South Shores Church proposes expansion

This rendering shows South Shores Churchs reduced project alternative, which would result in reduced construction and smaller buildings compared to the original proposal.

, COURTESY OF MATLOCK ASSOCIATES INC.

No decisions were made, but close to 200 people came to the Planning Commissions meeting to hear about a proposed expansion of South Shores Church.

The church and its members are pushing to renovate buildings they say are outdated and lack amenities. Vocal residents against the project are worried about a long 10-year construction process, potential land erosion and ruined vistas.

At least three-fourths of the audience at the standing-room-only Dana Point Community Center gym Oct. 13 were church supporters, decked out in lime-green shirts with the words Time to BUILD. Residents from Voices of Monarch Beach, a group against the project, were also present.

The proposed five-phase, 10-year renovation includes demolishing three buildings and building four new ones, along with a partially underground parking structure.

Many of the buildings on the property lack heating, cooling and technology, pastor Rob DeKlotz said at the meeting. The church moved from Laguna Beach to its current site on Crown Valley Parkway in 1962.

The existing preschool, administration/fellowship hall, chapel and parking lot would be demolished, a total of 23,467 square feet of building space. Two new Christian education buildings, a community life center and a preschool/administration building would be constructed, comprising 70,284 square feet of new space. The existing sanctuary building would remain the same.

Construction would not be continuous over the 10 years.

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South Shores Church proposes expansion

NEWTOWN - At first glance, the 40-foot red shipping container in the parking lot of the Lutheran Church of Gods Love appears out of place and unsightly in the pretty community that surrounds it, but the congregation has plans to turn it into something beautiful.

Dubbed the CAN, it will soon be a construction site, bustling with church and community volunteers who will be transforming the recycled container into a functional medical clinic. When the work is completed, the clinic will then be shipped to Africa and installed near Kisumu, Kenya where it will immediately bring sustainable aid to a community that desperately needs it.

The Gods Love CAN team is working with the support of Homes of Living Hope (HoLH) on the framework needed to complete the project. Leveraging HoLHs experience and using its successful container transformations as a model, the CAN team is seeking to connect as many local volunteers and resources as possible to bring its plans to fruition.

Part of our mission is to foster a sense of community and a spirit of service, said team member Jon Hangeland. Connections are vitally important, not only between Newtown and Kisumu, but within our local community as well. We invite all to participate in this project.

The CAN project is already generating excitement among other local churches and organizations, and has received donations from a local hospital, doctor and construction company, with more on the way.

To connect with Kisumu, the church is partnering with Life in Abundance International (LIA), a faith-based organization working throughout Africa and the Caribbean to transform impoverished communities. LIA already has a team on the ground in Kisumu preparing, training and equipping the community to receive and sustain the future clinic. LIA will also work with Gods Love to ensure the facility meets the specific needs of the community it will serve.

During her October 19 visit to Gods Love, just two days after the container arrived, LIAs founding president and CEO Dr. Florence Muindi inspired the congregation to act.

I have seen firsthand the transformation these containers bring to a community in need, she said. The people of Kisumu are already waiting and praying for this clinic. When I see these container doors open here in Newtown, I also see the precious hope and joy that will be on the faces of the people in Kisumu when they open the doors of their new clinic.

And that is a beautiful thing indeed.

For more information, visit http://www.GodsLoveNewtown.org/CAN/

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Gods Love Lutheran in Newtown working to transform the CAN into medical clinic

Photo by Aleena Oliveirs

A few projects are presently being undertaken that will affect university traffic in the coming months. Two of the projects being completed are construction to North Tryon Street and construction taking place near the Toby Creek Greenway. Both projects are in preparation of the much awaited light rail system that will soon be serving UNC Charlotte.

Once the UNC Charlotte Main Station opens, members of the campus community will be able to reach UNC Charlotte Center City in approximately 20 minutes, while avoiding traffic congestion and additional parking costs, said Shelly Theriault Muhl, communications officer with the Department of Facilities Management, in a press release.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is rebuilding two of the bridges on North Tryon Street closest to its intersection with Mallard Creek Church Road. Construction on North Tryon began last Wednesday, Oct. 15. Students and faculty accessing UNC Charlotte on the southbound portion of North Tryon during this time will have noticed that the southbound lane now ends at the intersection with Mallard Creek Church Road.

This portion of North Tryon Street from the intersection will be closed for construction until around May 2015. As the southbound lane is closed, motorists will need to use available detours on Mallard Creek Church Road, West WT Harris Boulevard and I-85. The northbound lane, however, will remain open until the new bridge for the southbound lane is completed.

In light of the road closures, UNC Charlotte commuters are encouraged to adjust their routes and driving schedules accordingly to accommodate for increased traffic.

Patrons who use the 11U bus are notified that the route servicing UNC Charlotte on North Tryon has been adjusted to accommodate construction. The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) can be contacted for more information on these changes.

The construction of new bridges on North Tryon are part of the preparations for the Light Rail system and its arrival upon UNC Charlottes campus. Other construction works are also being undergone to accommodate the light rail. Recently, trees have been removed in front of Miltimore Hall to make way for tracks and the station that will serve UNC Charlotte. This project is being managed by the City of Charlotte Public Transportation Department and is expected to be completed in 2017.

The project to connect the light rail with UNC Charlotte will require a large portion of ground to be elevated to allow for the light rail tracks to be installed. This will require thousands of truckloads of fill material, Muhl said.

Muhl also assured that measures to prevent erosion will be taken to reduce the environmental impact of construction.

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New construction inches Light Rail system closer to Campus

DUKE CENTER The Duke Center United Methodist Church marked its 50th anniversary on Saturday afternoon by unveiling the contents of its cornerstone placed 50 years ago.

Parish members and previous pastors all gathered for the celebration.

For 12 months preceding the celebration, church members had selected 12 different organizations they wanted to support to commemorate their 50 years. They set a goal each month to collect and donate 50 items to the selected organization for that month.

We were so surprised that we not only met our goal each month, but we exceed the amount every month, Sue Bennett said.

The 12 organizations the church selected were the Second Harvest Food Distribution, Genesis House, Duke Center Angel Tree, The Friendship Table, McKean County SPCA, Otto Township Fire Department Auxiliary, Ruth M. Smith Center, Camp Penuel, Bright Alternatives, To-Fill-A-Backpack, Boy Scout Troop 413, and the YWCA Bradford.

Guests and members of the church were welcomed to the celebration with tables of past news articles, photographs, and letters from members.The church also displayed the items saved from the previous church before it burned in 1962. Some of those items include a bible and cross that leans from the intense heat of the fire, but never melted completely. The bell from the old church was placed in the front lawn of the current church along with the cornerstone in 1964.

Pastor Gary Sheesley began the ceremonies by thanking all in attendance for being a part of the special day.After an opening hymn and scripture reading, Sheesley asked those in attendance to share their experiences of the church over the past 50 years.Many members recalled their memories and took turns telling their stories.

Pastor Robert E. Goode, who served as pastor from 1962 to 1968, was in attendance with his wife, Vera. He was the churchs pastor during the fire and rebuilding of the new church.

Ive reached the age where memories are hard to recall sometimes, but our hearts will always be here, because this church has meant so much to us, said Goode.He recalled the times they spent at the Masonic Building, which is where the church held services until the new church was built. Goode also talked about the planning and preparation of building and opening the new church, and also about the day the cornerstone was placed.

Also in attendance was pastor Seth McClymonds, who served in that role from 1999-2004.McClymonds shared his fondest memories of his time at the church, and jokingly talked about the time he almost burned the church down after an advent candle was placed directly under the large cross in front of the church.This story produced many chuckles throughout the congregation.

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A look back: Duke Center United Methodist Church unveils its cornerstone

Anna Williams/Fairfax NZ

RAISING MONEY: Jo Spooner, left, and Rob Cameron hold a stained-glass window, one of the items from Seddons St Andrews Presbyterian Church auctioned off on Saturday.

A wooden toilet seat was among items up for grabs from a demolished Seddon church at the weekend.

An auction was held on Saturday in Seddon to sell items and memorabilia that belonged to St Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

The church first opened in 1965 and was demolished on July 27 after suffering earthquake damage last year.

More than 80 items were up for grabs, including furniture, an electric organ, light shades, the wooden toilet seat, rimu door frames, and other parts of the building.

About 25 people turned up to bid on the goods, with more than 50 items sold.

Awatere Christian Joint Venture management committee chairman Rob Cameron said the biggest surprise sale was the light shades, two of which went for $100.

The stained glass windows also fetched a good price, however the church had put some of the windows aside to include in a new church they are hoping to build.

The auction was another step forward for the church, Cameron said. "This earthquake demolition has been going on a fair while now," he said.

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Quake-hit Seddon church holds sale

A Greek Orthodox church crushed on 9/11 is finally being resurrected.

Hundreds of people flocked to the future site of the St. Nicholas National Shrine for a ground-blessing ceremony Saturday to celebrate a house of worship that will one day overlook the 9/11 Museum and Memorial.

A $38 million, domed alabaster sanctuary will replace its modest 19th-century predecessor a tiny four-story building toppled by the collapse of the South Tower. It was the only church destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks.

Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the Byzantine-style structure is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Church officials told The Post they have raised $7.2 million toward construction $1.2 million of that from an insurance policy.

I dont think [continuing fund-raising] is daunting, said the Rev. Evagoras Constamides, a church spokesman. Today is an excellent example that our community is ready ... to respond to this effort.

Officials said they have collected donations from around the world, including $260,000 from the Greek government, as well as Greek Orthodox parishes throughout the US.

After 13 years of tremendous non-stopping, non-sleeping efforts ... we start the process for the resurrection of the church, said Archbishop Demetrios, the leader of the Greek Orthodox church in the US.

The congregation was founded in 1916 by Greek immigrants, who held services at a tavern-turned-church at 155 Cedar St.

When the church was destroyed on 9/11, years of talks with the Port Authority over a land swap began. A deal was finally reached that would give the PA rights to the Cedar Street property and allow the church to rebuild at 130 Liberty St.

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National Shrine to replace church destroyed on 9/11

NEW YORK (AP) Hundreds of members of New Yorks Greek Orthodox community attended a blessing ceremony today for a new church near ground zero in Lower Manhattan that will replace a house of worship that was destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In his remarks at the construction site, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America recalled his dismay when, on September 12, 2001, he and other pastors visited the spot where St Nicholas church had stood since the early 20th Century.

The tiny structure had been crushed in the collapse of the twin towers, making it the only church destroyed in the attack.

We stood there frozen, paralysed, said Archbishop Demetrios. There was a big hole instead of a church. It left a terrible kind of impression.

More than 13 years later, work has begun on a much larger, $38 million domed church designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava intended to serve both as the new home for the Greek Orthodox parish and as a national non-denominational shrine for ground zero visitors. The dome made of glass and white marble will be backlit from within so that it glows at night.

It will be a refuge for people in need of spiritual comfort regardless of their specific beliefs, or unbeliefs, the archbishop said. Above all, this resurrected St Nicholas church will be a monument declaring the victory of good over evil, of love over hatred.

Those in attendance included Calatrava, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, former Governor George Pataki, former Mayor David Dinkins and various other government officials from New York and New Jersey.

Pataki, who was New Yorks governor at the time of the attack, said the church was an important addition to the memorials and skyscrapers that have risen in recent years at the World Trade Centre site.

The original church was founded by Greek immigrants in 1916 and began services at its 1 200-square-foot (112-square-metre) location on Cedar Street in 1922. After it was destroyed, the rebuilding was delayed by a legal dispute between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America over the original site.

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Church rising from ground zero

Christ Community Church Construction Timelapse
This is a timelapse of the construction at Christ Community Church in St. Charles, IL.

By: Carlson Architecture

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Christ Community Church Construction Timelapse - Video

VILLAGERS are set to take the significant first step in the building of their new church after fundraising for more than a decade.

The community at Crossways has been working together for years to build their own church to house a growing congregation and a special First Turf Turning ceremony will be held to mark the construction finally getting underway.

The building of St Aldhelms Church is expected to be completed by Easter 2015.

Crossways resident Simon Hunt said: This most exciting step marks the beginning of a new chapter in the progress of Crossways parishioners to establish a permanent and lasting base for worship and associated activities. To have reached this point has not been without much effort, hard work and perseverance of many, many people.

Villagers have raised more than 100,000 towards the new church, which will be spent on maintenance and running of the building.

Mr Hunt added that people across the community had been involved, many of whom are a silent majority of stalwarts.

The new building will be sited at land at Frome Valley CE VA First School.

The Reverend Jacquie Birdseye, of the united benefice of Moreton, Woodsford, Crossways and Tincleton, was appointed to oversee the building of the new church around nine years ago.

She is currently on sabbatical until early November.

Planning permission was granted by West Dorset District Council in September last year.

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Al-lelujah chorus

Oct. 17, 2014, 4 a.m.

Darling Street between Wingewarra and Church street will be closed for two weeks from Monday for the construction of a new water main.

Dubbo City Council's Manager Works and Services Ian Bailey at the construction site. Photo: GREG KEEN.

DARLING Street betweenWingewarra and Church streetwill be closed for two weeks from Monday for the construction of a new water main.

Dubbo City Council Manager Works Services Ian Bailey said a new 150mm diameter water main will be constructed to upgrade the existing smaller 100mm-diameter main to meet the increasing demand from surrounding residents and businesses.

"Throughout this time, work along the eastern side of Darling Street to renew aged infrastructure as part of stage three will continue, leaving the northbound lane of Darling Street open between Church Street and Talbragar Street," Mr Bailey said.

"The footpath will still be open. All of the businesses you'll still be able to get to, it'll just be a little bit longer to walk."

Mr Bailey said vehicular access to Darling Street businesses, the DRTCC and the Civic Administration building, will be available for residents via Brisbane and Church Street before proceeding northbound down Darling Street.

Construction will halt on Saturday, October 25, for the DREAM Festival's Twilight Markets and Lantern Parade and parking for the event will be available on the northern end of Darling Street, in the council car parks beside the Civic Administration Building and on the corner of Darling and Talbragar Streets.

"It is expected both lanes of Darling Street between Wingewarra and Church Street will be closed until Monday, November 3, at which point a northbound lane will be reopened with the southbound lane to remain closed until December this year," Mr Bailey said.

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Wingewarra and Church streets will be closed for water main construction