Opponents of a controversial plan to build a grandiose Catholic church in quaint old Mandeville scored a legal victory Friday when a state District judge ruled that the city's zoning board has the authority to block the project. Judge William Crain's decision upholds the Mandeville Zoning Board's denial of a permit to build a $13 million, 16,715-square-foot church across Lafitte Street from the existing Our Lady of the Lake Church.

The ruling marks a major milestone in the long, contentious debate between church supporters and residents and preservationists in the historic lakefront community.

Whether it ends Our Lady of the Lake's push to build a larger place of worship to replace its overcrowded chapel remains to be seen. Sarah McDonald, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said that Crain's ruling was received by the church Friday and officials are in the early stages of determining what steps will be taken next.

"The (church) parish is working with the archdiocese on deciding how to move forward," she said.

Our Lady of the Lake, located three blocks from Lake Pontchartrain, is the largest Catholic parish in the local archdiocese, with nearly 3,000 registered families in the congregation. On average, about 6,500 people attend weekend Masses at OLL, officials said.

The turmoil began shortly after former OLL pastor John Talamo unveiled plans to build the new $13 million church, with its soaring towers and Gothic revival architecture. Supporters of the project said the existing 465-seat church is undersized , forcing the parish to conduct some weekend Masses in the adjacent Chotin Center, a multipurpose building that houses the OLL gym. The new church was designed to seat 1,028.

The church project was the subject of several heated public hearings where supporters noted the dire need for a larger church and opponents lamented the prospect of a building that would be outsized for the community and would impact traffic and drainage in the area. Critics created a website, Save Old Mandeville, to further their position. They commissioned a poll they said showed the new church did not enjoy widespread support throughout old Mandeville. The church controversy became an issue in some Mandeville municipal elections in the spring.

Supporters argued that the church had been a vital part of the city for 160 years, and the new building would not be a burden on the surrounding community. They said the church met all legal requirements invarious city zoning ordinances. Congregants recited a prayer during each Mass seeking blessings for the church project.

In October 2011, the Zoning Board denied the church's request for a special permit to build its new place of worship. On Nov. 4 of last year, OLL appealed the board's decision , and in April of this year argued before Crain that the church project was in step with all city zoning ordinances and that the board did not have the discretion to deny the permit. Crain, who was subsequently elected to the state's 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge, took the matter under advisement, setting up this week's decision.

Mandeville City Councilman Ernest Burguieres, who represents old Mandeville and has been critical of the church's construction plans, said the divisive issue "pitted friends-against-friends and families-against-families" in the south Mandeville neighborhood. "I'm glad this dispute is over with. The community can now start to heal from the rifts...," Burguieres said.

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Louisiana district judge's ruling upholds board's decision to block old Mandeville church construction

Sanibel Community Church's application to modify its original conditional use permit to include two additional air conditioning units was approved at Tuesday's Sanibel Planning Commission meeting.

That said, the matter was discussed for nearly three hours by commissioners, several upset resident neighbors and Ray Pavelka, representing the church.

To address complaints about excessive noise made by the air conditioning compressors that face neighboring residences, Pavelka provided data from three sound pressure level tests done at the site. Starting with a base "ambient" background noise level of 42 decibels, a church consultant recorded a level of 48 to 49 db with all seven A/C units running. Code Enforcement readings ranged from 56 to 59 db, about the same results as an outside source.

JIM LINETTE The entrance to Bailey's Center located on Periwinkle Way adjacent to George & Wendy's has been closed since it no longer meets city code. The center is moving the entry drive east on Periwinkle and modifying much of its parking lot.

City code states sound levels should not exceed a level of 60 db between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and 66 db from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"Both readings are below 60 db, the lowest level allowed," said Pavelka. "We have to be responsive to the residents' concerns, but there are limitations. In the interest of being good neighbors, we will continue to look at options to reduce noise."

Pavelka said a number of measures already have been taken on the issue, such as additional vegetation buffer for the affected residences, installing larger trees, reducing sidewalk and hard surfaces and using smaller residential size dual compressor units made by Trane. Constructing sound abating fences or walls might not be a solution because of restrictions.

Though the church's request to add two A/C units, for a total of seven, still meets the city standard for noise level, neighbors in the adjoining area known as Island Woods are not satisfied.

"The natural vegetation barrier is now gone because of land clearing for the construction," said resident Kurt Harjung. "It protected us from the noise made by Jerry's Supermarket's cooling towers. We, the residents, added a vegetation barrier at our expense. This (church) is the most ambitious project on Sanibel in 20 years and it's right next to a residential area. It's now a big open area."

Neighbor Mark Mathusa spoke the harshest words for the project.

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Church application approved

The dedication of a small church congregation and the generosity of Yarmouth Port architectural firm and many others have made it possible to start rebuilding the Calvary Baptist Church in Hyannis that was destroyed by fire in March.

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held noon on Monday, Oct. 15, with many of the community leaders, organizations and churches who have helped keep the church going through the past seven months. A three-alarm late night fire left four people who were living in the church without shelter and more than 200 residents without a free meal that the church provided three days a week. An overloaded electrical wire was determined to be the cause.

Were going forward, Rev. Bruce Smith said Tuesday. We have the insurance money and donations of money, time and labor. The church is waiting for approval of the building permits in order to start construction as soon as possible before winter weather sets in, he said.

The church has gone through the design review process of the new building designed pro bono by Kurt Raber and Richard Fenuccio of Brown, Lindquist, Fenuccio and Raber Architects of Yarmouth Port. Raber, company vice president, and Fenuccio, president, offered their professional services immediately after the fire, which turned into a pretty significant donation, Raber said Tuesday, including all their time and effort.

The architects decided to get involved because they not only felt it was the right thing to do, but were impressed that the small congregation was feeding so many people each week. It was a big deal, Raber said.

He noted how most of the congregation started out as recipients of the food pantry and became involved as volunteers and members. Its more than a church. Its an inspiring story, he said.

After examining the church, the engineers and architects realized the structural damage was so great that it was not feasible to save anything but the foundation and floor, Raber said. The building would have needed drastic modifications to meet the building codes and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements, he said. The previous building was on two levels and the food pantry and bathrooms in the basement were not easily accessible.

It was not practical or advisable to rebuild, Raber said.

The result was that the church was demolished on Oct. 1. The new church will have the same exterior look with cedar shingles and white corner trim. It will have the same 6,940 square feet as the old church and will be built on the same site, but turned to face and be closer to West Main Street. The old church faced Lincoln Road.

Instead of a single rectangle there will be two, with a new kitchen and dining room at the rear of the sanctuary for the meals program, Raber said. The new church will be all on one floor with no steps so as to be totally handicapped accessible.

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Calvary Church to rise from the ashes in Hyannis

On Saturday, Oct. 13, at 8 a.m., hundreds of Sugar Land area residents will flock to the Telfair Central Lawn next to the Houston Museum of Natural Science Sugar Land to participate in the successful and popular TelfairLife Charity of Your Choice Walk.

Every year, walk participants choose a charity for which they would like to walk, and 100 percent of their walk registration is donated to that charity. Walkers can also raise money by having friends and family donate money to their team.

The event also holds several Challenge Competitions where walkers can win more money for their charity. The Charity Challenge awards $1,500 to the charity represented with the most pre-registered walkers participating in the walk, with $750 and $250 awarded to the second and third place charities respectively. In the Walker Challenge, $1,000 will be awarded to the top two individual fundraisers, to be given to the designated charity of their choice.

In the team challenge, $1,500 will be awarded to the pre-registered team of four or more that raises the most money. This year, the Christ United Methodist Churchs (CUMC) team is making a large push and effort to register as many members of their congregation as they can in order to win several of the challenges.

The churchs team, called the Christ Church Jaunters, have the goal of registering 100 walkers and raising $70,000 for their charity of choice, the Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity.

The group has already registered more than 120 walkers, who range in age from 18 months to 92 years. The group is committed to helping raise these funds for the 12th Habitat for Humanity House built by Christ Church in association with The Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity chapter.

CUMC built its first Habitat for Humanity home in the fall of 1999. I found that experience very fulfilling and decided to volunteer with Fort Bend HBH on a regular basis, said Bob Ayers, a member of his churchs Jaunters team and Chairman of CUMCs HFH Mission Team. What I found in HFH was an organization which allowed me to do several key things. One, it was a way to pay back the Fort Bend Community for allowing me to raise my family is a great environment. Secondly, it gave me a great stress release from my job, something physical at the end of a long week in the office. Third, I developed a new sphere of friendships. And lastly, it gave me an opportunity to demonstrate my faith through my actions.

The Jaunters Teams goal is to specifically pay for land and building materials for the Habitats 12th house. Construction on the new building, which began Sept. 15, is built solely through volunteer work.

Our church has had a great internal PR campaign to raise awareness of CUMCs HFH Mission and the importance of the Telfair Charity Walk as a means of raising funds to support the building of our 12th HFH home, Ayers said. One of our goals for this year is to win the award and associated bonus for the largest team at the Telfair Charity Walk.

A group of 12 from the churchs Jubilee Sunday School class participated in last years event. The group decided to participate in the in the 2011 Walk as a means to help raise funds for the 11th Christ Church Habitat House.

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Christ United Methodist Church goes for top challenge wins at charity walk

EXETER Construction began this summer on the new social hall at St. Stephens Church, replacing the current facility located a distance from the church, in downtown Exeter.

This will easily accommodate wedding receptions and parish activities, explained Father Tom Kuffel. The other hall didnt meet our needs anymore and we had accessibility issues there as well. Its been a long desire for us to have a church hall on the property.

Capacity has been estimated at around 150.

We hope to have coffee and rolls here after services, pancake breakfasts, chili feeds and fish fries, Father Kuffel said. We want this to be a regular part of the community, hosting funeral and prenuptial dinners and yes, small wedding receptions.

Members of the congregation serving on the building committee are Bob Dumpert, George Erdkamp, Barry Murphy, Gerry Geiger, Mark Becker, Bob Mueller, Vicki Geiger and Ranell Odvody. The committee is overseeing the construction.

The congregation raised about one third of the cost and rest came by way of donations through wills and bequests.

Mueller and Geiger said they are thrilled with the new project. Its a much nicer facility with better spaces for our CCD classes, bigger bathrooms. It has a much larger capacity with better and more parking. Just not having to climb stairs will be a key for most people, along with the fact that the upkeep should be easier with a new building.

The building meets all ADA requirements and is designed to match the church, Kuffel said. Two of the old stained glass windows from the school that once stood nearby have been refurbished and will be placed in the front entrance area of the social hall.

The group also hopes to incorporate the bell from the school into the building.

The only part of the project that is left to plan is the kitchen. The budget did not include finishing the kitchen, so the congregation is still looking for donations for that portion.

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Church building new social hall

Staff Photo: John Bohn Pastor Ray Warren, left, with Tom LaSalle, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, center, and Matt Guerra of Dallas, TX, right, pose for a portrait at the construction site of a new building to be erected at Forest Hills at Mountain View Church in Snellville. The building will be used for Sunday school classes and church offices. LaSalle and Guerra travel the country, building projects for churches at cost, with no charge for labor. They live on site, in travel trailers while they work.

SNELLVILLE -- Tom LaSalle has become quite the popular man.

He and comrade Matt Guerra technically operate out of Oklahoma City, but spend the vast majority of their time living out of trailers. They travel the country -- latest stop Snellville -- as a sort of roving construction ministry, throwing up new buildings for independent, fundamental Baptist churches in need.

They do it with fee-free labor and at-cost supplies.

They stay busy.

"When a pastor gets somebody to work for them for free," LaSalle said this week, with a chuckle, "it usually doesn't take long for them to tell somebody."

The latest project for Cornerstone Baptist Builders lies on the Snellville campus of the Forrest Hills at Mountain View church, where ground was finally broken on Tuesday. At the request of Pastor Ray Warren, the crew is in the beginning stages of building a 5,400-square-foot structure that will cater to the church's growing Sunday school needs and provide more office space.

After they've completed the job, they'll go to Arizona, then to Florida, then to Colorado, then back to the Sunshine State. They have work scheduled as far out as 2016.

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Traveling construction ministry helps Snellville church

The Spring Hill Planning Commission Monday cleared a request from the Wellspring Christian Church to move forward with development of about 10 acres of property on Duplex Road.

With the commissions approval of the sketch plan and master development plan for the property at its Monday meeting, the church now only lacks approval of a site plan, which is slated for next month, to begin construction of the projects first phase.

The commission required that prior to getting approval for the site plan in the projects second phase, property owners conduct a traffic study to determine whether it would be necessary to install turn lanes at the propertys entrances to keep traffic during peak traffic hours at a minimum.

Minister Andy Hudelson said the organization already planned to conduct a study of present and future traffic conditions, after members of the Chapmans Crossing Homeowners Association expressed concerns at a rezoning hearing in May about church traffic potentially jamming Duplex Road.

Were working with an engineer to project future needs, Hudelson said. We want to be good neighbors. We want to create whatever we need to for good traffic flow, not just for us, but for our community.

The minister said around 350 congregants currently meet Sundays at Spring Hill Elementary School. The land and farmhouse the church owns on Duplex Road are being used to house offices, Bible study and youth groups.

Hudelson said the proposal for the land near Chapmans Crossing includes a preschool, coffee shop and walking trail to be added to these holdings in addition to the 300-seat auditorium and classrooms being constructed to house current congregants.

Its going to be more of a community center to be honest, Hudelson said. We really see this being a great addition to Spring Hill. We want it to be a place that you can go to get a cup of coffee, to meet. We see a need for a thing like that in our community.

In addition, the commission approved:

final plats for property on Wall Street owned by Millard F. Mitchum; the medical campus of Campbell Station lots 2 and 3; phase 2 of Benevento East residential development;

Originally posted here:
Church expansion moves forward

Mojo Bar and Grill on Church Street was set to shut down Monday night, and it will be replaced later this month with a casual chain called the Harry Buffalo.

Kevin O'Donnell, who with several partners owns Harry Buffalo restaurants, said Monday would be the last night for Mojo. The Harry Buffalo should open by Oct. 27.

There are half a dozen Harry Buffalos now in the Cleveland area. The Harry Buffalo serves sports-bar fare.

The owners of Mojo, including John SanFelippo, will be involved in the venture here.

Mojo opened in 2010, taking a prominent space in the old Rosie O'Grady's just as the new Amway Center was opening. SanFelippo had high hopes for the Cajun restaurant, but things were slow on nights when there were no games or concerts.

The restaurant stopped serving weekday lunch, and changed its concept.

Other businesses have struggled. The Dessert Lady on Church Street also recently closed, and it plans to reopen in Dr. Phillips. Other businesses that have closed include Oopsy Scoopsy yogurt shop, Seaira Bay, Headstart Books & Crafts.

Still, O'Donnell said he sees promise on the strip

"It's the city hub," he said. As the economy recovers, he said, "we see that as a place to live, work and play."

O'Donnell's group also owns the Frank & Stein's eatery and pub downtown, and O'Donnell opened the Winter Park location of The Meat House. He said construction will start on another Frank & Stein's bar next to that property in December.

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Church Street's Mojo is no more

About half of Christ Church Cathedral's $40 million insurance payout will be spent before the rebuild begins, court documents show.

Papers obtained by The Press from a High Court challenge brought by the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) against the building owner, the Church Property Trust (CPT), shows the Anglican diocese expects to retain just $20m from its insurance payout from ACS.

It would leave the diocese facing a minimum $50m shortfall, based on its own estimates, to restore or re build the central-city landmark.

Church spokeswoman Fiona Summerfield said other than construction of a new cathedral in Cathedral Square, the payout would be spent only on:

- Protective measures around the site.

- Professional advice, such as engineering reports.

- Deconstruction costs.

- Construction of the transitional, "cardboard" cathedral.

Summerfield did not respond to questions about the significance of the financial setback, how advanced fundraising plans were or whether the church was confident funds could be raised for a timely rebuild. However, court papers show the diocese hoped to implement a fundraising campaign soon.

The cost of four rebuild options designed by Warren and Mahoney were estimated by quantity surveyor David Doherr, of Davis Langdon, at between $73.5m and $84.3m, excluding GST. Restoring the cathedral was estimated to cost between $95m and $109.2m, excluding GST.

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Christ Church Cathedral shortfall $50m

BGW seminar speaker panel features experts in the areas of church architecture, church construction, fundraising, worship technology and church growth.

Fort Myers, FL (PRWEB) October 09, 2012

Each of the speakers have worked with hundreds of ministries across the country and will share vital information about how successful and vibrant churches are responding to the largest generational shift in U.S. history.

The first presentation on "Not Your Parents Church" will shed light on how the new generation is impacting the way ministry space is being designed, utilized and funded. Recent research indicates that 70% of those in the millennial generation feel that church is not relevant in their lives and a paradigm shift is bringing about new economic realities for ministries. Building God's Way church architects have designed more than 500 facilities for churches and Christian schools and will share new perspectives on master planning and design that are key in reaching the Millennial generation.

The architects and the BGW regional church builder for South Florida, Walker Design & Construction, will also share about a unique church construction delivery model that is changing the way churches and Christian schools are being built. With a foundation based on relationships, stewardship and outreach, this proven process is delivering a consistent 20-30% savings compared to standard design and building methods - without lowering quality.

BGW Architect Don Mahoney has extensive background in church design, as well as school and performing arts architecture, designing prominent facilities with worship seating in the thousands. His expertise in architecture has been recognized with a number of national design awards, including multiple WFX Solomon Awards for Best Church Architect, Best Church Design, Best Special Project and Best Digital Church; The LCEF Arts & Architecture Award for Best Liturgical Design, and recognition among the 7 most innovative churches in America by Ministry Today.

Pastor Terry Bates will headline the growth and fundraising tracks of the seminar. Terry has had the privilege of personally leading three ministries to incredible turnaround growth. He is currently the Senior Pastor of OKC Faith Church in Oklahoma City, OK. During more than 30 years of ministry, Terry has completed several consultant and coaching certification programs and has shared his leadership and ministry experiences around the world. He has served as one of the trainers for Dr. John Maxwells Million Leader Mandate, in which he was personally involved in training over 250,000 leaders.

Today, Terry provides consulting and coaching services in the areas of church growth and fundraising as President of BGW | Forward in Faith and BGW | Vibrant. He is the host of the weekly television and radio ministry Discover Faith and is a regular host for TBN and a guest of Daystar.

Pastor Bates will share some keys to developing momentum in any economic environment, momentum that can lead to increased attendance, greater member involvement and increased giving capacity. In another session, Pastor Bates will provide an overview of a radically different concept in capital fundraising called Hearing from God. This refreshing approach is having dynamic results with ministries around the country without the high pressure and manipulation tactics common with most capital fundraising campaigns.

For more information or to register for a BGW Not Your Parents' Church seminar, visit the BGW Events Registration web page.

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Building God's Way Seminars for Church Leaders Coming to Florida October 9 and 11, Focusing on Latest Innovations and ...