Over the past several years, St. Clare’s Church has worked closely with Temple Beth Emeth to protect our congregations in many different ways. As always, we have authorized routine maintenance on account of heavy rains; strong winds; falling trees; eroding asphalt; broken windows; faulty plumbing; aging roofs; and even minor floods. We’re currently in the process of relandscaping the south side of the building to address drainage issues in that area.
At the same time, we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by enforcing very specific rules for vaccinations for our building staff, masking, and public events, while improving ventilation in the sanctuary and lower level classrooms. HVAC improvements for the office area are currently underway.
We are also attentive to increased security concerns. The new blinds in the sanctuary and the family room are intended to limit visibility into those spaces when they are lit, particularly at night. Upgraded outdoor lighting has been installed in the front and rear of the building. And in the coming weeks, we will install a number of bollards around the circle drive. These short, sturdy, cylindrical cement blocks are intended to prevent a car or truck from crashing into our sanctuary or social hall. They will be positioned on the sidewalk in such a way as to not block car doors or limit handicap access to our building.
Finally, the Ann Arbor Police will provide an ALICE (active shooter) training to our congregations on Friday, October 14, at 10 a.m. People who are prepared to respond in an emergency are the best security, so please let Karen Slagell (karen@saintclareschurch.org) know if you’re interested in receiving this training.
If you have questions about these or any other Genesis projects, please feel free to reach out to Genesis vestry liaison Paul Holman (gpholman@gmail.com) or any of your other Genesis board representatives: Christine Modey (chrismodey@yahoo.com), Mary Lu Barth (barthrm@comcast.net), or Abram Wagner (abramwagner@gmail.com).