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2010 Stewardship Campaign begins and church town meeting offers exciting glimpse into the future of our church, if the Spirit is willing to continue "the dream"

At left, lay leaders Paula Martasian and Jay Hickey lead the presentation at the town meeting. For more photos, scroll down below story.

Published September 27, 2009

A new educational wing and more parking space, improved kitchen facilities, more improvements to the church sound system, renovation of our organ, new signage in front of the church, and adding the UMC cross symbol to the cross on the front of the church building were among the improvements and expansion of North Kingstown UMC discussed at the latest church town meeting Sunday September 27th. The planning continues on the future of our church before any formal proposals are presented to church members for approval. Lay leaders Paula Martasian and Jay Hickey disclosed that two anonymous benefactors have come forward, offering to generously pay for the organ renovation and the sound system improvements. The organ would be updated with an electronic computer design which would still take advantage of the pipe system on the organ. The sound system could be improved additionally to a unified system throughout the church building. In order to accept the offers of payment on the organ renovation and sound system, approval is needed at a special charge conference to be held Sunday October 11 at 11:15 AM, following the 10 AM service.

Committees are also hard at work exploring designs to build a new educational wing that would extend behind the current fellowship hall, largely mirroring the size and design of the current fellowship hall. The additional facility could offer dedicated Sunday School classrooms and second floor storage. The additional facility could be attached to the fellowship hall or be connected by an interior corridor from the fellowship hall. A committee, headed by Bob Mason, is in discussions with several construction bidders for plans and proposals. The building construction could range from a basic shell design with interior work to be completed by the labor of church members to a fully completed structure. Additional parking is under consideration for the back of the church. Construction of the educational wing would likely be financed through a new capital campaign and loans. Cost estimates are incomplete pending construction proposals, but the project, according to Jay Hickey, could range from $100,000 to $400,000.

The church kitchen improvements could allow North Kingstown UMC to serve as an occasional soup kitchen in the community and better facilitate the handling of more functions that require food preparation. The highly recognized UMC flaming cross symbol would be added to the existing large cross on the front of the church, branding our church as a denomination of the United Methodist church to traffic moving north and south on Boston Neck Road. A committee led by Nina Dunne is also exploring new signage near the heavily traveled road.

Paula Martasian also outlined possible participation in a food program called Angels for Food, which would allow the congregation to buy groceries at a discount price with the food, some of it as pre-packaged meals,  delivered to the church or picked up twice monthly at a location in Connecticut. The church would also receive a percentage of dollars spent on the food purchases which could be used for additional mission work.

If you have questions or want to be part of the planning process on any of these projects, please contact lay leaders Paula Martasian and Jay Hickey or the following committee chairs:

New construction for the educational wing: Bob Mason

Kitchen renovations: Jay Hickey

Organ project: Nancy Laders

Signage: Nina Dunne

Angels for Food: Paula Martasian

Scroll down for photos from Town Meeting and Sunday worship

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