Chapel renovations and addition

[agibson]

I've been told that one famous breakage incident was during President Heckler's installation.

[vu72]

Pictures of new chairs. They look great to me!
https://www.facebook.com/valparaiso.university/photos/pcb.10153643456858632/10153643456458632/?type=3&theater

[agibson]

Two pieces from the chapel on the topic.

One a sort of a news item
http://www.valpo.edu/chapel/news/chair_project.php

the other a pastoral reflection
http://www.valpo.edu/chapel/news/unwelcome_change_8_28_15.php

[okinawatyphoon]

The chairs were a fantastic compromise between old and new; functional and historic. 

[govalpogo]

I spent many a Friday and Saturday night moving the old pews around before and after concerts, Advent Christmas Vespers, Easter, the Holy Feast of Basketball, etc.  I was sitting as a flag bearer at the foot of the chancel steps looking out over the congregation when the pew full of Student Senate officers disappeared during Heckler's inauguration speech.  I applied gorilla glue to many of those pews to get a few more years out of them.  It was time for something new.

Chairs come with their own pains, keeping them straight is harder (though I believe these lock together), they tend to drift more, they generally reduce seating capacity compared to pews, etc.  I do however, love to see innovation and risk taking in the church and as a Pastor, I love Pr. Jim's reflection.  Onward to a new day in resurrection!

[vu72]

I spent many a Friday and Saturday night moving the old pews around before and after concerts, Advent Christmas Vespers, Easter, the Holy Feast of Basketball, etc.  I was sitting as a flag bearer at the foot of the chancel steps looking out over the congregation when the pew full of Student Senate officers disappeared during Heckler's inauguration speech.  I applied gorilla glue to many of those pews to get a few more years out of them.  It was time for something new.

Chairs come with their own pains, keeping them straight is harder (though I believe these lock together), they tend to drift more, they generally reduce seating capacity compared to pews, etc.  I do however, love to see innovation and risk taking in the church and as a Pastor, I love Pr. Jim's reflection.  Onward to a new day in resurrection!

I was told that the new seating will increase seating capacity.

[govalpogo]

I spent many a Friday and Saturday night moving the old pews around before and after concerts, Advent Christmas Vespers, Easter, the Holy Feast of Basketball, etc.  I was sitting as a flag bearer at the foot of the chancel steps looking out over the congregation when the pew full of Student Senate officers disappeared during Heckler's inauguration speech.  I applied gorilla glue to many of those pews to get a few more years out of them.  It was time for something new.

Chairs come with their own pains, keeping them straight is harder (though I believe these lock together), they tend to drift more, they generally reduce seating capacity compared to pews, etc.  I do however, love to see innovation and risk taking in the church and as a Pastor, I love Pr. Jim's reflection.  Onward to a new day in resurrection!

I was told that the new seating will increase seating capacity.

Hmm...the thought behind that is that you can squish more people into a pew if you really need to since the seats aren't divided up - not really scientific - but I've looked at a church seating site and found this:  Research indicates the average pew user takes up 24 inches of lineal seating space.  The average worship chair is 20 inches wide.  This nets a 20% increase in available seating in a worship application. 

Perhaps a more defined amount of "personal space" forces people to sit closer/not spread out as much.  I stand corrected!

[agibson]

Chairs come with their own pains, keeping them straight is harder (though I believe these lock together), they tend to drift more, they generally reduce seating capacity compared to pews, etc.

I'll be curious to see how the locking system is on these.  The ones our congregation owns don't lock all that well.

[valpopal]

With much of the country buried in snow this weekend, Valparaiso weather surprisingly has been fairly pleasant this winter and mostly snowless, as can be seen in this photo I took of the Chapel under a full moon tonight and thought I'd post for those who haven't seen the addition at night.

[agibson]

The locking mechanism on the chairs seems to work well, incidentally.  Much more robust than what I've seen elsewhere.  The chairs look nice, and seem comfortable enough.  To me yet see rather wide.

One complaint - they're missing kneelers! I'm told they can be added (there's some kind of a knob from which individual kneelers can be hung).  I don't know if there are at concrete plans. This definitely changes the pattern of worship.

[valpopal]

The locking mechanism on the chairs seems to work well, incidentally.  Much more robust than what I've seen elsewhere.  The chairs look nice, and seem comfortable enough.  To me yet see rather wide.

One complaint - they're missing kneelers! I'm told they can be added (there's some kind of a knob from which individual kneelers can be hung).  I don't know if there are at concrete plans. This definitely changes the pattern of worship.

Yes, the chairs do look nice, as can be seen in this photo I took last night as well, though I find they can get uncomfortable because the angle for the backrest seems a little different, and I do miss the kneelers.

[sliman]

Wonderful photo of the chapel, Ed.  What is the technique (Photoshop alteration?) that makes the colors so intense?

[valpopal]

Wonderful photo of the chapel, Ed.  What is the technique (Photoshop alteration?) that makes the colors so intense?

Thanks for the kind words. As for the technique: I turn off all enhancements in camera so the image comes out neutral and I shoot RAW (unprocessed), then process the picture myself the way I used to develop film negatives in my dark room, which allows me to adjust saturation and brightness.

[historyman]

An interesting observation from a WELS pastor about the use of kneelers at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne.


http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2012/01/they-have-kneelers-and-they-use-them.html


...which brings me to what struck me most about the seminary in Ft. Wayne, and it has to do with their chapel. It's a beautiful, reverent chapel, with a baptismal font filled with water in the entryway. Many, though not all, would dip their fingers in the water and make the sign of the cross on themselves. There was lots of crossing oneself during the Matins and Vespers services, and a reverent bowing of the head at the Gloria Patri – without prompting and without any sort of chatty instruction from the presiding minister. There was a natural piety evident among the worshipers and among the ministers that was shamefully unfamiliar to me. Most noticeably to me, in their chapel they have kneelers – and they use them.

[sliman]

Wonderful photo of the chapel, Ed.  What is the technique (Photoshop alteration?) that makes the colors so intense?

Thanks for the kind words. As for the technique: I turn off all enhancements in camera so the image comes out neutral and I shoot RAW (unprocessed), then process the picture myself the way I used to develop film negatives in my dark room, which allows me to adjust saturation and brightness.

Thanks for the information.  The result is anything but RAW!