Since the congregational meeting on May 2nd, the much discussed sanctuary re-design project has taken on more shape.

First of all, the Building Vision Group has filed an application with the state to become a 501(c)3 with the name the Town Clock Community Development Corporation. We chose to be a community development corporation because we do not want to exclusively be a building/housing development corporation. Rather, our vision is to include programming as other forms of ministry to the community. These visions will require time to develop, but we are looking into new things. Also, we added two persons to the board of the 501(c)3 who live with the need for supportive housing.

Second, we have met with two architectural firms, representatives from the NJ Housing Mortgage Financing Agency (HMFA), two development companies, two supportive services agencies, and the New Brunswick Housing Authority, as well as with Mayor Jim Cahill, who also took the time to do a site visit. Needless to say, there is a lot of support and excitement about the proposed project.

Third, along with all of this, we have worked on a budget for the upcoming year. With this budget, we begin to realize the need for funding a “building director”, or, better, an “executive director” for the project. This will have to be worked on and a job description developed. We are still in the preliminary stages of this.

Finally, our next steps will be: to agree upon an architectural firm, to look at design plans for the living units and the sanctuary, to bring those plans to a small group of the congregation for further discussion, to get commitments on funding, to visit several locations which have developed such housing and see how the program partners are working together.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me or anyone else on the team. We would really enjoy speaking to you about this project.