Stories from our Newsletters over the years
How did the church pews come about?
After meeting at Carmel Middle School when the church was first formed, the day finally came to move into the new church building where we are now located. For the first few years in the building the chancel was filled with metal folding chairs. Barbara and Lowell arrived in the summer of 1969. Lowell was hired to be the new high school wood shop teacher. They both became involved in church, doing "stuff" around church. As time went by, the church became larger, and the idea that a church has "pews" came up. However, being a mission supported church, pews would not be in the budget. In the 70's the Longs joined the church and the Battchers became friends with them. Since Lowell was into woodworking, and John was into about everything else, they became good friends and helped each other out on many projects at home and church. As time went by they talked about a pew project, but didn't know about a "wood supply." Richard Comings heard about their idea and asked them about using Monterey Pine as a source. Neither of them had used Monterey Pine, and many people deemed it a "non-stable wood." However, Richard and his brother Sherman owned a saw mill a few miles down the valley from church, and he had worked with the wood extensively and assured them that it would work! Richard invited Lowell and John to come to the mill and look at the wood. When they saw the wood, they were "blown away." The amount and quality of it was more than they could believe. Richard explained that all the wood had come from Chews Ridge up the valley, and it all had been milled and air dried at the mill. He said he would be willing to give it to the church if we would make the pews. With that, the project was off and running.
Lowell and John first worked on the design around the wood that they had available that would be functional, as well as aesthetically pleasing. They made a prototype in the form of a small pew that could be used up in front. They let people "try it out" for a Sunday and got feedback. There were some adjustments to be made. They made another one with the back and the seat so they could vary them. After several adjustments, and people "trying it out," they finally had the design set. It was time to start production. John and Lowell spent many hours in the high school woodshop after work, working on milling the lumber, gluing, surfacing, making the cross in the end pieces, sanding... the list goes on. When students didn't have a project to work on, they would help out during class time. As the pieces were completed and assembled, they were brought to church for finishing work, and having finished applied. It truly became a labor of love for the men in the church. Week after week, men would come to church on Saturday to work on the project. For all the men that spent so many hours and days working on this project, Lowell is the only left here at our church.
The pews were dedicated in October of 1980. What a joy for all! As John and Lowell watched for many years afterwards when the Comings would come to church, Richard would lovely run his hands over the wood admiring what God had given us! The church continued to grow and they made four more pews after they were dedicated in 1980. The cushions were added in 1998. They have experimented with spacing and angling as time has gone by. Next time you see the pews, think of God's creation, Richard's love of wood, the time spent by many men of the church, and the love that went into pews.
History of our Cross
The small cross -- 2014 -- This is Lowell Battcher speaking
A few years ago, when Martin was Pastor, he asked if I would make a processional cross for our church. I have always enjoyed making unique individual projects, so it was my pleasure.
I had purchased some Western Maple from Washington quite a few years ago. It is a good wood to with but it not as hard as the Eastern Maple, so I decided to make the major part of the cross from that. I wanted to make the accent pieces on the cross special and with meaning. Over the years the triangle pieces have darkened but when the cross was first made they were much brighter red in color. That wood is called Bloodwood and of course, for me, represents Christ's blood shed for us. The wood comes from a large tree, as tall as 150 feet, that grows in tropical South America. The wood that forms the small cross in the center is made from Kingwood and represents, for me, that Christ is the King of my life. Kingwood comes from a small area in Brazil and the tree grows to a maximum height of about 60 feet. This wood got its name from being a wood that French kings Louis XIV and Louis XV preferred for their fine furniture.
So next time you see the processional cross being brought in you will have a little more insight. Let the significance of the wood act as a reminder of Christ's presence in our midst in worship.
St. Philip's -- the Building
As the church was getting started in 1966, a site for a home was needed. Founding pastor, Pastor Brethiem's remembrances of the building of the church follow.
Initially, Dorette and Richard Comings offered to sell to St. Philip's a two-acre lot at the corner of Via Petra and Carmel Valley Road. Neighbors to the site resisted permitting the building of the church due to the small size of the lot and traffic concerns. At that time, the anticipated membership of the church was predicted to be approximately 300. The permit for the location was denied.
The current site, five and a half acres, was purchased from Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Williams. The Williams stipulated that the structure be one that they would be proud to view from the home on the top of the hill, to preserve the oak tree and carry on the rustic style of the valley. With the help of Warren Gilbert Associates of San Jose, the building was designed and built.
So we used exposed redwood with slump stone masonry walls and red cedar shake roof. Inside, tinted glare-free glass was used in order to enjoy the landscaping around us. the missing bricks in the wall would allow us to look beyond ourselves and the passerby could look in. Another special feature was the large chancel window. Transfixed before the window a large rustic 20 food cross reaching from the floor to the heights of the church dominating. The focal point of worship was a 3-sided free standing altar of rough sawn redwood, making it possible for the pastor to preside from behind and in front of the altar. The 3-sided altar was to be a witness of faith in triune God at a time when the "God is Dead" theology was being spread around.
It was the site of the green-grassed meadow about where the altar would stand, that we broke ground on Jan 1967 at 11:00 am after a Holy Communion service at 10:00 am at the Middle School. The architect had put up string markings of where the church would be built. We sat a table altar with white cloth and cross from the temporary alter at the school. The Church Council provided a gold-painted spade. Scripture and prayers were spoken and several people turned a spade of soil in the name of the Triune God.
We had a Service of Entry on June 11, 1967 with a procession of flags, altar book, Bible, communion set, hymn books, and chairs. At the second service in our new church, the first class of 8th and 9th graders were confirmed. The official Dedication was help on September 10, 1967.