forest
   Park, literally shine as a Beacon for the Gospel.
2. A Children's Play Garden—including interactive sculpture and play equipment. This project will include an ADA accessible ramp to the Chapel and Nurseries.
3. A renovated Fellowship Hall—where internationals come to hear about Christ, where wedding festivities abound, where kids run free and where the entire congregation can
   gather together to share a meal. This project will include renovations to the
   Porte Cochère entry and stairwell up to the Narthex.

Combined, even scaled back versions of these three projects will easily take up our current funds and the remaining outstanding commitments that we expect to receive by July 1. However, if friends and members like you are able to help us to reach $600,000 in total gifts, then we will be able to fully fund each of these projects as well as several smaller projects we still hope to complete. Please contact us if you can offer help in reaching the goal.

Beginner Classroom Renovations

Renovation of the Beginners Classroom (2's & 3's) in the basement of the Matthews Wing of the building is underway. Volunteers actually started removing the old suspended ceiling last Summer since it was stained and the ceiling tiles were sagging dangerously due to years of moisture and aging. This month, the classroom was temporarily vacated so that the full renovations could begin. Below is a rundown of what the renovations will include:

• New ceiling and lighting throughout
• New flooring throughout with a mixture of carpet tiles and brightly colored vinyl tiles
• New plumbing faucets
• New door hardware
• New furniture and toys provided by direct donations
• Repainted surfaces throughout
• Repainted wood playhouse

Below are some photos of volunteers beginning to repaint on March 3 after the new ceiling and lights were installed:

The Newly Painted Sanctuary

The moment the sanctuary was finished being repainted, it seemed like it should have been that way all along! The colors specified by the architect and refined by the capital campaign design team have turned out wonderfully. The sanctuary is now a more warm, inviting, and grand space for worship. The elaborate plaster and stained glass are now accentuated by their surroundings, rather than being lost in a sea of white paint. This project was a long time coming and took a full 2 months to complete by professional painters. Below are the before and after photos:

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