It's springtime once again, and this is when I always take a look around and see what needs to be done to the old homestead in Riverwoods. Our church home also has many needs, and this seems like a good time to update everyone on what is going on at the corner of St. Mary's and 176. We have had a very positive response to our new prayer room and the recent decorating of the basement in a Narnia theme. It shows how important our facilities are and the importance of being able to use them fully.

I'm sure everyone has noticed that both our signs are now installed. The landscaping will be put back together around the main sign in our "front yard." The smaller sign on 176 needs to have a landscape timber surround built, and then we will have our electric feed hooked up. There will be two lights mounted on the ground to uplight the sign. It is great to see LCC get an updated look and now we have the visibility we desired. These projects always take a long time and thanks go out to the people who served on the sign committee.

The Fellowship Hall has had the walls repaired and has received a fresh coat of paint. It has been nice to have full use of this area after Head Start moved. These rooms get a lot of use and are a valuable resource for our church's ministry. The upstairs nursery will be painted next. The color has been chosen and visitors can be comfortable seeing a clean and safe environment for their children.

We have received the approval for the following projects. Bids have been obtained and work will be scheduled this summer:

• The door unit in the basement by the kitchen will be removed and replaced. This door swings the wrong way for correct access. A new insulated glass door and sidelight will be installed.
• Two doors will have automatic openers installed to make us more accessible for people with special needs. The back door on the main level and the basement door mentioned above will both be upgraded. Short of getting an elevator, this is the best way to have handicap access for both the upstairs and the basement.
• The heating/cooling system will be modified to take care of the problem that exists in the upstairs nursery. There has always been a problem with keeping the nursery adequately heated and cooled. We will now have a separate zone control for the nursery.  

There are many more projects to do, so if you have any concerns or comments, or would like to adopt a project, please let me know.

Again, I want to thank everyone who helps to make our church home clean and safe.