On four mornings over three weeks, members of the church’s Eco Team and other volunteers built new benches for the Outdoor Chapel, replacing aging ones originally constructed during four Eagle Scout projects dating back to 1994.

The new benches are modeled after ones at the United Methodist’s Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, Maine.

The project including disassembling the old benches, a tedious task of removing planks from rotting and unstable tree stumps. While that was being done, a team worked together in the church parking lot, cutting treated lumber to specific lengths and assembling the ends of the benches before taking them to the chapel for construction of the full benches.

The carpentry work was led by craftsmen Bob Webster, Pat Acheson, and Rod Frey, from which others learned by trial and error.

Other work was done in the outdoor chapel, including trimming out overgrown and weedy sections at the front and back and spreading new layers of wood chips throughout.

The impetus for this project dates back to a BTS seminar encouraging churches to provide better hospitality for its communities. The new benches certainly hit that mark.

On the final morning of the project, Bob Webster offered a blessing of the benches.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this all possible and to Bob and Linda Webster for making arrangements for all of the materials. And just as important, thank you to the donations from many in the congregation that covered the expenses!