June 21, 2022
Dear Christ Memorial Congregation,
As the staff, consistory, and Sanctuary Remodel Building Team we are grateful for the overwhelming support shown in the vote of the proposed sanctuary remodel plan at our annual congregational meeting on June 12, 2022. This was an important step in our plan to outfit the church to influence the world.
This vote of confidence will enable the Sanctuary Remodel Building Team, (Scott Geerlings, Ron Hemmeke, Steve Martin, Stephen McCarthy, Todd Oonk, Katie Prins, Woody Steketee, Dann Stouten, and Tom VanZalen) to meet with our architect and contractors to identify and implement the specifics of our plan. These upgrades will be installed over the next several months as AVL (audio, visual, and lighting) equipment, labor and other materials are available. We will continue to keep you updated during this time. We will also do everything we can not to disrupt Sunday worship as these changes are implemented.
We also have a Sanctuary Remodel Finance Team (Sally Brink, Garth Deur, Terry Edewaard, Stephen McCarthy, Diane Sinclair, Rich Sinclair, and Dann Stouten) who are looking at ways for us to fund this project. They, too, will be sharing their ideas with the congregation as they unfold and will be challenging us to prayerfully consider how we could support this project.
We want to invite you to pray for the staff, the consistory, and these teams as we prepare to begin this remodel. Our hope is that this will enable us to better share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the greater Holland community for years to come.
In the meantime, if you have questions, comments, or suggestions we would encourage you to contact Katie Prins, our Director of Operations at katiep@christmemorial.org or 616-796-3356 and she will direct your ideas to the appropriate group. Thanks again for your prayers and support and may God be blessed by our efforts.
Pastor Dave VanOpstall and The Leadership at Christ Memorial Church
ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
Sunday, June 12, 2022,
11am in the sanctuary
Below are the three items on the agenda to approve along with details.
1. New consistory board members
LEAD ELDERS: John Auwema, Barb Jansen, Brad Prince,and Ryan Venhuizen.
CARE AND CONNECTION ELDERS: Jill Breuker, Jeanne Lindell, Barb Poppe, Bonnie VanDam, Terry VanderLee, and Debi Zahn.
DEACONS: Tammy Brink, Ron Hemmeke, Jerry Heyerman,Rich Poppe, and Paul VandeBunte.
2. Sanctuary Remodel
A little over four years ago Jon Fegel was brought on staff to evaluate our current and future technology needs. Ultimately, his evaluation and recommendations were put on hold due to cost considerations and Covid-19. Then, a little over a year ago, Jon and Dann began to look at these needs once again. What they discovered is that our sound system, our lighting, and our projection are all past their recommended shelf life. This also prompted questions about our stage layout, carpet, pew pads, and choir and orchestra needs.
Their findings were brought to the lead elders who then put together a sanctuary remodel team to explore our options and costs. Several ideas were considered. Some ideas were cost prohibitive. Other ideas were considered and consolidated, and we now have what we feel is the best, most cost-efficient plan, for updating our worship space. This plan was shared with the congregation in May and it received overwhelming support.
Preliminary cost estimates indicate that the total cost of this project will be approximately $1.5 million dollars. We are asking for your approval of that dollar amount so that we can order the equipment and begin to schedule contractors to complete these renovations.
3. 2022-23 Budget
