OUUC Blog

The Final Issue

June 13, 2010

Wasn’t Dedication Day glorious!  The weather cooperated, the choir was in great voice, the hors d’oeuvres and desserts were as delectable as promised, and everyone had so much fun!  First there was the opportunity between services to offer our thanks to all those who made the new building possible—especially the various Space Committees, and VERY ESPECIALLY Warren Dawes (and his long-suffering wife, Janet) who devoted several years of his life, non-stop, to making it all happen.  But as was pointed out, everyone of you deserves all our thanks for the support you provided in time, energy and money!

Rev. Vaeni opens the “thank you ceremony”

The Space 4.0 Committee, with Sandi Roberts of Sandi Constructors and Gretchen Van Dusen, Garner Miller and  Tom Sanford of MSGS Architects

Board President Harmon Eaton presents Warren Dawes with a gift box

Rev. Vaeni and his wife, Sally Gove, “rejoice.”

Then came the ceremony itself, opened with the theme for the day, Luther Vandross’s Everybody Rejoice! Greetings were brought to us from The Unitarian Universalist Association (Janine Larsen, Executive of the PNW District), the City of Olympia (Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Buxbaum) and the state legislature (Representative Sam Hunt).  The choir lit up the Sanctuary with a choral anthem, A Threshold Blessing, especially arranged by Choir Director Troy Fisher, and Rev. Vaeni placed this wonderful day and accomplishment within the context of our mission and ministry with his reflection on “Our Continuing Consecration.”  Then, bearing the Flame of Our Heritage, Rev. Vaeni, Celebrant Lorrie Eaton, and the OUUC Choir, chanting the anthem, led a wonderful progression from Sanctuary to Commons to RE Wing as the “key” to the building was handed from our architects to Warren, from Warren to Board President Harmon Eaton, and finally from Harmon to Christine Gulranjani, Chair of Family Ministries (formerly the RE Committee). Then everyone got into the act, performing “A House for the Spirit,” a story adapted from the Spirit Play Curriculum as told by our Director of Religious Education, Sara Lewis, before adjourning to the Commons for food and good cheer.  Those that wished received a tour of the new areas of the facility from “know-it-alls” Warren, Harmon and yours truly.  A good time was had by all.

Mayor Pro Tem Buxbaum and Representative Hunt

As promised, the Dedication Ceremony marked the formal end to this phase of our construction and with it the period of “transition” within which we’ve found ourselves for more than a year.  It, too, provided a good stopping point for The Transition Times, whose excuse for existence was to provide you with news of building-related events that was beyond the purview or the time constraints of the weekly email announcements (ouuc-announce) by our Church Administrator, Darlene, the announcements in our Sunday Order of Service, The Unitariana (our gorgeous, if awkwardly named, monthly newsletter so creatively edited by Linda Crabtree) and other less episodic announcements.  That the TTT has outlived its usefulness was underscored this morning when I arrived to find the Commons sporting three new, major forms of communication: the widescreen monitor, displaying a slide show of OUUC faces and events, the work of Riley McLaughlin and the Communications Committee; a three-leaved display board with handout-stuffed brochure boxes, pictures and announcements velcroed to it; and the newest acquisition, our New Member kiosk, the brainchild our Communications Committee member Linda Crabtree and the handiwork of Kurt Rader.  The kiosk features two computers that access our website and other information for new and prospective members, and is topped by a gorgeous slab of laminated wood (a piece of ornamental glass with the OUUC logo on it has yet to be attached).

What a wonderful array of words and pictures!  Right now the slideshow on the monitor is a real crowd-pleaser.  Time and again I had to ease my way around a line of gawkers as I moved about the Commons (nothing like the sight of your own face to make you stop and watch!).  We, and all those who will be benefitting from those wonderful additions to our welcoming presence, owe those responsible a great deal of thanks!

So, off into the sunset!  It’s been grand, and thanks for your support.

Tim Ransom

Editor No More, The Transition Times

(The Penultimate Issue)

Yes, that’s right.  The Transition Times has done its work and is coming to an end.  This is the next-to-last (for those of you who escaped a classical upbringing) issue, and with the last one, deserves of its own volume (V, or five, ditto….).  It’s been fun to be so pretentious and to get away with it (my immediate family is not so forgiving!), and as they say, it’s been a wild ride!

But tomorrow’s dedication marks some part of the end—the middle, say, or maybe the end of the first end—in our drive to create new space for ourselves and the many members of the greater community who would like to join us.  In case you haven’t noticed, we did good, a fact that will be especially noticeable to you tomorrow, now that Sandi Constructors and the professional cleaning service that we now have on contract have had a chance to do their thing—we sparkle!

So it’s time to turn over what remains on the expanders’ and transitionists’ lists to our committees and programs that keep us going all year—the B&G Committee is the biggest recipient of this largess, of course (and be sure they’ll call upon you and me to help shorten the list on a regular basis!), but Communications, the Kitchen Crew, Aesthetics, Worship Arts, Membership—they’ll all have plenty to do in the coming months, and if we love ’em, we’ll be there to help.

There are still a few big-ticket items to acquire and unpack: the new chair dolly just arrived, as did the display case that’s going on the wall outside the front door.  RE is awaiting their new television and cart, the new coffee machine just got hooked up in the kitchen, and on and on.  And hopefully next week, we’ll erect our wonderful new sign (designed by member Martha Guilfoyle), just north of the “old” entryway (that’s left as you approach, for you directionally-challenged folk), along the edge of the sidewalk.  I wish it could be up tomorrow, but it’s not ready yet.

Join me between services tomorrow morning to thank everyone who has worked so hard and long on this project.  And I’ll see you at the dedication tomorrow evening at 5 pm.

Tim Ransom

Sometime Editor, The Transition Times

VOL. IV, NO. 4

May 8, 2010

Well, for Sandi Constructors it’s [almost] all over but the cleanup!  If you’ve ever built a house, constructed a boat or restored a car, you know it’s never ALL over.  There’s always something you can’t finish until the parts come in, some touchup you’ll get around to eventually, some “ding” that you want the guy who did it to fix.  But for all intents and purposes, construction of the new RE wing and  the expanded Commons is done!

If you come by the church this week, though, you might not guess it.  We still have some office walls and trim to paint before the new office furniture is installed midweek; room and directional signs will be going up Monday; Foreman John is vacuuming, washing windows and picking up debris—the aura of a construction site won’t fade for a little while longer.  But if you are in church this Sunday, check out the appearance of the new offices and the color choices made there.

And wow, look how the outside has changed!  Last weekend, forty of you, under the extraordinary leadership of garden guru Linda Whitcher, put in over 260 plants in a major effort to reveg our “campus.”  Also notice, in the bottom picture, the new patio made out of the pervious pavers that have been used for walkways all around the building.  What a glorious site for coffee on a sunny Sunday, the plant sale, or even a few minutes of silent meditation and communing with the trees.

Next on the schedule?  Well, celebration, of course.  Be sure to circle Sunday, June 6, on your calendar.  Between services in the morning we’ll get an opportunity to thank the many people who have put so much of their lives into improving our space.  Then starting at 5 pm there will be a dedication ceremony, featuring a number of special guests, a oversized key to the building, and the kind of great appetizers that only Oly UUs can put together.  Be sure to be there!

Tim Ransom

TTT Editor

April 21, 2010

Well, OUUC fans, it’s going to come right down to the wire.  Sandi Constructors’ crew, under the more than capable leadership of John Friedrich, has all but completed its work and now we’re dependent on the timely application of skills by various contractors, from electricians and plumbers to lock and security specialists.  Amazingly we have working water fountains, cabinets and sinks have been installed in classrooms, and the new walkway of pervious pavers now all but encircles the building.  Members of the congregation are also spending serious hours on their tasks as the painting of offices begins and wires for phone, computers, speakers and TV are pulled.

Some of this work may cause temporary discomfort or disruption of normal flows: the odor of new paint is once again redolent, and gaining access to the building when it is locked up is a little harder than it was or than it will be—see today’s announcement from Church Administrator Darlene on ouuc-announce.  But, all in the name of progress, and this, too, shall pass!

Top to bottom: Jim Crabtree and Riley McLaughlin prepare to pull wires; Darlene (and Bill) await the time to move and paint the Office; sink and cabinet in a classroom; and plumbing in the nursery’s bathroom.

Second OUUC Planting Party – Boy are You Needed!

What you need to know, now, is that another opportunity for EVERYONE to help is coming up on May 1^st.  Our Landscape Guru, Linda Whitcher, will have on hand 13 trees, 60 flowers and 200 shrubs—all plants native to Western Washington—to put in the ground from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM.  Now even if you ignore the trees for the moment, 260 plants to get in the ground in 3 ½ hours comes out to 74.2857142857 plants per hour!  Even at her best I doubt that Linda can manage that pace for very long!  She needs tons of “strong people to dig holes and shovel mulch.”  Come and help restore a semblance of order and beauty to the outside of the building, now that most of the heavy lifting inside is done!

Please contact Linda by phone (866-1943) and let her know you’ll be there!  She promises sweat equity in the form of snacks!

Tim Ransom

TTT Editor

[please note, this issue of The Transition Times is out of sequence.  Scroll down for Vol. IV, No. 2]

April 1, 2010

Yes it’s time for Volume 4 (for those of you who keep track).  Having no guidance, I have decided to change volumes completely on a whim, and the first of April (which it now is in Australia or New Zeland, I forget which) seems a perfect opportunity.  Volume 4 it is!

If you’re on vacation, staying home in a fit of March madness, or have been asleep for the past two weeks, you may not know that:

The floor of the foyer/Commons (which I hope we all will call just “Commons”) has been polished to a spit shine;

The new flooring (Marmoleum) has been laid in the hallways, kitchen and Youth and Spirit Play Rooms, and in the latter two rooms molding has been put in place as well;

The accordion separators between classrooms # 3, 4 and 5 [the “big room”] have been put in;

And RE classes resumed in the still unfinished and unfurnished [what used to be the] Anthony and Bergh Rooms.

Take a look:

Because of the reconfiguration and new uses of the “old” classrooms (Anthony, Bergh and Capek), we have decided to assign these rooms, as well as the other “new” classrooms and offices, new names taken from the rolls of famous (deceased) UUs (and/or folks who probably would have been UUs if only they’d known).  The opportunity to choose the new names has been given to those who were the top donors during the capital campaign that allowed us to expand and renovate our building.  The new names will appear on signs outside the doors of the rooms and eventually will be accompanied by brief autobiographies tastefully presented within the rooms as well.  Watch for the new signs—hopefully they will be installed by the end of this month!

So, what’s next?  Well, it still feels like the list is endless.   New windows in Arthur’s and Darlene’s offices need to be finished, all the offices need to be painted and outfitted with new furniture (your Shopping Team has been very busy!), the parking lot needs to be rebuilt and striped, sidewalks made from pervious pavers need to be laid front and back, we’ve decided to redo the countertops in the kitchen, the signage needs to go in, etc. etc.  All of this, and more, in April, and we are still looking at a completion date at the end of the month!  Fortunately the crew boss, John (that’s him standing in front of the room divider with Warren), knows how to get it all done, and on time!

In case you thought you could relax, though, there is still a lot for all of us to do.  Arthur and the staff will need help in painting their offices and moving furniture, for one thing.  And here’s another, from our landscape guru, Linda Whitcher, coming up later this month:

Spring Clean-up Work Party

Calling all strong backs and healthy attitudes for a morning of maintenance and cleaning at Out of the Woods and the church grounds.

Date: Saturday April 17^th

Time: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Typical chores: Moving a play structure back onto our land, ditch digging and garbage removal.  Bring: Work gloves, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows and your can-do attitude.

Want to know more?  Contact:

Adam Harris 705-0861

Jim Lengenfelder 943-6199

Steve Tilley 489-0043

Linda Whitcher 866-1943

So, put that on your calendar, and keep an eye on the pages of The Transition Times for more ways that you can support your OUUC community!

Tim Ransom, Editor

The Transition Times

P.S. Special thanks to Sara Rocker for permission to use her photographs of RE activities.

The Transition Times

Vol. IV, No. 2

April 15, 2010

Greetings Fair Reader!

For a month that started pretty intensely (April apparently was tired of saying “Bahhhh,” and wanted to start with a “Roarrrrrr!” instead), the last couple of days have been pretty nice!

Especially thankful is the crew that is laying the “pervious pavers,” cement pieces in a honeycomb pattern that allows the rain to pass through, laid on a bed of sand along the front of the church between entryways.  The same material will be used to make the pathway around the courtyard in back.  Check it out:

Meanwhile, your Transition Team is hard at work, shopping for things we need like LCD projectors, office furniture, new signs for offices and classrooms, televisions, kiosks, tables and chairs and much, much more!  When we can, we are “buying local,” but a trip to IKEA is in the works as well.

Kitchen Remodel

While the major work on the building is complete, a significant step—remodelling parts of the kitchen—is about to be undertaken.  A pantry has already been added (where the DRE closet used to be!) and a new window opened up to the Commons; now the countertops are going to receive a new layer of laminate that better fits our new color scheme.  Thanks to the efforts of recently returned member Steve Tilley, we are also about to institute an expanded waste management plan for the entire church.  New on the list of options is composting; most of what historically we have thrown “away,” including paper towels and tissues from the bathrooms, all our food scraps and most paper items, will be accepted by our service provider, LeMay, and end up in intense composting at Silver Springs in the south county (this is the same service that residents of Olympia currently enjoy).  Watch for new waste disposal and recycling bins, and be sure to think Green!

LeMay employee Emmett Brown explains waste disposal options to Janet Pearson and friends (Steve Tilley, Bill Arensmeyer and Tim Ransom).

Special Tasks need Special People

Looking for a way to leave a lasting legacy at OUUC?  Have we got ideas for you!  The Transition Team has three projects that need homes and advocates.  These are the kind of things that would allow you to say to a friend, as you walk by your handiwork, “I (or We) made that!”  And they are projects, not commitments to a committee—you go in, do it, get out and you are done!  And if you were to take a project on as a team with others, you could even see it as a ministry, an opportunity to forge new bonds within our congregation.  What more could you ask?  The projects are:

(1)  Design and build a display case that would attach to the wall outside the front door and contain all the announcements that previously have been pasted up in or on the windows of the doorway—everything from “Call XXXX in case of emergency” to “Caution, Wet Paint.”  The primary goal is to reduce the clutter at the front of the church, but I am sure that we can think of other neat things to include in the case, like an enlarged church calendar, announcements of special events, etc.  I am envisioning something, say, five feet wide and four feet tall with a lockable glass door, but that’s just me.  What’s your idea?

(2)  Design, construct and hang a large, colorful banner that advertises our website (ouuc.org) on the east- and Division Street-facing wall of the new RE wing (see below).  This was Arthur’s brainstorm, and a wonderful idea it is!  If you haven’t driven north on Division past the church, you may not know that the back of the building is now very visible from the road.  In the next phase of construction, when we cut through access to Division, we’ll be placing a sign by the new driveway, but in the meantime, let’s let passersby know who we are (and, when they go to our website, what we are up to).  Graphic artists unite!

(3)   Construct and mount a clear plexiglas box to house the miniature carved pole (about 3 feet tall) presented to us several years ago by Istvan Beri, then minister of our Hungarian Partner Church at Kissolymos.  This beautiful piece of spiritual art has been hiding out in the Church Administrator’s Office ever since, waiting for someone to build it a display case to be mounted on the wall next to the copy of our covenant with the congregation at Kissolymos.  Know how to work in plexiglas?  This one’s for you.

The “back” of our church.

In each case we’ll want the product to fit with the “feel” (choices in colors and materials) of the expanded and remodeled building, and costs of materials will be covered by the Transition Team’s budget (once approved).

Have at it, folks!  Contact Tim Ransom (timothyransom@comcast.net and 360-459-7177) with your proposals!

For the Transition Team,

Tim Ransom, TTT Editor

March 17, 2010

HAPPY ST. PADDY’S DAY!!!!

Faith and Begorrah, the GREAT OUUC PAINT-IN is over!  Before we finished, some 70-odd (and some of them were pretty odd!) members and friends of OUUC had signed up to dip a brush and roll a roll; not all of them had a chance to participate, thanks to our changing schedule, but their hearts were in the right place, and I thank you all so much!  And somehow, despite the best efforts of some, most of the paint actually got on the walls!

Everyone should feel very proud of your effort and of the result.

If you haven’t seen it, come on down!

You’d think that would mean that the bothersome smells (the delightful odor of active volunteerism to some, just plain toxic fumes to others) would now be gone, or at least dissipating fast.  Well, the paint ones are, but in the meantime workmen have started polishing the Commons concrete floor with a diamond polisher that runs on propane (remember the sample square they did months ago to show us how beautiful the floor could look?), and the fumes once again have driven staff from the building.  Don’t be surprised if no one is in the Office if you drop by.  The floor polishing guys should be finished before the weekend, and we’ll give the church a good airing before Sunday, but we can’t promise an odor-free space for a while yet.

Workmen polish the concrete floor

After the floor polishing is done, 510 Interiors will come in to lay the Marmoleum, a linoleum-type floor that is made with 100% natural ingredients: linseed oil, cork, limestone, tree rosin and natural minerals.  We chose Marmoleum because it does not contain any harmful VOC’s or other toxic chemicals and is installed with solvent free adhesives.  Nevertheless there probably will be some smell associated with the floor-laying process, so bear with us!  We’ll get through this yet—and just think how cool (and inviting!) it’s going to be when done!

Tim Ransom

Editor and Eternal Optimist

TTT

March 10, 2010

PAINTING POSTPONED – AWESOME PROGRESS BLAMED!

This correspondent has never before seen anything like it!  Members and friends of OUUC (including one of our neighbors from Camp Quixote) flocked to church over the weekend and Monday to participate in the great painting event!  By Monday night ALL of the new wing, hallways and Commons had been primed and painted, leaving only some touch up and the old hallway, kitchen and foyer yet to do [the offices will be done later this month, as well].  The new classrooms glowed with special accent colors—Agave (somewhere between an avocado and a khaki) and Luxe (yellow), Kalamata (a glorious purple), Tear-drop Blue (for the Nursery), Firenze (deep orange) and Moroccan Spice (the best red I’ve ever seen!)—while the rest of the walls shined with Ivory Sampler, a light beige that one congregant liked so much she took a sample home to see how it would work in their new house (no names, but the initials are G.T.).

(Left to right:) The nursery’s blue peeks through; applying Ivory sampler to a classroom wall; rolling right along in the Commons; our minister wearies himself applying paint (not!).

Due to the great progress made (and here special thanks go to Steve Peterson and his son Christopher, who bring professional expertise to the enterprise and who helped us be organized and efficient from the very start!), the Project Coordinator (Moi!) granted us all a two-day respite and cancelled painting for Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  Painting will resume (time to tackle the older parts of the building) Thursday and Friday evenings from 5pm-9pm, Saturday (9am to 6pm) and Sunday (12:30 to 6pm).

In a candid moment, the Project Coordinator acknowledged that he had “faith in the ability of the OUUC people to tackle and finish any task!” See you all on the job!

Tim Ransom, TTT Editor and Moi!

March 4, 2010

Tape and Texture and Paint, Oh, My!

The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of …. things that smell!  Today the contractors sprayed texture on the walls of the new wing, Commons and hallway, and Saturday members and friends of OUUC (including folks from Camp Quixote!) will begin applying paint.  First will come a primer coat and then the colors—“Ivory Sampler” as the primary color for most of the walls, and in each room special” accent colors” with great names like Firenze, Kalamata, Moroccan Spice, Citrine and Agave.  Our first priority is to finish the “old” RE rooms, Anthony and Bergh, which are now the Spirit Play and Youth Rooms, so that Children’s RE can resume as early as next weekend.

How exciting!  Everything is going to look so NEW and SHINY when its painted!  There is a downside, however, and that is that the church—even the Sanctuary most likely—is going to be redolent with the smells of texture, primer and paint.  We have done everything we can to reduce the impact—we have chosen to use primer and paints that have the lowest VOCs (potentially toxic volatile organic compounds) available, despite the much increased cost.  But be prepared, especially those of you who know that you have sensitivity issues with chemical compounds like paints.  OUUC may not be so welcoming to you for the next two weeks or so.  We will do all we can to air it out, but we also have only nine days or so to paint the entire building (except for the Sanctuary) not once, but twice (counting the primer).  So if you need to, stay home, but know that next week, or at worst the week after, you will once again be welcomed with open arms by the most beautiful, odor-free building you can imagine!

Tim Ransom, TTT Editor

February 18, 2010

IT’S THE YEAR OF THE TIGER – LET THE SUN SHINE IN!

[Why is it I keep starting these issues on such beautiful days, when I should be out playing golf?]

Below, see the latest new addition to our space: the skylight over the expanded portion of our foyer (we are now calling the foyer, both new and old, “The Commons”).  If you haven’t been to the church recently, there is now a temporary wall blocking off the new portion of the Commons, to help protect us from the dust and noise of construction as they sheetrock the walls and prepare to polish the recently-poured cement floor.  But those of you who have had a chance to watch construction in any downtown know that there is always a peephole through the fence, for gawkers.  So, straight across the from front door at eye height is a hole the size of a saucer that allows a view of the room and the new skylight.  Next time you’re there, take a peek!

Note the insulation surrounding the skylight in the top picture.  The acoustical ceiling will be kept high in the Commons—it’s going to be a beautiful space!

The exterior view is in the back, of course, and shows what will become the lawn and play area eventually.

Photos by Warren Dawes

Space is Cramped!

In case you haven’t noticed, space at church is even more restricted than ever!  In addition to the truncated Commons, the Anthony and Bergh Rooms are being remodeled and the east end of the kitchen is also blocked off.  So only the Sanctuary and Capek Rooms remain available for onsite events.  And of course the hallway and kitchen floors have been torn up in preparation for resurfacing, leaving behind a sticky residue.  So, if you are planning a meeting or event at the church, be aware that space is at a premium; be sure to touch base with Church Administrator Darlene well in advance, and be prepared to have to reschedule either the time or place of your event.  But above all, please be patient, and know that sooner than later we’ll be back into full swing in our glorious new space!

Painters Prepare! – This is really important!

According to the current building schedule, it will be our turn to do some serious work—painting the interior of almost the entire building—quite soon!   The sheetrock is now going up, and taping and texturing will soon follow.  According to the schedule, our time to paint will be between March 2^nd and March 12^th.  On weekdays we can paint in the evening, and there are three entire weekend days (March 5-6^th and 12^th).

All it takes is a walk around the new spaces (classrooms, hallways, the expanded Commons) and the old ones being remodeled (classrooms, offices, even the kitchen) to see how big a job we have ahead of us!  If you haven’t already done so, please contact Tim Ransom (459-7177; timothyransom@comcast.net) and let him know when, over the 10-day period, you’ll be available to help.  We don’t need professionals!  We have Steve Peterson, member of our church and professional housepainter, to make sure we know what we are doing.  What we need is bodies, lots and lots of bodies!  Please sign up right away!

Calendar of Events

Please submit transition-related calendar items to:  Transition Related Calendar Items, 1 Cartalk Plaza, Our Fair City, Burbank.

Saturday, February 20^th, morning: Planting Party - contact Linda Whitcher (866-1943) about your availability for the work party.

March 2-12: A 10-long Painting Party, as we beautify the new walls of OUUC.  Let Tim Ransom (459-7177; timothyransom@comcast.net) know of your availability to help.

Enjoy this glorious weather!

Tim Ransom, Editor