April 20, 2007 by Al Hammer.

Today is the first really pretty day we have had this spring. It reached into the 70’s and was sunny and warm.

So, I took this opportunity to drop by the site for a couple of snapshots.

The plumber was there laying the plumbing where it will run under the slab.

The walls that are entirely under grade are concrete as compared with the ones that will show above grade which will be masonry block. Today, they took down the last of these prefab concrete wall forms used to make these walls and trucked them away. Yet another sign of progress…..

You can begin to see the shape of the amphitheater as the walls that will define it are pretty much set.

If you need to take a look at the floor plan click on the “Floor Plan” link on the left hand side of this page.

The load bearing walls with footers are beginning to take shape defining the layout of the lower level.

Posted in New Cut Road Building Progress | No Comments »

April 20, 2007 by Andy Lunt.

If you haven’t yet checked out the pictures provided by the web cam mounted at the construction site of our new facility, use the “Construction Site Web Cam” link under Glen Mar Links on the blog or go to our home page (www.glenmarumc.org), click on the New Cut Road Relocation Photos link, and then the View from Webcam. The image is updated several times a day, and you will be able to see progress taking place day-by-day.

As we watch construction progressing, perhaps it would be helpful to be reminded of the history of this project, and what prompted Glen Mar to seek a new site. After three years of church wide Bible study, prayer, and discernment, the strategic plan adopted in 1996 concluded that more space would be needed in order for the congregation to adequately serve the needs of both members and the community. Efforts to purchase more land around our current site proved impractical. And studies determined that sufficient space could not be provided on our current site–especially because of limitations regarding parking.

As a result, the facilities study team began looking for property that might meet our growing needs. Even then, available land in eastern Howard County was scarce. After three years of searching, considering and dismissing several sites, we were led to the former Baugher farm at the intersection of Montgomery and New Cut Roads. Though Howard County wanted to claim the site for a much needed elementary school, we were able to successfully negotiate with the Baugher and family and–in March of 2000–purchased the 22-acre site for $1.75 million. I still regard this purchase as nothing short of miraculous, and the property as a gift from God. For comparison’s sake, a similar property sold just a few years later for more than $25 million.
God is, indeed, good.

In the summer of 2000, more than 100 persons, representing all the various ministry areas at Glen Mar and led by Paul Behrens, Libby Boswell, and Nancy Pirritano, met frequently–often forgoing family vacations and time away–to determine the future ministry needs of the congregation. The information they developed was then given to an architect who began to design a facility that would support the ministry needs. It is very significant that the needs for ministry guided design of the building and not–as so often happens–the other way around.

Initially, it was envisioned that we would be able to move into the new facility in 2004 or 2005. A combination ground breaking ceremony and 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of Glen Mar was held in July of 2004. But then various roadblocks developed in securing necessary approvals from Howard County and, later, in selling our current building. Eventually, though, the required permits were granted, the Glen Mar Road site was sold, and construction could begin–which it did on March 21, 2007.

From the beginning, though, it has been the mission of Glen Mar–Praising God, Growing Disciples, Serving the World–that has driven the relocation and building process. Our calling to make disciples and bring more people into a relationship with Jesus Christ and to serve the needs of hurting people has led us to relocate. While we will, indeed, have a little more “elbow room” in worship, in classrooms, and on parking lots, this is not now and never has been the primary reason for relocating. Always, we have been seeking to live out the understanding that we are “Blessed to be a Blessing.”

God has blessed us richly, beyond anything we could possibly deserve. We have been blessed with gifted and committed ministers (members), with hearts for mission and ministry in our community and around the world, and now with a piece of property and facility that will enable us to touch many more hearts and lives with God’s love and grace. As we move closer to being able to relocate to our new site, we can also begin to anticipate becoming even more the kind of worshipping, caring, serving community God has called us and blessed us to be.

The really important thing for us all is that we continue to keep our focus on our mission and on ministry, and not allow a building to obscure the fact that we have been–and continue to be–blessed to be a blessing.

Posted in Pastors Ponderings | No Comments »

April 19, 2007 by Al Hammer.

I met with Glen Mar I.T. experts: Larry Resch and Chad Sellers along with representatives from our Telephone and Data Service Providers, GTB, at 4 pm today.

We spent a couple of hours discussing the options and the pros and cons of various means that will enable us to provide a seamless network between the two sights This will be important as we draw close to bidding out the low voltage wiring for the new site which is part of Glen Mar’s responsibility and does not fall under the General Contractor.

We are seeking to be able to provide for seamless communications between the two sites with telephones operating with extension numbers no matter where you are on the two campuses and computers tied to the same network and having common file sharing that will make it easy to provide information no matter where you are.

Using a VPN and Voice over IP for telephony looks very promising, but further research is being done to make sure the economics and usability will meet all of our needs for the short term and the long term. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

Posted in Glenmar Road Building Renovations, New Cut Road Building Progress | No Comments »

April 19, 2007 by Al Hammer.

At 2:00 p.m., I met up at the site with Bud Woodward (Site Project Manager with Oak Contracting) and Phyllis Cook (Project Architect with Alexander Design Studio) and subcontractors to coordinate and answer questions on spec’s for a wide variety of issues. We covered questions about windows in fire-rated doors, magnetic holds for fire-doors, door openings, bathroom fixtures for childcare areas, mop sinks and a multitude of other things I always wanted to learn about building a building.

We also received a construction schedule which is pretty detailed, but interesting. We are actually posting this schedule here on the Website, HOWEVER! Please understand that it is subject to change and it is almost guaranteed to change, so check it often for updates as the construction proceeds. You will find a link to the construction schedule as we have it at the moment on the left hand side of this page. I will try to mention in this blog when we receive an update to it so that you can revisit it.

At the moment it shows that the building will be finished by the General Contractor (Oak Contracting) on April 2, 2008. Please keep in mind, there will be additional furnishings including installation of sound equipment, phone, security, computer and other technical equipment as well as installation of kitchen equipment and Health Department Inspection that will take place after the G.C. turns it over to us. So,… a first use date is still to be determined.

Posted in New Cut Road Building Progress | No Comments »

April 17, 2007 by Al Hammer.

Today around 6:30 p.m. Larry Resch and I met at the Construction Trailer where the Web Cam, DVR and computer control the Web Cam broadcast. Larry continues to fine tune the pictures that are uploaded to the Web Site.

Due to the fact that we do not have broadband access at the Construction site we use a dial up modem (WOW! People still use these!) to upload pictures during two limited time periods during the day. So you can now watch the progress of the building as it goes up.

If you want to see the Web Cam Pictures, just simply click on the link for The Web Cam and you will see the most current picture. From there you can click to see the archived pictures and begin to see a progression of the building as it goes up.

Posted in New Cut Road Building Progress | No Comments »