The Chapel

Today the staff of Free Chapel had a big meeting inside The Chapel.  That's what the new wedding chapel is called:  The Chapel on McEver.  It's right next to the Artificial Pond on McEver, alongside The Large Parking Lot on McEver.  All jokes aside, it was actually a very nice day for us.  

We had several meetings today, all at the main campus.  We were hearing from a guest speaker, and then a quick march over to the chapel that's been under construction the last year or so. 

It looks really nice.  We were walking around the sanctuary, checking out the balcony and other areas.  Daddy sat in the front, and because he brought his camera, he was able to snap a few pictures of the big moment, along with our guest speaker here.

Chris and the band were leading worship, and the staff here was singing a few different songs, followed by a few very brief words from Pastor and others on staff.  It was all pretty short, as we technically might not have been supposed to be in the meeting yet.

There is a lot still to be done, but you can see how the majority of it is done, and how the structure will be very popular for weddings in the near future.  

Here's one of the college kids looking down from the balcony.  You can see everyone was enjoying the moment.  Our friend Briana is the one overseeing the arrangements and getting it all together for The Chapel, and she now just works down the hall from us, which explains why we see her all the time.  

It was just a nice moment, a chance to all be together as a staff for several hours, learning, touring, and eating some catered food as well.  

And Daddy took a bunch of pictures when we were over there.  It was just a special sort of occasion.  Here's a photo of Mary Shannon, sitting up front, a lady in waiting.  Who knows? Maybe someday she'll be getting married in this church!

And here's an amusing picture of Pastor Parker from the Spartanburg church, in front of the back wall.  He didn't know I had the camera on him, and told me he was literally just coming to the realization I was about to take a picture as I took the photo.

As you can see, there is a lot of white marble in the church, which is really reflective and bright.  It'll be interesting to see what this looks like at night, and what it looks like decorated at Christmas.  Here's the view of the church from The Chapel:

It was a pretty day outside, as you can see, although a bit cool.  You can see the fountains there - it'll be a nice view during the services here, although it just might be distracting!

The band sounded great too.  The acoustics were good, and that was one of the reasons for having all of us in the chapel as well - they were wanting to test the sound in the building to make sure it was well balanced in The Chapel.

Ah, another picture of Josh and Lance.  You can see how well-lit this place is.  There are a lot of windows in the building.  Speaking of which, I like this next shot I took up one of the sides of The Chapel:

And here's another shot I like a lot.  I took this one of Sister Katie, the pastor's mother.  She spoke for a few moments as well, a really sweet lady.  Later she told me she was so unprepared to speak, and yet she did a great job as always.  

Here below is another shot of the chapel below.  It was a big day for us, sort of like our first visits to the new campus in Gwinnett.   

And all the college kids got to come over as well.  It was a great honor to have everyone there, and like I said, a big moment.  Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have so many pictures on this particular entry!

The rest of the day was typical for a Thursday, with all of us going to drop Madison off at ballet and jazz.  The parking there is so incredibly limited lately, but that's more than likely because there are more people practicing for the upcoming "Nutcracker" production.  Madison is not a part of that this year, so she was with some of the other dancers who were having their own class.  She was doing her own choreography, something Madison really enjoys.

We got home, and it was time for a short Christmas special.  We try to squeeze in at least one, despite the lateness of the hour.  Those made-for-tv ones are pretty short, about twenty-something minutes or so.  Tonight's feature was "Ice Age:  A Mammoth Christmas."  There are a few Christmas specials over the past few years that also served to promote upcoming sequels ("Madagascar," "Kung Fu Panda," and "Shrek" come to mind), but all of these are actually not too bad at all.  The Ice Age one I'd put at the bottom of the list, but that's only because the others are actually really enjoyable.  This one is fun, and of course there was popcorn involved too.

We read some more from Nancy Drew's adventure with turkeys tonight, and also from an old devotional with a Christmas theme.  It won't be long before we open up the new devotional, the one Daddy is writing for "Humbug!"  That series starts soon, although we still have a few weeks of "Get a Clue" left.  This week marks the end of the story for "Get a Clue," although we still have one last service the following week, one where we'll sort of wrap things up at Thanksgiving weekend.  These series have been so good, and so much fun.  It's a great time to be at the church!