Congregation Hopes for June Reopening on Sanchez Street
By Tim Innes
Workers
were putting the final touches on a $3 million
renovation of Bethany United Methodist Church this
spring. While replacing the foundation and shoring up
the walls of the 104-year-old building, they were
careful to protect the stained-glass
windows. Photo by Pamela Gerard
After a 3-1/2-year absence, the congregation of
Bethany United
Methodist Church at Sanchez and Clipper streets hopes to
return home next
month.
“We should have all the permits signed off by
June 4,” said the
Rev. Kristin Sachen, Bethany’s pastor. “Then we can start
moving back in. We’re
planning a ‘soft opening’ in June, followed by an official
launch before school
starts in August.”
While the 70-member congregation has been
away—they’ve been
worshipping at Bethany Center in the Mission—an army of
masons, carpenters,
plumbers, and electricians have swarmed over the 104-year-old
building at 1268
Sanchez St. Although the main focus of the $3 million
renovation has been to
make sure the sanctuary and church hall are structurally
sound, nothing, from
the bottom of the elevator pit to the top of the steeple, has
been overlooked.
Before remodeling could even begin, the workers
had to erect a
140-foot-long retaining wall, install drainage, replace the
foundations of both
buildings, and shore up the walls of the sanctuary.
“It’s been a huge challenge,” said Byron Nobriga,
project
superintendent for San Jose–based Teamwrkx, the general
contractor. “The office
building sagged five inches because a leaky sewer pipe had
undermined the
foundation, there was bad rot in some of the [eight] corner
posts of the
sanctuary, and the walls were several inches out of plumb due
to the weight of
the roof,” he said.
Although much of the work isn’t obvious to the
casual observer,
regular church-goers will see plenty of changes. The formerly
dark sanctuary is
now bathed in light. A sunny courtyard connects the sanctuary
and the
redesigned administration building. There’s a new entrance on
Sanchez Street.
And there are new bathrooms, kitchen, and elevator.
Plumbing, heating, and electrical systems have
all been upgraded.
New doors are being hung. Floors are being refinished and
walls painted. And
the buckled sidewalk along Clipper is being replaced. Even the
worn ropes and
pulleys in the belfry have been repaired, allowing the bells
to be rung on
Sunday mornings.
“When we’re done, the church should be good for
another 100
years,” Nubriga said.
Though much has changed, longtime members will
find that the
sanctuary’s stained-glass windows and vaulted redwood ceiling
have been
carefully preserved. The old wooden pews, however, are gone.
“We’re replacing them with chairs,” said Sachen.
“That will give
us more flexibility in presenting concerts and other cultural
events in the
sanctuary.”
Bethany also hopes to welcome back community
groups that used to
meet in the church hall. In addition, the church is
negotiating with Sonoma’s
Moldovan Academy, which has plans to open a preschool on the
site.
The reopening of the church, while a homecoming
for many of the
parishioners, will not be one for Sachen. That’s because she
became Bethany’s
pastor just a year and a half ago, after the relocation to 580
Capp St. Thus,
the first service will also mark her first time in the pulpit
at Clipper and
Sanchez.
Sachen is understandably excited about the
church’s rebirth. “Even
as we celebrate the past, we have an opportunity to redefine
the future,” she
said. “What kind of church will we be in the 21st century?”
While Bethany’s mission may change over time,
Sachen said there’s
one thing that won’t: “This church will always be a place
where everyone feels
welcome.”
Bethany’s
new administration building on Sanchez Street (center)
has a peaked roof and window features that echo the
design of the sanctuary at the corner of Sanchez and
Clipper streets. Photo by Sally
Smith
