The little school that began with only nine students grew into the 40s and 50s,
necessitating a building addition of four classrooms and a library, which was
completed in 1993.
But as soon as the finishing touches were being put on the school addition,
plans were being made to upgrade and add to the complex, focusing this time
on church uses. Pastor Jim Cooper formed the Development Committee, led
by Brent Hyatt, along with 10 or 11 members, to study the needs and hopes of
the society and to design what was hoped to be a new church building.
In a society as diverse as Washington’s, with the growing need to serve
a diverse surrounding community, and with the hope of meeting the needs
of a new generation, this turned out to be a most difficult task. Very little
is straightforward when it comes to finding true consensus in a church
congregation. So I think it is important here to mention some of the process
that the committee went through during the 20 years of planning.
First, Stewart Smith – an architect and a leader on the committee – took
the group through a series of exercises designed to take a holistic approach
to planning. The group was first asked to think only about the uses of the
congregation and rank their importance, then think about how these many
uses related to each other and how closely connected they were.
Then the committee broke into smaller groups and each created a “bubble
chart” illustrating these uses – large bubbles for primary uses, like worship
– and large connecting lines for uses that shared resources with other uses.
Interestingly enough, committee members were not permitted to think about
“space” or buildings while doing this process – only uses.
Along with many other similar exercises the Facilities Committee wrestled
with what seemed to be an impossible task: how to please everyone with a
limited budget. There were many bumps on the road, most particularly the
economic slump that hit not only Washington but also the General Church
as a whole in 2008. Though grandiose dreams were still alive, many of the
drawings met the cutting floor.
The Rev. Garry Walsh (following Jim Cooper as pastor in 2005) worked
hard to restart the process. He formed a new Development Committee from
Board members to create a long-range plan. Although this was incredibly
useful the sluggish economy continued to stall the project.
In 2009 the Rev. Mike Gladish became the pastor and took a great interest
in moving the project forward. With a fresh perspective he inspired the reformed committee to think outside the box and not be tied to old concepts.
Charged with renewed need and enthusiasm the Facilities Committee took
up the proje 7Bv