You may have noticed that when we have children and adults present in the worship service, we are a bit cramped for seating. People who come in late have a hard time finding a place to sit. Then when the kids and the teachers leave for RE, the place is pockmarked with open seats! And if you have visited RE lately, you know that our classes are packed. This is a happy problem!

Here is the issue: when a sanctuary is 80% full or perceived to be 80% full, new folks feel as if there is so place for them. In fact, an 80% or more filled sanctuary is the equivalent of hanging a “No Vacancy” sign out. That is not the message we want to convey at WUUC.

Know that your Board is being proactive in strategizing how to accommodate our growth. This will involve working with the County as well as architects to determine what our actual capacity is on the property we currently have. It may involve temporarily having the children go directly to their religious education classes instead of starting in the sanctuary. It looks like we may need to go to two services in September.  Can we push out the sanctuary? Should we build the RE wing and fellowship hall that were in the original plans? Do we need to become multisite with people meeting Duvall? Where is the growth happening in the area and do we need to consider another site? These are questions, not solutions. Nothing has been decided. It is the Board’s job to explore as many options as possible and then make recommendations and solicit feedback from the congregation every step along the way.

Look for further communication about WUUC’s growth in future newsletters.