When I think about all the things the Property Team does routinely and from time-to-time, it brings to mind a portion of 2 Corinthians. Forgive me if I paraphrase and take some liberties. It says, more or less, don't look at what we can see, but at things we cannot see. You can read the source for more insight, and beyond that, there are many more Biblical citations regarding what is seen and unseen. It is a long reach, I know, but the relationship to property matters comes to mind because I think it is easy to overlook things we regularly do even when the results can be readily seen, and even easier to overlook things we do that cannot be readily seen. All that said, I encourage everyone to be sensitive to what gets done and what it takes to get these things done. We can only speculate on the magnitude of cost savings that results from all our volunteer efforts, but it has to be substantial.
There are so many things that the Property Team does on a regular basis to help keep our building clean, organized, and beautiful. We keep the Sanctuary tidy by picking up papers, debris and various personal item left behind. We clean candle wax from the chairs and the floor. We clean the baptismal font. We water and care for plants inside the building and on the grounds. Our palms continue to bring out new shoots and our Christmas cactus in the alcove at the office entrance is setting up many buds.
We clean the glass doors and wash windows, inside and out. We recently cleaned all the sanctuary windows from the inside and are continuing with inside windows in the rest of the building. Weather permitting, we will do outside window washing after the outside fall property cleanup has been completed.
Periodically we clean refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, drawers, and closets as well.
We typically assist with putting up and taking down Christmas and Easter decorations.
We manage the "Lost and Found" by collecting misplaced items and periodically putting them on display to help get them back to their owners or find them another home.
Apparently, I was one of the last to know that a skylight window in the Sanctuary has been leaking and dropping water on the congregation. Someone pointed out the problem to me on a recent Sunday, and I observed a few drops of clean water drops falling from one of the overhead windows. The quantity was small, a drop or two every 6-10 seconds, but an irritation none-the-less. Since learning of this problem, I am told these overhead windows have leaked before, and sometimes the water drops are discolored and can stain clothing, carpet, or furniture. In the most recent case, I cycled the affected window open and closed a few times and the leak stopped after a few hours. A few days later, no leakage was seen after several hours of heavy rain. We will be keeping an eye on the windows for any additional leakage. If necessary, we will bring in a contractor to inspect, clean, and service the window seal material.
As we get deeper into the fall season, we have been putting away summer things, removing and storing air conditioners, dealing with leaves and other outdoor cleanup. Winter is near and we are getting prepared. We have signed a contract with our snow removal and salting contractor; test started our snow blower, and are deploying our snow shovels, and other winter maintenance items. We should be ready for what is coming.
You may notice some new track lighting just above the windows on the right side of the Sanctuary. Our choir musicians requested this additional lighting. Many thanks to Richard Topping and Jeff Morrison who helped get this lighting installed and wired. It seems that there is always a lighting issue to be resolved. We do our best to address these issues as they arise.
You may have noticed that our wood trash bins beside the barn have been going through some refurbishment. Time and weather have taken a toll on the covers and doors, so we have been working to resolve these problems.
As I said ... seen and unseen. Dave Mercer, Property Team Leader