St. Andrew's United Church
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When Will St. Andrew’s Reopen? 
For those wondering when St. Andrew’s will open again here’s the scoop. 
Scroll to the end of this post to see how you can be part of what's happening.

Who’s Working on it? 

There are three groups working to get St. Andrew’s ready to reopen. 
  1. The Stewards, chaired by Bruce Hudson, are responsible for renovations in the basement. 
  2. The A-V Committee, chaired by David Sale, is working on the new Audio-Visual System. 
  3. The Reopening Committee, chaired by Rhonda Tees, is making sure the church will be safe for gathering during the COVID-19 Pandemic 
As is always the case, and with only minor exceptions, these projects are being done by volunteers who have already spent hundreds of hours on these important improvements. 

What’s Been Done So Far? 

Each group of volunteers has made laudable progress on their individual projects.  

The Renovation Project is nearing completion. To date the Stewards, have: 
  • removed the old duct work from the ceiling in the Dining Hall 
  • installed new recessed duct work to eliminate noise and improve furnace efficiency 
  • installed a new ceiling to contain the updated duct work 
  • installed additional electrical outlets to help the Special Events Committee host events 
  • run wires and cables to allow the primary audio-visual system to communicate with equipment in the Dining Hall in Phase 2 of the A-V Project 
  • completed electrical work for LED ceiling lights in the Dining Hall 
  • created new cold air returns in the Dining Hall and Stewart Hall to improve air flow and heating 
  • removed the old water pump and pressure tank and replaced them with a new tank and submersible pump to reduce noise and ensure enough volume through the system 
  • arranged for the water to be tested in anticipation of the installation of a new water treatment system to eliminate the smell of sulfur. 
Members of the A-V Committee have purchased and installed dozens of pieces of equipment, new lighting and run and fished what felt like miles of wire and cable. As a result, we will have improved or brand-new capabilities for: audio, projection, broadcast, live streaming in and out of the church, recording, video mixing and lighting. They have also had high speed Internet installed in the building. All functionality that will help position us for the future.  

The Reopening Committee has written a plan that has been approved by the Leeds, Grenville, Lanark District Health Unit, St. Andrew’s Executive Council and the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council. The Plan details the fundamental things that we will do to keep you, your loved ones, friends and neighbours, our staff, and volunteers safe and healthy. A copy of this plan is available to you on our website at: https://www.standrewsunitedpakenham.org/welcome-back.html  The Committee has also designed appropriate signage and purchased supplies such as disposable masks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, disinfectant to be used on the pew seat cushions and better paper towel dispensers and garbage cans.

​
What’s Left to Do? 

Remaining on the Renovation Project list are the following jobs: 
  • Another coat of paint on the ceiling (we are paying someone to do this job) 
  • Additional coats of paint on the posts and columns (we are paying someone to do this job) 
  • Patch and paint the walls in the Dining Hall 
  • Final electrical work 
  • Clean up of Sunday School Rooms 
  • Sort, move and store everything temporarily placed in the kitchen back to their original spots  
  • Install the new water treatment system. 
The A-V Project team will: 
  • Patch and paint the walls around the dais 
  • Receive training on the new system 
  • Install back-ordered cameras. 
  • Complete final testing and run-throughs to ensure system is working without any bugs 
The Reopening Committee must: 
  • Remove and store all Hymnals, Bibles and other books from the Sanctuary 
  • Have the entire church professionally cleaned (including carpets and walls). 
  • Post signage 
  • Put directional markers on the floor 
  • Rope off the pews for social distancing 
  • Close areas of the church such as Stewart Hall 
  • Make supplies available 
When Will We Reopen? 
There are two areas of consideration around reopening: 
  • the readiness of our building, and 
  • Public Health directives and safety protocols around COVD-19. 
As you can see from the lists above much has already been accomplished to ready the building for our return. But there is still much to do. The faster we can get these jobs done the faster the building will be ready to open. 
The Reopening Committee is staying in touch with the local health unit to ensure that we will be in compliance with directives to keep people safe.  
We will likely have a staged reopening starting with services in the Sanctuary, then rentals and then catered events. We are taking things one step at a time. 

You Can Help Us Open Faster 

There are many jobs left to do. If you can help, we can move things along more quickly. 

If you can help paint the walls in the Dining Hall please contact Jack Fulton at: jdfulton@bell.net or 613-558-7680. Bring your own brush and roller. 

If you can help sort, move and store everything temporarily placed in the kitchen please contact David Sale at: david.sale@bell.net or 613-624-5965 

Please take a moment to thank all the folks listed below who have worked tirelessly on these projects. 
Deserving special thanks are Ritchie Argue (Renovation and A-V), David Sale (A-V and Renovation ), David Wilson (A-V), Laurie Boon (A-V) and Ken Souliere and Bruce Hudson (Water treatment systems). 

Please feel free to contact the Chairs of the Committees if you have questions. 

Stewards
Bruce Hudson, Chair | 613-839-2346 | panmure@xplornet.com
Brian Hudson, Treasurer
Members: Ritchie Argue, Glen Briscoe, Jack Fulton, Louise Link, Rob McCann, Marilyn Snedden, Ken Souliere 


A-V Committee
David Sale, Chair | 613-624-5965 | david.sale@bell.net 
Rhonda Tees, Secretary
Members; Laurie Boon, David Wilson 


Reopening Committee
Rhonda Tees, Chair | 613-624-5593 | rjtees@hotmail.com
Laurie Boon, Secretary
Members: Jack Fulton, Joan Gillan 

September 8, 2020
St. Andrew's Executive Council Meeting


On Wednesday, September 8, 2020 St. Andrew's Executive Council approved the Reopening Plan.

The Plan, already approved by the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, was then approved by the EOORC.

Please see the final Plan below.
reopening_plan_-_st._andrews_200918__approved_by_lgldhu_eoorc___sta_ec__final.pdf
File Size: 839 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


July 8, 2020
St. Andrew's Executive Council Meeting


On Wednesday, July 8, 2020 St. Andrew's Executive Council struck a committee to develop a reopening plan. The committee members are:
Rhonda Tees, Chair / Laurie Boon, Secretary / Jack Fulton / Joan Gillan.

The committee has prepared a draft plan that has been reviewed by the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District health Unit. The Executive Council will meet in September to review the plan. The approved plan will then be given to the Whit Strong at the Region.

​Please find the draft plan below.
reopening_plan_-_st._andrews_200728.pdf
File Size: 506 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


June 24, 2020
Pakenham Pastoral Charge Official Board Meeting (PPCOB)


On Wednesday, June 24, 2020 the PPCOB met to discuss the eventual reopening of  our buildings. At that meeting it was determined that:
  • our buildings will remain closed for the foreseeable future;
  • each church will form a committee to develop reopening plans;
  • both churches will call meetings to strike committees; and
  • we will meet again on Sep 2, 2020 to reassess our situation.
Please stay tuned for further developments as we work to welcome you back safely.

June 8, 2020

On Monday, June 8, 2020, Premier Doug Ford, outlined Stage 2 details of Ontario's plan to lift restrictions on its COVID-19 lockdown. This announcement indicated that places of worship can reopen as of Friday, June 12, 2020, if attendance does not exceed 30 per cent capacity.


At St. Andrew’s we are making plans to do this in the safest way possible. We are waiting for direction from the Region to inform our decisions about how to welcome you back safely. This information is expected in the next several days.

We will then meet to discuss all aspects of the worship service as we create a careful, staged reopening plan. We will address how to handle music, responsive readings, collection, bulletins, social time, cleaning protocols, staffing and more.

As a Pastoral Charge our summer schedule - joint services at Zion in July and at St. Andrew’s in August - is almost upon us. At St. Andrew’s we are also doing renovations and upgrades in the church. A staged approach at St. Andrew’s may see us enjoy outdoor services over the summer and open the building with a big welcome back service in September.

For the foreseeable future we will continue with our on-line Sunday Services which you can find on our YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/results….

We are looking forward to being with you again in our beautiful church.
Picture
Join us for service Sunday mornings at 11 am

2585 County Road 29
Pakenham,  Ontario,  Canada

You can reach us by phone: 613-624-5400 or 613-277-5360
and E-mail:
  st.andrews.office@bellnet.ca
Website designed and maintained by: Rhonda Tees