Dear RiverLife Family,
We had a Structural Engineer investigate those strange sounds we heard this past Sunday. It turns out that some of the roof trusses in the sanctuary failed. Because of this the sanctuary is not safe to be occupied by people at this time. That was not the news we were hoping for, but it is repairable. We have hired the Structural Engineer and he has a crew working in the the sanctuary to stabilize and shore up the room in order to make the repairs to the trusses. That is why you see the pink signs on the entrance doors. Access into the lobby, kitchen, prayer room and sanctuary is limited only to the crew working under the Engineer’s direction.
The only access to the building is through the door off the gravel parking lot and we do have access to the classroom on that hall. No children are allowed in the building during this phase of the repair. Once they have everything stabilized, shored up and at the Engineer’s approval we will be allowed use of those now restricted areas.
I am so sorry this has happened, but I am very thankful no one has been hurt. So many of you have poured your hearts, prayers, fiances and efforts into this church. This hurts and I have shed some tears over this. Keeping this in perspective and not discounting anything you have done keep in mind this is not the church. We the people are the church. It is our building and it is broke right now, but it can and will be repaired. It is disruptive, inconvenient and sorrowful.
What does this mean going forward? We plan to continue to hold Sunday congregational meetings, but obviously not in our building right now. We have a couple of good options near by that we should make a decision on no later than Thursday. We will communicate with you as soon as we decide.
How long will it take before we will get back in our building? Cannot really answer that. We should have access to the restricted areas within a couple of weeks, but there is no guarantee. Currently we have delegated all authority on the use of the building to the Structural Engineer.
What caused this? We are not qualified to answer that. The Structural Engineer once he has safe access to the trusses and does his Structural Engineering will be able to better answer that question.
What can I do? Pray, pray, pray. Pray for the safety of the crew working in the building. Pray for wisdom for all involved in decisions going forward. Pray for finances. Do not go to the building unless you have business and make sure you only go through the door on the gravel parking lot end of the building.
Finally, we believe God will cause this to work for our good. Our best days are in front of us. We are dealing with it as best as we know how. We are doing our part and I know God will do His. Let’s keep our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith and keep going forward in the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you have any questions or concerns you may contact me personally and I will try to address them.
Shalom to you all, Byron