By the early 2000s, the 11 a.m. service in the Sanctuary was packed most Sundays, sometimes uncomfortably full.  A growing congregation increased the responsibilities of the Rev. Jay Minnick.  In his early years at PGUMC he did it all, starting with making the coffee every Sunday morning.  During the week he was assisted by an office manager, a position that has been held by Julie Lebria since 2005.  That was no longer enough.  In 2002, our church purchased a new parsonage at 2908 Dunkirk Drive in Raleigh.  In 2009, the Minnicks purchased this home from the church.

     Growth in attendance put a strain on the church building and the church staff.  Strategic planning sessions led by staff and laity in the early 2000s sought to tackle these challenges. Obviously, expansion of both facilities and staff were needed.  New worship services were added in hopes of lessening the strain on the 11:00 a.m. service while also offering new service styles to attract new people to the church.  Additional talent was added to the church staff. And finally, the building itself was expanded, but it was more than a decade from the spark of an idea to a newly expanded and renovated facility.

 

Staff Additions

     Over the years a series of seminary students served internships at PGUMC, but the time came to add to the permanent staff.  Julie Hilton Steele was hired as Director of Emerging Ministries in 2003.  She took responsibility for Sunday school and managing volunteers.

Help with building maintenance was needed.  The PGUMC buildings and grounds are the responsibility of the Board of Trustees, which includes everything from unlocking the church on Sundays to getting a roof leak repaired.  The maintenance issues grew with the age of the facility and often occurred when a trustee wasn’t available. At the urging of church staff, who were most often around when something broke or an emergency clean-up was needed, the Staff-Parish Relations Committee agreed to hire a custodian.  Warren Williams became PGUMC’s first custodian in November 2013.  Arya Jamshidi was hired as weekend custodian in July 2015.

The following persons have served on the PGUMC staff since 2000:

• Melody Hall, Preschool Director, 1997-2005.

• Julie Hilton Steele, Director of Emerging Ministries, 2003-2006.

• Cathy Anderson, Preschool Director, 2005-2020.

• Lucinda Sullivan, Program Director and Volunteer Coordinator, 2007-2014.

• Rev. Meredith Snider, Associate Pastor, 2011-2012.

• Warren Williams, Custodian, 2013 to present.

• Rev. Erin Simpson Pearce, Director of Family Ministries, 2014-2016.

• Ashley Yohman, Volunteer Coordinator, hired in 2014 and transitioned to Director of Connecting Ministries in 2016 to present.

• Steven Hall, The Grove Band and Children’s Choir, 2017 to 2019

• Rev. Carol Van Buskirk, Minister of Non-Traditional Worship, 2019-2020.

 

8:30 Service

     The first solution to the space problem was to add another service in hopes of reducing numbers at the 11 a.m. service.  The 8:30 a.m. service was added on Easter Sunday, April 11, 2005.  Weekly Communion was added to this service on March 5, 2006.  Attendance was low at first, but a core group attended regularly from the beginning.  By 2019, 70 to 100 persons attend each week.

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Vision and Mission

     In the spring of 2006, PGUMC kicked off a visioning process with a day-long workshop led by Dr. Lovett Weems from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership in Virginia.  He had done his homework by measuring the pews in the Sanctuary. Allotting each person 30 inches of pew space, he estimated the Sanctuary could comfortably hold 184 persons. With more than 200 in attendance each week, even with some of them children, the crowding would discourage newcomers, he said, and threaten further growth.

     That workshop led to a series of meetings that culminated in a new mission and vision statement for PGUMC:

• Mission: We exist to be the Body of Christ in the World

• Vision: To reach all through hospitality, engage all in ministry and enable all to grow spiritually.

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Hyder House

     The Hyder House, located across the street from the church, wasn’t on any strategic plan.  Instead, it was the result of unexpected generosity and blessings.  The aptly named Hyder House was purchased in 2009 with donations from the estates of Christine House and Noah Hyder.  Christine House and her family had been active members of PGUMC for generations.  Noah Hyder had served as the lead usher for a couple of decades.  Upon their deaths, they loved the church enough to leave a legacy.

     Shortly after their generous gifts, the house across the street became available.  The Administrative Council agreed to pursue the purchase.  Once it became church property, it took most of a year to bring it up-to-code for a public building and to make it handicap accessible.  Much of the work was done by church members, particularly Randy Callahan.  As trustee chair, Mike Lakey signed many of the official documents and led the renovations.

     The Hyder House, named for the generous donors who made it possible, is used for adult Sunday school classes and meetings during the week. 

 

The Grove

     The Grove service launched on September 11, 2011.  This third worship service occurs during the Sunday school hour of 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.  While it too, reduces the crowding in the Sanctuary at 11 a.m., it also was created to meet the needs of churchgoers interested in a different way to do church.

     The Grove seeks to be a more contemplative and reflective service, according to Rev. Minnick.  It’s adult-oriented, without the usual children’s time since children would be in Sunday school.  He describes it as a non-traditional service, with music played by a small band including both contemporary worship music and popular music by artists like U2.  (See Music section.)  Weekly Communion is part of the non-traditional service at the Grove.

     Attendance at the Grove services ranges from 70 to 100 people, with the room often filled to capacity.  Many newcomers who became Grove regulars never entered or attended worship services in the Sanctuary.

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Growing Pains

     Before the Grove moved into the Fellowship Hall, a fellowship time of coffee and snacks occurred during the time between Sunday school and the 11 am service.  

     In the first Visioning workshop in 2006, Dr. Weems had recommended a review every 5 to 10 years. In the fall of 2013, the Congregational Visioning Retreat was held to revisit the mission and vision statements and assess where the church stood.  The vision and mission statements still inspired, but some problems had increased.

     Since the last workshop seven years earlier, the buildings’ shortcomings had grown, even with the addition of the Hyder House. The workshop attendees listed the issues:

• Lack of a dedicated space for hospitality and fellowship each Sunday so that members from all services could get to know each other.

• More space for seating needed in the Fellowship Hall for the growing Grove service.

• Sanctuary needed remodeling and updating of the sound system.

• Multi-layered chancel area was a tripping hazard and made moving the grand piano difficult. 

• Small office area crowded the staff. 

• Restrooms in the Sanctuary building built in 1968 were cramped, inadequate for a larger congregation, and non-compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

• Expansion and renovation required for kitchen 

• More storage required.

• The aging HVAC needed replacement. 

     These issues and others were shared with everyone at the Congregational Envisioning Day held November 23, 2013.

 

The Next Chapter

     Next steps involved determining which renovations PGUMC could afford by knowing how much PGUMC members would contribute to a capital campaign.  As chairperson of the Ad Council, Chad Simmons led an Envisioning process that began with the formation of three teams to address recommendations: Facilities, led by Larry Mosiman; Programs, Relationships and Generosity, led by Lucinda Sullivan and Kim Arwood; and Organization and Staffing, led by Bob Starkes.  Through a series of meetings over many months, the groups considered what they wanted PGUMC to do and how to do it.

     On March 29, 2015, the results of their deliberations were sent to the entire congregation in a Vision Report Bulletin signed by Larry Mosiman.  It included suggested changes in programs, staffing and how committees are organized.  But it was the listing of facility issues that the congregation wanted to further study.

     The Facilities team, led by Larry Mosiman, considered ways to solve the facility shortcomings.  On September 5, 2015, it was announced that Jason Byrd from Phillips Architecture had been selected to develop conceptual plans.  Eight months later, on May 22, 2016, the master plan was unveiled.

     Several meetings were held with the congregation to review the plans and make suggestions.  Larger restrooms, kitchen and Fellowship Hall were appreciated.  These early plans included expanding the Education building by extending the back wall to create a large activity room, and have a room dedicated to music.

     Now it was time to see what PGUMC could afford.  Capital campaigns require expertise not found in most congregations.  Church capital campaigns are particularly specialized.  After a search, in April 2016 Pat Luna from Alabama was selected as the capital campaign consultant.  She had worked with several other North Carolina United Methodist churches and came highly recommended.

     Ms. Luna got to know many church members by meeting with them one on one.  By mid-2016, she had created a campaign team consisting of 18 groups responsible for, among other matters, prayers, worship, education, devotion, and youth.  Many PGUMC members were involved. The theme was selected: God’s Vision: The Next Chapter.

     The campaign logo appeared on brochures, pamphlets, and postcards.  Smitty Harvell built a miniature church where each block represented one of PGUMC’s values, such as music and fellowship.  A daily devotion guide given to all members offered reflections from a different PGUMC member for each day of the campaign, October 30 to November 20, 2016.

     When it was over, PGUMC members had pledged $1.2 million over three years.

     Most of the year 2017 was spent creating a master plan that would fit that budget.  Gone from the final design were the activity room and music room.  The priority was given to building the Welcome Center, and expanding the Fellowship Hall, the kitchen, and the offices.  The new restrooms would offer much more room. The sanctuary was remodeled to make the chancel area more accessible.

     At a church conference on November 5, 2017, the congregation voted unanimously to proceed with construction and renovations.

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Before Photo, 2017

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Logistics and Construction

     The year 2017 became the year of planning. Diamond Contracting, Inc. was selected as the builder in the fall of 2017.

     Renovations would require all activities in the Sanctuary building be moved elsewhere, which included the offices.  A construction site isn’t conducive to a preschool, so the preschool would have to move.  Where would worship services be held? Where would the preschool go – or would it take a year off?

     The Preschool committee voted unanimously that the preschool would remain on PGUMC grounds by moving to the Hyder House.  Church staff would then move into the Education building.  All worship services would move into the Fellowship Hall, even during the construction to enlarge it.

     The final service in the Sanctuary before construction was Christmas Eve, 2017.  Construction would start January 11, 2018.  That gave the staff and congregation a couple of weeks during the holidays to move. This task was led by Bob Starkes who kept moves scheduled to the minute and managed the volunteers. 

     The playground had to be moved to the Hyder House and fenced in.  And toddler-sized furniture replaced the adult furniture, which went into storage.  Staff had to share the Education building classrooms which were turned into offices.  Everything had to be out of the Sanctuary building.

     Diamond Contracting said they would be finished by August 2018, which turned out to be accurate.  PGUMC adapted to living as a church in a construction zone.  Worshipping in the Fellowship Hall was cold in winter and hot in summer because heat and air conditioning weren’t hooked up.  A heavy plastic curtain separated the worship area from the construction area.  The annual youth dinner theater went on as planned but was held at Millbrook United Methodist Church.

     During a thunderstorm one night, rainwater and mud escaped from the construction area that would become the Welcome Center and ran like a river down the Education building hallway and into the offices. Rev. Minnick captured the flood on video.  The construction company cleaned up the mess with an apology.

     Construction highlights can also be found at pgumc.org/the-next-chapter.

As soon as construction began, the Decorating Committee was considering what the final look would be. Mary Holroyd, Pamela Wimbush-Cady and Nancy Wegner decided on paint colors, countertops, floor coverings, bathroom and light fixtures.  The greatest challenge was staying in budget, Holroyd said.

     Contemporary spiral light fixtures had been selected for the Sanctuary, but once installed the design felt unfit for the space.  They worked well in the Welcome Center, however, and the original light fixtures were cleaned, polished and returned to the Sanctuary.

     Designing the new enlarged kitchen was the responsibility of its major users, the United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women, led by Bill Speri and Lucinda Sullivan, respectively.  Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, the new kitchen was equipped with a restaurant-quality Champion Undercounter Dishwasher capable of washing dishes in a few minutes.

     An early decision for doorless kitchen cabinets for ease of finding items turned out to be a mistake.  Money from the cookbook sales went to purchase doors for the cabinets.  The new stove was purchased specifically to fit some over-sized pans prized by the UMM, but while the new oven was wide enough, it wasn’t deep enough.  “I miss those pans still,” said Speri.  The end result was a working kitchen with a logical flow and best use of the space available.

     In August, with construction completed, Bob Starkes led the move back to normalcy.  He estimates 107 volunteers assisted with moving into the new PGUMC.  It was, he said, “as if they were on a mission.”

     On September 9, 2018, the new and expanded PGUMC held an open house and service.  The problems with the facilities noted in the 2013 Envisioning process had been solved.  The simplicity of the Sanctuary redesign made it brighter.  The openness of the new Welcome Center offered potential for new forms of fellowship.  The larger Fellowship Hall gave the Grove service room to grow.

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The Next Chapter                                                                       After Photo, 2018

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     A former Sunday school classroom that had been reclassified as a conference room on the master plan, turned out to be neither.  With all meeting room needs met at the Hyder House and new Welcome Center, PGUMC got a Music room after all.

     For the next six months, the Trustees wrapped up the final details found in any construction project.  Led by Jeff Mann and Jennifer Williams, the Trustees tackled projects from adding grab bars in the new restrooms in the Welcome Center, to extensive adjustments of the new HVAC due to faulty installation.  After several people walked into the glass walls instead of the glass doors of the Welcome Center, decals were added to the walls to make them visible.

Church Membership Numbers

     PGUMC continued to grow into the new space.  As of December 31, 2019, there were 1,012 professing members at Pleasant Grove.  Our 1,000th member was Elsa Kimbell.  We’ve come a long way from 115 members in 1953; 390 members in 1984; 410 members in 1989; and now, 1,012 members in 2019.