St. James Episcopal Church
9 Williams Street
Clinton NY
tel: (315) 853-5359
e-mail: office@stjamesclinton.org
St. James office hours:
Tues-Fri, 9am - 1pm.
Our Mission Statement: "St. James' is a community where we come together in Christ to develop spiritually; find opportunities for outreach; receive comfort when in need; and engage in sacred experiences through our liturgy, music, fellowship and mutual ministry." More...
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| Raise the Roof: updates |
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March 2008 update - With the aid of a very good new map made by D. L. Mowers, the committee met on Monday 24 to discuss the details of what land was to be sold and what held when the Lewis House is sold. Four major considerations were, 1. retain parking space for the church; 2. reconfigure the playyard for the Day School in such a way as to provide space at the rear of the Lewis house for the new owners and at the same time provide adequate play space within picket fence; and, 3. sell the land on the north side( approximately 30') and front of the house. John Crossley of our committee is working with Gary Schreppel of the Village Planning Board on the details; 4. find space to dump snow removed from the parking lot. Our recommendation will go to the Vestry.
American Roofing and Sheet Metal Company started work on the main church roof on Monday, 24th. With a crew of ten men they removed the old slate and underlying wooden shingles on half of the south-facing side of the church.( see picture on bulletin board of the Great Hall). The underlying roof boards (each about 2 1/2" X 1 1/2") are spaced about 4" apart and were found to be in good condition. The work was done from a scaffolding at the height of the eaves; a fork lift with extendable arm raised plywood and other materials to top of scaffolding; the main work of removing old roofing and installing plywood and roofing felt was done by men wearing safety harnesses which were tethered to plates screwed to the rafters. And we must bear in mind that these men are working on a roof which has a slope of 58 degrees. As of Wednesday AM in a light rain, the buttoned down roofing (plywood and felt) was keeping everything dry in the church. But a very interesting side light( pun intended) was seen when the old roof was removed and strips of sunlight came showering into the church through cracks at the margins of the plaster. These cracks- evidently shrinkage cracks as the plaster set up- are especially well developed next to the major trusses which extend from the top of the inside wall to the crest of the ceiling, and are not related to the present work. From the outside the plaster appears to be in good condition. Stay tuned.
Jan 2008 update - As will be obvious to everyone in the congregation the weather is not conducive to the installation of a slate roof, and so we have deferred the job until spring. The slate, itself is stored in crates at the Vermont Structural Slate plant in Fair Haven VT, thereby saving the cost of renting a heavy-duty loader to off-load the slate in warehouses in Richfield Springs where it would be stored for the winter, and then loading it on a tractor trailer again to bring to Clinton in the spring. Next spring the slate will be shipped directly to St. James.
Peter Nelson Associates has examined the roof rafters and related structures of the church. Bill Huggins and I met with the architect and his engineer and we should soon have their report regarding the ability of the church to take the stress related to the removal of the old roofing and installation of the new. When we receive this report, and we hope it will be favorable, we will notify NY Landmarks Conservancy and receive our $10,000 grant.
Dec 2007 update - New York Landmarks Conservancy has awarded St. James $10,000 towards our roof project. The grant comes from the Sacred Sites Program, not the Wilson Challenge grant and it is contingent upon a favorable report from our structural engineer, Peter Nelson, who is examining the carrying beams and supports for the roof.
Oct 2007 update - The re-roofing project is on hold as we wait to hear from the NY Landmarks Conservancy about our grant application, and as we wait for the slate to be quarried and processed. Both of these steps are scheduled for October, but the date of the actual work depends on if and when we get the grant, and when the slate will be delivered. Thanks to your splendid generosity, we raised $112, 000 towards this project, giving us a cushion in case some internal repairs are needed; a down payment towards the slate was made in June, and copper flashing as paid for at that time; Colleen Meagher, Manager of Grants at the Conservancy, visited us in July and probed us with pertinent questions.
Sept 2007 update - Colleen Meager of the New York Landmarks Conservancy visited St. James on July 26, taking pictures and asking good questions about the slate roof project. She was enthusiastic about our success in raising funds from the congregation for this job. On another front we have made a down payment to initiate the quarrying of Vermont Slate for the project, and we have also made a deposit for the purchase of copper to be used for flashing at the eaves. Neither the slate nor the decision by the Landmarks Conservancy will come before October.
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Worship Services
Saturday 5:15 PM
Sunday 9:30 AM
no Sunday service Sept 5 or 12
Many thanks to all who supported and continue to support our Young Adult Service Corp mission worker Joanna. On Thursday, Sept 2 we had a farewell pot luck. Pictures to come...
The vestry voted, on August 18th, to list the Lewis house for sale. If you are interested in being on the committee to work out the details or would like to know more about the decision, please contact one of the wardens, Jim White or Patricia Jue. Also click here...
Fair trade coffee St. James Church uses fair trade coffee. We see this as one step we can take in helping to alleviate poverty in the world by helping these farmers provide financially for their families.
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