Old Chapel

This is the old one-room chapel of our church, which was built in 1848. A new sanctuary was built in the 1980's, and now there is discussion under way as to the possibility of building a bigger sanctuary. Our congregation has grown in recent years and we had become short on space, not only during Sunday services, particularly the second service at 10.30, but also short on space for classes and meetings etc. So, about a year ago, the interior of the chapel underwent a major refurbishment. It was painted, carpeted, new window treatments put in, and the old wooden pews were taken out and individual upholstered chairs were put in, so that the space could also be used for meetings and classes. This latter decision upset a few of the older, long-time members of the congregation. I could empathize with them to some extent, but on the other hand, it was largely wasted space, and rarely used. Whereas now it has new life. Last September we went to a three service format on a Sunday morning, with the first and third services remaining traditional worship, and the middle service being in the chapel, and being of a more relaxed, informal nature. During the week it is used for the occasional class or meeting.

One year ago: Mission San Jose