Come Grow With Us
A Chapter of Change
Starting in April 2008, we will begin another exciting chapter in our life as a congregation. We are ready to prepare for construction of the new education building. On April 20 we will move our Kindergarten through sixth grade Sunday programs to Chinook Middle School (one block west of the current Chapel Building as the crow flies, two blocks for human travelers). Click here for a printable map. Preschool aged children will stay on campus but move to rooms S-223 and S-224 in the Sanctuary Building. At 11:00 am Junior High Youth Group (grades 7-8) will meet in the Community Center and high school students will continue to either meet in their small groups or attend worship with their leaders.
We have worked hard to minimize any inconvenience this may cause to families. We have added two additional shuttles that will run exclusively between Chinook and the church (though if you want to, you can walk the two blocks down the hill). We will also improve signage, and we will have people at the church ready to meet any new families that come and escort them to where their children need to go. We believe that at most this may add an additional 5 minutes to the normal Sunday routine for families with elementary aged students, and depending on where you normally park, may even be quicker.
This is an exciting time. During this transition period there will be many interesting volunteer opportunities to help families and new-comers get around. Programs and groups that used to meet in the Chapel Building will be taking their events to other venues.
The following links offer additional information in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that should answer most questions you may have about the new building, temporary off-site classroom assignments, and updated information for those who volunteer in our Children’s programs.
Come grow with us!
Timeline
Children and Youth Classroom Locations
Other Relocations
Volunteers
About the New Building
Timeline
What is the timeline for the new building?
Although the timeline in a construction project of this magnitude has many dependencies, here is what we are projecting for the year ahead. During the construction, the majority of the upper chapel area will be closed off. This includes the playground and the upper parking lot which will act as a staging area for the construction.
April: To prepare the Chapel Building for demolition, we will be closing the entire building on April 14. We will take a month to remove our own supplies and furniture, and another month for the removal of hazardous material.
July: We will remove the building and begin site preparation.
September: We have already received our land use permits, and we hope to have our final building permit and begin building in September.
Easter 2009: The new Education Building will be complete!
Children and Youth Classroom Locations
Where will JUMP (Sunday School) classes meet?
April 13 is the last Sunday in current locations; beginning April 20, students will meet in the following locations:
The Child Care Center (2 months - 3 years) will continue to operate as usual on the third floor of the Sanctuary Building.
Preschool JUMP (turning 3's, turning 4's and turning 5's) will meet in the Sanctuary Building. The turning 3's class will continue to meet in the Child Care Center. Turning 4's will begin in S-223 and Turning 5's in S-224. Both Turning 4's and Turning 5's will be picked up in S-141.
Kindergarten through grade 6 will meet off-site at Chinook Middle School. All students should check-in at the Chinook Middle School Commons where they will receive their nametags and be directed to their small group. The schools are just a short distance from FPCB - if you currently park offsite you are familiar with the convenient location and the timely shuttle service.
Route 67 (sixth grade) will meet at 11:00 am only in the Chinook Middle School Library (students do not need to check in at the Commons first).
The Junior High will continue to meet on Sundays at 11:00 am in the Community Center and the High School youth will continue to either meet in their small groups or attend worship with their leaders.
Where will mid-week children and youth programs meet?
FROGs, Route 67, and High School classes will continue to meet in the Sanctuary Building on Wednesdays.
How will I drop off my children for JUMP Sunday morning class and still make it to worship on time?
Although dropping your children off will be different during the construction period, we are committed to making it a smooth transition for parents, students, teachers, and volunteers. Our weekday preschool classes moved offsite last summer so we are fortunate to have some experience with this kind of classroom change. We will start JUMP Sunday morning classes 15 minutes before worship is scheduled to begin so that there is adequate time to drop children off and get back to FPCB campus before worship begins.
What about parking?
We suggest that you park at Chinook, drop off elementary students, and then take the shuttle to the main campus to drop off younger children. Between Bellevue Christian and Chinook Middle School, we have about 500 parking spaces so there is plenty of parking. Click here for a printable map. We will be running 4 shuttle buses to ensure quick movement between all of our locations. We believe that parking at one of the schools will be closer, quicker, and drier than parking at the lower end of our parking lot!
How will we check-in and check-out students in the new location?
The Child Care Center and preschool classes will remain in the Sanctuary building and will use electronic check-in. Students in Kindergarten-grade 5 will use the system they are currently using with two name tags: one for the student to wear and one for the parent as a "claim check."
Where will Loving Hearts be held during this interim time?
We do not know at this time. We will update as we have a decision.
Other Relocations
If I have been meeting in the Chapel Building for my activity, how do I find out where my new meeting location is?
If your group is not listed below, you can find out where your new meeting location is by visiting our online calendar, by asking your group leader, or by calling the Church Office.
What about the Youth Department?
The Youth Department staff will relocate to the current library by the Narthex. However, the library will remain in full operation by relocating the children and family books and videos to the Upper Rotunda on the third floor by the balcony. The Junior High will continue to meet on Sundays at 11:00 am in the Community Center and the High School youth will continue to either meet or attend worship with their leaders.
What will happen to Sunday Adult Programs?
The majority of Sunday programs which have normally met in the Chapel Building will now meet at Bellevue Christian School, just two blocks west of the Chapel Building.
I have heard something about the First United Methodist Church, St. Luke's Lutheran Church, and Jubilee REACH being locations for our programs also.
Yes - the First Presbyterian Christian Preschool has been meeting at the Methodist Church since September and some mid-week activities, including our Session meetings, will relocate starting in April. Our tutoring ministry, KidREACH, will be serving its children at the Jubilee REACH Center for the next year. Eastside Academy has been meeting at St. Luke's since January.
Volunteers
Where do we need volunteers?
Volunteers are needed to support the Sunday School program at Chinook Middle School by helping with set up and take down each Sunday, (contact ),
and with welcome hosts who can help visitors find their way around on Sundays (contact
).
What else can I do?
This is an exciting time in the life of our church but there may be some confusion with all that we have going on. We would ask that everyone engage in prayer supporting this transition period.
About the new building
How does this project fit in our Ripple Effect Strategies?
We believe that God is calling us to serve the children of our church community, the children of our local Bellevue community, and the children of the world and so, two years ago, we embarked on a campaign to provide the funds for this challenge. The first big step of the campaign, The Ripple Effect, was to open our successful Jubilee REACH Center to meet some of the needs of residents of the Lake Hills neighborhood of Bellevue. This May we will be celebrating the opening of the Center for Champions in Rwanda, which will be serving over 500 street kids marginalized by the genocide in that country. Now we have the opportunity to focus on serving our own children with the construction of a new 55,000 sq ft education building.
What is the scope of the project?
The scope of the new building design includes a four story building with two classroom wings plus large assembly spaces for children and youth. Some of these classrooms will have moveable walls which will provide greater flexibility for existing programs and for broader community use. In addition, Eastside Academy will have expanded space in the new facility including a library and science lab. There will be many more restroom facilities in the new building and hallways and classrooms will be handicap accessible. The facility will also have modern security and fire alarm systems for greater peace of mind.
What will be saved from the Chapel Building and re-used in the new?
Every step of the way we will have teams working to ensure that anything that can be salvaged for use in the new facility or for donation is set aside. We know that the existing Chapel building holds many memories for our congregation - every effort is being made to honor those memories. There are already plans to incorporate the Chapel's stained glass and crosses in the new building. We are also investigating the possibility of using the large beams from the Chapel as stair treads in the new facility.
What will be salvaged?
The organ, pianos, pews, cabinets, solid wood doors, sound systems, and some of the kitchen appliances as well as dishes, pots, and pans will be salvaged. A group is determining what to do about memorial gifts.