Our new preacher this Sunday??
There's the sound system brain!
There's the speaker! The preacher speaker? No, no, wishful thinking! :) This is the sound speaker that was in the photo in today's Construction Update #1. In Construction Update #1, the cover is on, so the speaker blends in almost perfectly with the column. Here the cover is off, so you can see the woofers and tweeters. Don't know what those are? Focus on the black circles (speakers) all lined up one on top of another. Woofers are for low-frequency sounds, and tweeters are for high-frequency sounds. There are two of these skinny yet powerful speakers in the sanctuary, and this is probably the only time you'll see inside one. You'll have to come on Sunday to look for the other speaker!
0 Comments
Don't like the hot and humid weather? Try the A/C at St. Peter's! No longer are there four big, eyesore A/C units on that DH wall. There are now EIGHT, smaller A/C units blending into the side walls. Instead of just the choir and your shivering pastor being cooled, now everyone will be cool! (Note: The next--and last?-- email will be about the new sound system. One of the new speakers is in this photo. Anyone see it? It's hard to find! Speakers have come a long way from back in the day....) Is that a space ship that landed?! No, but we might wish that! It's actually one of seven A/C condensers. Seven? Didn't I just say that there are eight A/C units? True that, but two of the A/C units whose piping had to travel the greatest distance demanded to be yoked into a double. This is it. In exchange for being cool, we'll need to get friendly with this. Plants will help, but we may want to give it a name, too. "R2D2" comes to mind, although I like "Charlie," too, or maybe it's female--Henrietta? Maybe we should have a naming contest. The winner gets to choose their pew location in the new, renovated space, after all there will be new air flow patterns with the new A/C units. Be forewarned, though: We will not have full A/C power until HECO decides to come and put in three-phase power. Our friend from outer space remains dormant until then. Thankfully, the whole system is not dependent upon R2D2, though. You can see some of the other condensers above the Carriage House roof. There are four units there and another two further up front, Ewa of the makai door. See if you can find those when you are at church! What do we see here above those four A/C condensers?Why there's a stained glass window up there! Yes, you are getting a sneak peak!! Come on Sunday, and you will be amazed!!!  Look closely! What do you see? Yes, there is a new stained glass window shining forth from a beautifully repaired and restored St. Peter's church building. Here you get only a glimpse from the back. You have to see the window from the inside in person! The story of its conception, completion, and installation is nothing short of miraculous. When it became clear that the original window, installed in 1914 as a memorial to the father of the Rev. Canon Yin Tet Kong (pastor of St. Peter's from 1896 to 1927), was compromised beyond reasonable repair, the Liu, Kong, and Kau Families joined together in gifting St. Peter's with this new window in memory and honor of lifelong members Samuel P.K. Liu, Sarah Kau Kong, and The Rev. Ernest Kau, brother of Sarah. The central design of the red cross on a rock is carried over from the original altar window. A ti plant appears in the new window to denote this congregation's roots in Hawai`i and is constructed of glass harvested from the original altar window. There's a close-up of the new cross. The beauty and texture of the different pieces of glass are amazing up close. From far away, the light catches these variations in different ways at different times of the day. You may want to consider spending the whole day at church just to watch the light play on this window! (Yes, the "smudge" in the middle is removable tape. Each panel was numbered to correspond with placement in the frame. Not hard to guess where the cross goes, though--exactly in the center. In this photo, the panel rests in the padding in which it was brought to church from Annalee Jones' studio.
A hollow beam You may be aware that before the repairs and renovations, we periodically would find "coffee grounds" in the makai-Ewa corner of the sanctuary. We were leery, therefore, about what might be found up high. Turns out the lower diagonal beam was hollowed out, but there was no evidence of live termites or ants. Yay! Lots of droppings up on the beam, though, and likely they sprinkled down every now and then when the building would move a bit--probably from those early morning garbage trucks we hear during the 7:30am service! Just kidding. :) Ah, but there WERE live termites--yikes!
It was a busy day at the front of the church... Four things were happening simultaneously in the front part of the church today (the "chancel" area for those of you who like church words!): Way up high on the scaffolding you can see a silhouette of Christopher, Jim Harvey's son. Just above him, you can see the beginnings of the new stained glass window! Christopher is helping his dad and Jim Erickson with the installation. Good thing, too, because those glass panels are heeeaaaavy! To your left, installed, and to your right, going up, you can see the new organ grille fabric! No more sagging, dirty fabric over those organ pipe chambers on either side of the chancel area. Over time the fabric does collect dirt, so the new fabric color was chosen to match well with the color of the wooden beams as well as to hide dirt! In the foreground in the above photo, Brian and his assistant are checking out the pew spacing for the chancel area. All the koa pews are now back in their proper places! And, last but not least, the sound folks from Audissey were busy putting in the new sound system. More to come on that in a future email! Rays from the cross, a touch of rock, and a ti plant rising!
So how did that stained glass get way up there??!!
News Flash: Organ Music heard from St. Peter's Sanctuary!Two Superb Organists Playing at St. Peter's! Yes, you heard right...the construction workers were treated to an organ concert on Tuesday! On the left is Dr. Joseph Eppink, our Director of Music and St. Peter's Organist. Next to him is Stephen Wittman, the Rogers Organ technician and a fellow organist, who is going to wrap up the organ renovation work that has been occurring for, well, about the last five years now. He flew down from Vancouver to assess the organ for the final phase of work and had the instrument sounding really, really "swell"! (Whew! All that plastic in which the construction crew wrapped that thing did the trick! Joseph and Stephen were really happy with what they heard. Yahoo!) Ever want to see inside that organ?
Have no fear, though, there are organ pipes, too, in those chambers up high on either side!
Happy Crew with Pews...
Ah, yes, it's beginning to look like a church again! There's still work to do, but, oh my, look at that shine! :)
Lots happening in this photo... That's Steve with the longest roller I have ever seen. There's more than one way to paint a building when the lifts are all in service. See those two lifts behind the church? They're both working on the Diamond Head wall which seems to want a lot of attention... Good thing those fellas know how to drive those baskets!
There's Neal! (Did you see him to the right of Steve in the top photo?)Neal's our lead painter guy, and he's been doing detail work around the church today. Here he's making the St. Peter's "keys" all shiny gold again. After that he painted the black shields and grill work.
He sure did a better job than I tried to do a few years back on those black gates in front of the church! Looking lovely! Look carefully, though. There's something new in this photo... Well, yes, it's freshly painted, but there's a little something way up there that's new... Yes, there's a cross again above the entrance to the church! Next time you're at church see how many crosses there are on St. Peter's. You see two in this photo.... The 100 year old cross that crumbled! Three years almost to the day--July 29, 2014--this crumbling cross was taken down for fear that pieces could fall off and hurt someone. It stood above St. Peter's from 1914 to 2014--100 years! Now a new cross sits atop that pinnacle. The new cross was made to exact specifications as the old cross by a local fabricator. It, too, is made of solid concrete but with fiberglass rebar, so it won't expand and crack like the old one. For those who like trivia, the cross weighs 168 pounds, is 35 inches high, and has an arm width of 28 inches (Sounds like an announcement for the birth of a very big baby!).
What's in those packages? THAT is the sum total of the old stained glass altar window! With the lead between the glass pieces (as well as some of the glass pieces) crumbling as Jim Erickson and Jim Harvey took out the old window, they took it all back to Jim H.'s studio and cleaned each piece of dangerous lead residue. Jim E. then packaged all the glass pieces according to color! In the future, we will decide how we want to use these pieces. That is a beautiful frame and window!
A most talented trio!
What view is this?! Why this is looking up and out (Diamond Head and heaven direction) of the new "glassed in" altar window frame! The thick, multi-layered glass panels are set into the exterior "tracks" of the frame in order to protect the stained glass window which will be placed in the interior "tracks" of the frame. A "breathing" space exists between the two tracks. This is a rare view...
Carpet!!!Yes, the carpet is being laid! The nave area was completed this week. And, yes, this is a view from way up high. :) It's amazing how "hushed" the atmosphere has become with the carpeting.
The last of the trifecta for July 3-7! Razzle-Dazzle! |
 | You are getting a sneak preview of what the doors will look like next week on the exterior. And look! There's that beautiful cross right back where it belongs on the Ewa wall above the doors--there to remind us that we go out into the world to serve Christ, proclaiming in word and deed God's love, grace, and mercy for all people. |
A special look inside...
Now THAT is high scaffolding!
Those levels are connected like a Jenga column and, yes, they visibly move as Neal and his painters climb up and down those side ladders like monkeys! See the guy way up there at the top? What a view! Remember Steve the painter? That's his son at the base of the scaffolding. He started out in the business with a fear of heights--yikes!--but he said after awhile you get used it. Good news for all you out there who don't like heights. Just keep climbing. You'll get used to it! :)
By the way, notice something missing up there?
By the way, notice something missing up there?
That's right! The cross came down. That cross has been there since St. Peter's parishioner, Ted Ho, designed and made that cross for the General Convention of The Episcopal Church which was held in Honolulu in 1955. Hawai`i wasn't supposed to be the site of the 58th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, but when it became clear that the designated site, Houston, Texas, was going to demand segregation, Hawai`i stepped up to become a host for the convention, a place without segregation laws where all were welcomed equally as children of God. The Presiding Bishop at the time, the Rt. Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill, said regarding this move of the convention to Hawaii and the controversial issue behind it, "The church, with an humble realization of the complexity of modern problems, nevertheless has a responsibility to state great ethical and spiritual principles." As true today as then.
Shiny!
 | St. Peter's parishioner Stephanie Wight along with Lyn Ho Yee (Yes, Ted's daughter!) took advantage of the time while the wall was being painted and the cross was down to clean and polish the cross! It looks BEAUTIFUL! Thank you, Stephanie and Lyn, for your loving care of this historic cross. If you don't know Hawaiian, you might be wondering what it says. This is the motto of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai`i: He Lanakila Ma Ke Ke'a and means "Victory Through the Cross," a victory at odds with the world's idea of victory. This is a victory of servanthood and sacrifice, of love over hate. |
Another Trifecta Week of Construction Updates!
Update #1
Update #1
Lots Happened This Week!
Let's begin with the exterior...
They've begun to paint the FRONT of the church! Remember that cute Genie Runabout that Micah and Varick were riding in on the inside of the church? Well, this is a BIG Genie! Look at the boom on that thing!! AND, if you are looking at this on a tablet or a phone, expand the screen and have a look up in that basket. That's one of our fearless painters hanging out over the edge! I sure am glad he's wearing his harness! Notice the two tone, 50/50 paint job? We liked it so well, we decided to keep it that way! Just kidding. :)
So that was the front...
lots happening in the back, too.
So many things to notice in this photo! First, the Altar Window Frame arrived from New York! HURRAY!! It had quite a miraculous journey in getting here. You can ask in person for that story. :) There it is being installed by two more fearless workers who are hanging out of that window.
Notice the four A/C condensers? We actually have eight new A/C units in the sanctuary. These four are attached to the front four A/C units on either side of the sanctuary. They fit ever so nicely on the wall just above the carriage house roof. There are three other units (one a "double,") but more on that in another email.
Did you notice that there's a guy working in that basket to the right. That's spall. No, no, that's the construction worker (I couldn't ask him his name way up there.), but what he's working on is spall! Remember that we've been talking about that? Concrete buildings are susceptible to rebar underneath corroding and expanding thereby breaking apart the concrete and causing a mess. There was a lot more spall hiding underneath St. Peter's exterior than was realized. It's kind of like surgery. Sometimes they find something more...this was one of the surprises.
Notice the four A/C condensers? We actually have eight new A/C units in the sanctuary. These four are attached to the front four A/C units on either side of the sanctuary. They fit ever so nicely on the wall just above the carriage house roof. There are three other units (one a "double,") but more on that in another email.
Did you notice that there's a guy working in that basket to the right. That's spall. No, no, that's the construction worker (I couldn't ask him his name way up there.), but what he's working on is spall! Remember that we've been talking about that? Concrete buildings are susceptible to rebar underneath corroding and expanding thereby breaking apart the concrete and causing a mess. There was a lot more spall hiding underneath St. Peter's exterior than was realized. It's kind of like surgery. Sometimes they find something more...this was one of the surprises.
Peek-a-Boo!
 | Yup, that spall needed fixing! Actually, this isn't even the worst of it. In this sample, the rebar is actually still intact. The worst patch was in the "well" just Diamond Head of the makai doors. That area was so bad that it had to be completely rebuilt with new rebar. Well, imagine, a 100 year old body. You begin to need to replace a few worn out parts--hips, knees, corneas.... |
Anyone hot these days? Just wait. Sitting in church is going to feel sooooo good...
There are eight A/C units in the sanctuary--four on either side, all the way down the length of the sanctuary! The construction workers did an AMAZING job putting all the koa wood back and making the wall look like wall! There are a lot of hidden pipes leading to and from those A/C units!
There are eight A/C units in the sanctuary--four on either side, all the way down the length of the sanctuary! The construction workers did an AMAZING job putting all the koa wood back and making the wall look like wall! There are a lot of hidden pipes leading to and from those A/C units!
| Early stage of the A/C units... It wasn't looking so good. These are only HALF the pipes running to and from those A/C units. Wait! Where are they in the photo?! |  |
| Paint makes all the difference... Yellow walls with white A/C units? We can't change the color of those A/C units, but we can paint the walls! You can see a paint swatch of the new interior color to the right of the A/C unit. Those units will blend in quite nicely! Interior painting begins next week!! (P.S. Those spall areas inside? Repaired today!) |  |
Categories
All
Christian
Church
Construction Blog Posts
Curate's Connections
Episcopal
Faith
Reverend Jazzy
Seminarian
Archives
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
October 2016
September 2016
May 2016
November 2015
August 2015
July 2015
March 2015
December 2014
October 2014
August 2014
July 2014
RSS Feed
