And now for something completely different

Amidst the deep and meaningful meanderings of my mind and emotions, I thought I would share some pictures of something totally unrelated.

For quite some time now, plans have been afoot at Beechworth church to do some renovations to the church building. There have been problems with the floor; some of the floor boards have rotted, and become loose, and the floor is generally uneven, with a bizarre little step up to the sanctuary space, which is a real OH & S risk for tripping (and I have almost come a cropper on it numerous times).

After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to get the relevant approvals from Heritage Victoria, local council and the Synod, quotes from various contractors were obtained, and a contract was signed. The work began just over a week ago. The plan is to replace the floor in the entire worship space, build a ramp from the church into the vestry (thus giving disabled access to the hall through the vestry, without the need to go outside), remove the large panel at the back of the church that meant that upon coming into the church via the central door, one had to veer to the left or right to enter the worship space (and which caused all manner of issues for funeral directors in getting caskets into the church around that tight chicane). When the contractor was exploring the building to prepare his quote, he also identified some internal walls in the back rooms that needed to be rebuilt, so that will be done too.

During the week I received an email from some of my parishioners in Beechworth, the lovely Glen and John Purkis, with some photos John had taken of the progress of the work to date. All I can say is, "WOW." They have certainly gutted the building very quickly. I am hoping that John will continue to document the renovation work, and send me pictorial updates.

Looking towards the front of the church and the door into the kitchen

Looking to the back of the church. The main entrance door is in the centre,
and on the right we can peer into the storage room

Looks like some rebuilding of the floor has commenced.

The doors and panelling that have been removed to do the work