Cambridge Springs First Baptist Church

More exciting things! John says the dust will be basically done by tomorrow. The wall ripping will be done. It’s amazing to see the back rooms as they can gutted.

As you can readily see, the work progresses quickly. The walls are bare, and we even found an interesting picture of an elegant young lady behind the one wall. Anyone know her? I wish I had the person's drawing ability! (http://www.csfbc.org/node/68)
The coal dust was intense. Jeannie told me how the gals liked to stand over the floor register in the center aisle and feel the warmth from the furnace.
John (Corwin) mentioned that the church resembled the Alamo… after the attack. LOL

It's an exciting time of year anyway, but with all that's going on there's even MORE anticipation! The guys are really going "gangbusters" on the sanctuary. There's a wall built for protection so that we can still use the basement, but keep the kids safe.
The all purpose room is all ready for worship! John's men set the pews up a bit w-i-d-e-r than they were in the sanctuary. I'll be interested to know what you think about the spacing, because if it's better they may go back that way. let me know your thoughts. (We'll have to see if Jon can put a voting option on our site.)

As you can raedily see from the newest pictures, we're started!
It was amazing to see how quickly these men work. We should be set up in our family ministry room by tonight. We'll see you in it on Sunday. It's quite exciting to see it happening!
God Bless you all!

Wow! (That seems to be the word of the hour, everything seems to be a “wow” experience.) Can you believe how this new entrance transforms not only the look of the church but how it directs people to worship and ministry. We literally had confused people when they came to church before. “Where do I go in and where do I go from there?” Well those questions have been resolved and it helps us know who’s here and takes them into the central hub of our church. I appreciated the one thoughtful comment, “Why didn’t they think of this in the first place? “ I guess we needed John and his insight.

We are now an official organ donor! The men have spent weeks here painstakingly, gently, and meticulously marking every minute piece of the organ apart in order to transport it to its new home for ministry. That majestic instrument that we enjoyed for decades, perhaps a century, is now completely dismantled and there is quite a hole in the front of the church. There is a inexpressible emptiness that goes along with its absence too. But it is wonderful to know that it will ring out its wonderful worshipful sounds again.

Wow, the new portico is really amazing! It makes the church look entirely different. There certainly isn't any questions as to which door to go in anymore, is there. It appears inviting and it'll keep us dry as we enter. Remember people running back and forth with umbrellas when we'd have deluge? How wonderful will this drive through be!

Isn't that neat how the new front entrance path winds through the trees! Wow, talk about picturesque and inviting.
I never imagined it beginning so amazing.
They continue to press on, even through the inclement weather, but we're still waiting for new doors to get us into our worship center. After all, one of the fruit of the Spirit is patience. I guess that still needs a little cultivating -doesn't it!

God bless your day,
Pastor Rod

The Bible tells us that we should say:
    “Let us now fear the LORD our God,

Well one of the casualties of renovation is ease. There is no easy way to get into church this Sunday. We've lost all the doors we always use. The only options are the side door into the Fellowship Hall, the door by the cellar well, or the long set of steps in front of the building to the door that was to be kept permanently locked (oops).