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Seeks new ways to serve the community
Wayside UCC completes reconstruction project
For five years, Wayside UCC in Federal Way has been working on a remodeling project to expand its fellowship space, to make its rest rooms roomier and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, and to expand and rearrange its kitchen.
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Wayside UCC rededicates renovation of space in September. |
Dennis Hollinger-Lant, the pastor, said that the $650,000 reconstruction has added space, taken care of acoustical problems in the fellowship hall and added to its accessibility. Nursery space was also added.
It also replaced windows and floors, and redid the electrical, heating and plumbing systems. A new sidewalk leads to classrooms and a retaining wall was added between the parking lot and fellowship hall.
“We wanted to improve the space we have to enhance our ability to engage the community,” he said.
Two AA groups, an Al-Anon group and a Marshallese United Church of Christ and the Federal Way Chorale use the building.
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New fellowship area includes more space. |
“We also want to use the space to find new ways to do mission and outreach to the community,” Dennis said.
The church is involved in financially supporting an overnight shelter.
“We seek to nurture and empower each other, join ecumenically with other faith communities, reach out with love and understanding to all of God’s people, and promote peace, justice and respect for all creation,” he said.
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New kitchen cabinets allowed for rearranging space. |
In its community, Wayside’s outreach already includes budgetary support of and involvement of members in the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network, the Federal Way Community Caregiving Network, the Federal Way Multi-service Center, FUSION (Friends United to Shelter the Indigent, Oppressed and Needy), REACH OUT of Federal Way, and Valley Cities Mental Health Treatment Centered on Wellness, Resiliency and Recovery.
During the rebuilding, his sermons have challenged the church to consider how they might use the expanded space to reach out to the community.
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Exterior includes sidewalk to classrooms. |
Members also pitched in to save costs by helping with interior and exterior painting.
“Like families helping build a Habitat for Humanity house, we believed that if members put in ‘sweat equity,’ they would have more pride and the satisfaction of having worked on it,” he said.
“We worked with the UCC Capital Campaign Services representative, the Rev. Priscilla Bizer, and have a loan from the Cornerstone Fund after raising $600,000 in pledges toward the total in a capital campaign we began in 2012,” he said.
“The capital campaign pledges are coming in. We seek to pay off the principal in two years,” he said.
The campaign has the commitment of 77 pledging units that set amounts by Easter 2012. Other pledges have been coming in since then. The church has a membership of 178 with about 80 attending each week.
Wayside UCC was founded in 1959. The chapel and fellowship hall were built in 1962. Two classrooms have been added, and in the 1980s, a meeting room and the office space, said Dennis, who has served the church since 1995.
“The building is now bigger and more welcoming, giving us space to play with,” Dennis said.
For information, call 2053-838-0915 or visit http://www.waysideucc.org.
Copyright © December 2013 - Pacific Northwest Conference United Church of Christ News
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