Church to mark completion of renovation with ribbon-cutting

WEST CHESTER » The Unitarian Congregation of West Chester will celebrate the completion of major renovations to its historic building at 501 S. High St. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12.

A celebratory dedication service will follow in the newly refurbished sanctuary at 10 a.m.

The $1.3 million renovation project has created a warmer, more welcoming interior with the space reconfigured to better serve both the congregation and the community. The changes have revitalized the building, which had not been fully modernized since it was constructed in 1915 as the headquarters of the New Century (Woman’s) Club. The Unitarian Congregation acquired it from the Woman’s Club in July of 1995.

“This celebration is the culmination of years of work and planning on the part of the congregation,” Rev. Dan Schatz, who was called to be the congregation’s minister last year, said. “Time and again, the members of our congregation have stepped forward and stepped up to make this dream a reality.

“Their energy and enthusiasm, their willingness to take on a large project and see it through to the end, is part of what attracted me to the congregation,” he added.

A major goal of the project was to ensure accessibility to all floors of the building for people with disabilities. Thus, a newly constructed handicapped ramp on the Lacey Street side leads directly into a foyer area and from there into the sanctuary. An elevator provides access to second floor offices and ground floor religious education classrooms. Other changes include:

• The ground floor religious education area is reconfigured and refurbished to provide a more welcoming space for children and youth.

• A new HVAC system fully air conditions the building.

• Single occupancy bathrooms are ADA compliant and available for use by all gender identities.

• The space formerly occupied by a stage has been converted into a coffee room and social area.

• The offices for the Minister, the Director of Lifespan Faith Development, and the Office Administrator are in an expanded and reconfigured area on the second floor.

• What had been the minister’s office on the first floor is now a dedicated adult meeting and meditative space.

• The sanctuary floor, which was badly worn from years of use, has been refinished.

• A low platform at the front of the sanctuary will house the grand piano, the minister’s podium, a stand for the Unitarian chalice, and other necessary furnishings.

The growing congregation, with some 200 members, has been meeting at The New Concept School on Street Road in Westtown Township since construction got underway last June. The November 12 service will be their first service back in the High Street building.

The congregation raised over $1.2 million in pledges and gifts to fund most of the project. A Chalice Lighters Grant from the Central East Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association contributed another $40,000 in funding.