Service and Pastor Mike's Message for October 18, 2020

posted on October 17

Church Restoration Project

posted on October 11

UPDATE:   Phase Six of our Historic Restoration Project finally began during the second week in October.  Phase Six involves removing the clapboards on the front and side corners of the exterior of the building so that the front wall and sides can be insulated about 8 feet up.  Currently, there is little to no insulation in the front wall so that the hallway is very cold and we have experienced freezing pipes in the bathroom during the past two winters.  Once the wall is insulated it will be covered with plywood and then new clapboards will be placed the outside.  We hope that this will be the next-to-last phase before completion of the painting of the exterior and repair of the outer walls under the eaves which we will hope to complete during 2021.   Unfortunately, the cost of building materials has been rising due to issues around the Covid-19 pandemic and thus, the estimate for Phase Six has risen about $1500.  We now expect that the total cost will be somewhere between $23,000-24,000.  In addition, once the work began, there was some "rot" discovered around the side door on the east side of the building and it was also discovered that there was no insulation in the outside east wall of the building and
so the work area expanded somewhat, which will also add to the cost of the project.  If you would like to support our project  - especially during the time of the pandemic when it is much more difficult to hold fundraisers - you can go to the "giving" tab on this website or send a check designated for the "Historic Restoration Fund," to WUMC, PO Box 94, Wolcott, VT 05680.

Phase Five of our Historic Restoration Project has now been completed .  Our kitchen cabinets, sink, and countertops have been installed.  Over the winter we insulated the outside walls of the fellowship hall and sheetrocked and painted the walls a light cream color which will make the entire hall much lighter and more inviting.  The front hall has been repainted and the finishing touches have been put on the kitchen and the fellowship hall.  Once we can open the church to the public once again, it is our plan to open up use of these rooms to anyone in the community who needs a place for meetings, events such as birthday parties, baby or wedding showers, or whatever is needed.  Stay tuned for updates.

We greatly appreciate all the support we have received for our Historic Restoration Project to date.  If you would like to assist us in moving this part of the project along, you may send a check to the Wolcott UMC, PO Box 94, Wolcott, VT 05680 or going to our web page:  www.wolcotvtumc.org and clicking on our "Giving Tab."

Phase Four - closing in the front wall of the Fellowship Hall, adding a wider, handicapped accessible door and painting the floor in the Hall so that we can once again use the hall for events-is now nearly completed with the exception of some finish work.  We held our first event in a year-and-a half when we hosted racism training for clergy and laity from the Vermont District.

We thank all of you who have supported our restoration project over the past year-and-a half.  If you would like to continue to support us, you can send a check to WUMC, PO Box 94, Wolcott, VT, marked "Historic Restoration Fund," or go to the "Giving Tab" on this website.

We have now completed Phase Three of our Historic Restoration Project.  We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our Restoration Project to date.   As a result of your support we have a new handicapped accessible entrance ramp and have been able to completely repair the back wall so that we will have no more worries re:  water infiltration into the foundation.  There is still a need to finish the entrance, floor, and kitchen and we will be working on that in the months to come.  We could not have come this far without your support and are praying that you will continue to support us as move forward to Phase Four - completing the front interior wall of the fellowship hall along with enlarging the doorway as well as painting the floor.  Once this is done, we will have use of the hall once again.



Week 26 saw the completion on our handicapped bathroom!  We now have a fully functional bathroom once again - much larger and more pleasant than our previous one.


Week 23 ended with more plumbing work being completed on our handicapped bathroom.  An additional wall needed to be added to accommodate the required grab bars, so we will now also have a small closet in the bathroom, as well.  And the door also needed to be moved.   We have received a number of donations in memory of Linda Clark, who died very unexpectedly on August 6 and who was one of our most active members and an avid supporter of the historic restoration project.  

Week 18 of our historic restoration project saw work beginning on our handicapped bathroom.  The framing of the room has been completed.  We now need to choose flooring for the bathroom before we can move forward.  It is our current goal to be able to install the bathroom prior to winter.  We are presently about $6,000 short of having enough funds to meet this goal. 

Week 17 saw the pouring of the concrete slab, completing Phase One.  Our next step is to finish raising funds for our handicapped bathroom.  Many thanks again for all of you who have supported our Historic Restoration Project. 

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