THE ROCK IS EXPOSED

Bob's Backhoe Service fired-up a huge excavator this morning and began digging away at the Jefferson lawn area. It took about three heavy tugs to pull the rock free. It's roughly 4'-6" tall and 5' wide. Bob estimates its weight at one ton. We plan to incorporate this rock into the children's amphitheater near the upper playground area and Classroom B. It's the perfect size for this.
Excavation of the entire Jefferson lawn area and the area around and behind the Blake Building has caused considerable havoc. Of course, in no time we discovered the meandering old main water line which serves everything. All water has been shut off to the entire campus until the excavation is completed, probably early next week. We are going to try to run a high pressure hose down to the Starr King Nursery just for this Sunday. Phones and computers have suffered some interruptions but seem to have survived.
We've installed another porta-potty in the parking lot area next to the Jefferson Building. As far as porta-pottys go, this is a pretty darn nice one. It has flush action, a sink w/ anti-bactierial soap and a foot pump water faucet. You now have a choice between the porta-potty in the Parish Courtyard and (my favorite) the porta-potty in the Jefferson parking lot. Remember, the water is shut off. There will be no regular bathrooms available this Sunday.

The lull before the storm

I'm sitting in my office listening to the birds singing in the courtyard. Suddenly I realize that all is quiet in Parish hall. How can this be? Where is the ever-present scream of skil saws and rythmic drumbeat of hammers? I scamper into the hall and find no workers except a lone electrician, patiently disconnecting one outlet after another. My anxiety elevates. "What's gone wrong?" I wonder. Where's Glen, our construction superintendant? I reach for my cell phone. I'm about to hit speed-dial #4 when I notice it's 4:15pm. The workers are done for the day. I relax.

Serious construction activity is about to explode here. The stage is set. The porta-potty sits in the courtyard. Several empty pallets rest on the Jefferson lawn waiting to be stacked with the bricks we plan to re-use in our new courtyard. The stage is stacked with hardwood flooring waiting to be re-installed. The architects, contractors and engineers have been huddling over exposed floor joists, rough-in plumbing and hapazardly labeled electrical sub-panels. Plastic sheeting contains the dust of areas being stripped of their plaster. In one week's time everything is going to look very different here.

It's actually happening. So relax, Ken. Relax.

Work Has Begun! June 12, 2008

It's 1:45, Thursday, June 12. Work has officially begun on our project.
The hardwood flooring on the library dias in Parish Hall is being carefully removed and stored on the stage for reinstallation later. The construction trailer, dumpster, material storage area and porta-potty locations have been determined. The next few weeks will be full-ahead demolition.

Ken Ralph
Facilities Manager, Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara

Reflections of Joy

Groundbreaking Ceremony June 8, 2008

We finally got to put shovel to dirt! What a wonderful celebration of the start of the building project last Sunday, June 8th. It took place around the rock on the Jefferson lawn. Those who have worked so hard to get USSB to this point were honored, we sang and celebrated with bubbles, hard hats, shovels and cake, and a beginning trench was dug out around that mysterious rock that has long been an object of curiosity among USSB members and friends. Until now, all that could be seen of the rock was the top of its “head” poking through the grass on the slope of the Jefferson lawn. Now, we can see a few inches down around the sides of the rock, and it’s clear that it is indeed a big boulder! Just how big is it? We will soon find out, as the leveling of the lawn area begins in earnest, very soon.

I had found a quote from the poet T.S. Eliot in my files that I thought would be appropriate for the groundbreaking, and then I “googled” the lines and discovered that the excerpt I had is from T.S. Eliot’s poem “Choruses From the Rock!” Though Eliot’s “rock” is metaphorical (God, Christ, the church), the reading somehow seemed even more appropriate for our rock-centered groundbreaking, once I learned the title. Here is the excerpt I read:

What life have you if you have not life together?
There is no life that is not in community…

Much to cast down, much to build, much to restore;
Let the work not delay, time and the arm not waste;

Let the clay be dug from the pit, let the saw cut the stone,
Let the fire not be quenched in the forge.

Let the work now proceed apace!
Joy Atkinson, Interim Minister

What a Wonderful Gift!

6/9/08
As far as I'm concerned, Sunday's ground-breaking ceremony was a great success. By the end of the day I had made a new friend. His name is Ezra. He's about 3 and 1/2 years old. After spending a lot of time getting his hardhat to fit just right, he helped me pull up the wooden stakes, roll up the orange construction fencing and store the shovels & wheel barrows. We talked about "excavators" and "flat bed trucks" and Ezra promised to come back soon with his "forklift" and "dump truck". We made a great connection.
What a wonderful gift!
I'm confident that our plans to create a beautiful Jefferson Courtyard will lead to many more heartfelt connections with this congregation's kids and families. I've never been more certain that this building project is the right thing to do.
Ken Ralph
Facilities Manager, Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara

Our Project Is About To Begin!

Ground Breaking Ceremony
Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 12:30 pm on the Jefferson Lawn.

Welcome to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara Building Project website!
Our construction project is about to begin!

This project is a culmination of many years of planning and fundraising, and we are about to experience the joy, excitement and many changes related to our collective efforts.

Check back to this site often for updates and photo documentation of our project!