This week’s project is step two on the Fr. Dan Crosby Conference Room makeover.
Last week, a volunteer came and installed the new video monitors, a fresh start to our technology in that space. Next week, the carpet installers are coming to give the flooring a fresh start. This week, it is a fresh start for the walls with a fresh coat of paint.
Two weeks ago, JustBob was getting a little nervous about this part of the project, thinking he would have to do all the painting himself. The volunteers he was able to get a hold of were either not available or were unable to commit. Others he had no luck reaching. So we went to Facebook for a fresh start on the recruiting process.
Painting a room that size is no small project, either. Ladders and scaffolding are needed to get to the top of the walls. There’s lots of putzy trim work around the doors, windows, chair rails, cove molding, baseboards, white board and three monitors. Then there are the water pipes that feed the radiators in the rooms above as well as the radiators in the Conference Room itself. The task requires agile volunteers as someone will need to climb up and down the ladders to reach the top and crawl along the floor to paint along the baseboard and to paint the radiator.
As often happens, God once again answered our prayers. We were blessed with not one, not two, but six volunteers who stepped forward to offer some time over the course of three days to help paint. A couple of them were here during Volunteer Week in 2014 when the room was last painted. This crew worked together as a team and made amazing progress in no time at all. By the end of the first day, Tuesday, the majority of the walls had the first coat. On Wednesday, with some new faces and some of the same faces, the team finished the first coat and made good progress on the second coat. The crew also started tackling the pipes and radiators. By mid-afternoon Thursday, the project was done. With all the volunteers willing to help, JustBob was able to focus on his regular job, just checking in periodically to monitor the crew’s progress and see if they needed anything.
Everyone and everything needs a fresh start once in a while. This space really needed a fresh start, as it is our most used meeting space. The carpet was worn, torn and stained. The technology was inadequate for the size of the space. It has been ten years since it had a fresh coat of paint. So even though it was a labor intensive project that had to be scheduled around groups, it was a good and necessary thing.
Fresh starts in life tend to be the same way. When “what is” is old, worn, or just not working anymore, it may be time for a fresh start. Fresh starts sometimes involve a lot of work, sometimes include temporary inconveniences, sometimes come with some anxiety, and sometimes require many willing helpers. But despite all that, fresh starts often prove to be good and necessary things in life.
For all the blessings of fresh starts, and even for the struggles that are sometimes a necessary part of starting fresh, we say Deo Gratias!