A new Steeple Arrives

This past week a new steeple arrived for the Potter's House UMC. It was driven here on the back of a trailer. It was set in place by our friends from Nanney Cranes. They helped us set the trusses several months back. They were pleased with the progress we have made since their last visit.

Another great event this week has been the passing of our electrical inspection. After some difficulties with this, we are finally able to go forward.

This week we are going to work on insulation in a big way. Our goal is to have it all installed by Thursday. Dry wall will arrive on Wednesday and we will begin installing it on Friday. So, this is a time for us all to jump in and help. Pastors are invited to a work day on Thursday from 9 to 2 pm. Anyone is welcome on this Saturday throughout the day. Please call me at 805-4184 if you need directions or information. Here is a picture of the church with the steeple installed.

Lots of things going on.

The work at the Potter's House UMC has varied a great deal during the last couple of weeks. It is a great time to come out and help. We have several types of projects going on at the same time. There is something that you can do to help us get this church finished as soon as possible. The weather is beautiful and the fellowship is great!

We are building a ramp up to the main entrance to the church. Please notice the doors at the top of the ramp. These were especially difficult since there were no directions about how to put all of the hardware together. We are glad to say that they are finally working well.
Terry and friends have been working on the wiring for the church. We hope to have an inspection this week so that we can go on to the next step - installing insulation in the walls and ceilings. We have already purchased the insulation. We need some excited volunteers to help us put it in the walls. This is a project that can be done with people of all ages and skill levels.

Our steeple should be delivered and installed next week. We are working on plumbing. We are also working on clearing a trailer away which has been on the property for a long time. Soon a friend is supposed to cut up the metal frame and haul it away. Thanks to all of the volunteer who have helped us with the demolition of the old trailer.

Also, thanks to the group from Broadway UMC, led by Charlie Wimmer, who spent part of their spring break putting together a playground for the kid's at the Potter's House. These structures will be used and enjoyed for many years to come.

If you are interested in joining in the work of the Potter's House, please call Tony Collins at 805-4184.

Still Building after All this Time

Wow! How time flies when you are having fun. I have tried to add a post at least twice since the last one that is recorded. Somehow, I was doing something wrong. I think I have it figured out again now, so I am back to share with you the wonder of the work at the Potter's House UMC. We had a special worship service on July 27, 2008 to celebrate the future of the work at the Potter's House. Since then we have had many helpers to show up on Saturdays to work together to raise this church. At the bottom of this entry there will be some pictures to show what the current building looks like.

We have dried in the church. Windows, a roof, most of the siding and soffit and the doors have been added to the building. We have prepared the roof for the steeple which has been ordered. We have started the wiring for the church. Our friend, Terry, from Maryville has been volunteering his time for several weeks now. Terry, by the way has just been furloughed from his job at Mastercraft. If you have need of a very good electrician, please give me a call at 865-805-4184 and I will let you know how to get in touch with him.

We are still meeting every Saturday beginning at about 8 am. You can work half a day or a full day. We need people each week to help us finish this project as soon as possible. Please call me at the same number for information about directions and what we are currently working on at the church. I promise that if this works tonight, I will be updating this blog weekly again.

The last six months have been a lot of fun. I have met some really interesting people and we have shared some great times helping to build the Kingdom. Come join us!

November 22, 2008 A Very Cold Day!
As we gathered to work on the Potter's House this day, it was 22 degrees. Still a lively crew showed up to work. We realized that the purpose of our work is to build a barrier to the elements that we were experiencing this day. It is hard to hammer nails on a day like this. The hammer seems amazingly attracted to our thumbs and fingers. But we remember that the people who will worship here would have a very hard time being thankful for worship if it was this cold. So we plug on.

Here is our first picture of the sanctuary without all of the braces. If will be a fine place to worship. The door that you see will be the main entrance to the sanctuary. Huddling in her coat is Susan Collins, my wife. The other picture here shows our first construction change. We had two rooms planned for this space, but after consideration of the number of kids, we decided to open up the space for one room with a sliding divider. It is great to have to consider how to make the space work for larger crowds.
Below you will see pictures of some of our faithful workers. Ben and Gil are bundled up early in the morning. Later, when the ice melted some, we were able to get on the roof and put on shingles. This job is almost completed.
We are taking off Nov. 30th for the Thanksgiving weekend. In the coming weeks we will be putting on siding, installing windows and doors, and beginning with electrical and plumbing. If you are interested in helping, please contact me at tonycollins@bellsouth.net or 865-805-4184.

All Saints Day - November 1, 2008

The work on the Potter's House today concentrated on getting the trusses up and adding the decking to one side of the building. We were blessed to have a crane to lift the trusses up on the building. This allowed us to move very quickly to adding the sheeting. A lot of lifting and setting in place happened today. One of the following pictures shows John Lovelace doing some sort of jig on top of the building.

Thanks once again to the guys from Loudon UMC and Fairview UMC. for all of their help this week. we will finish the sheeting on the other side of the building next Saturday starting at 8 am. We also are in need of people to help us do roofing, plumbing and electrical work in the next few weeks. Please contact me at tonycollins@bellsouth.net or 865-805-4184. The work is coming along great! Please keep praying for us.

In the House: October 19, 2008

This was the first day that we could say we were inside the Potter's House UMC. 17 men from Fairview, Loudon, Church St. and Friendsville UMC's worked all day to get up all of the exterior walls and a couple of the interior walls. The work was hard and long, but it was very fulfilling. One person said, "I have never helped to build the Lord's House before. It is really wonderful."

Next week: We will begin work at 8:00 a.m. finishing the interior walls. We hope to start just before lunch setting the trusses. We are especially interested in finding some people to help with the roof. If you know someone who can help us with this, please call me at 865-805-4184 or e-mail me at tonycollins@bellsouth.net.

This is the new sanctuary space of the Potter's House UMC. Soon people will be praising the Lord in this place!

A Kodak Moment: October 12, 2008

The congregation at the Potter's House met for worship on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. They posed for a picture by the foundation and floor of their new church. Dani reported that everyone was very excited!. Some of the older children had fun jumping off the building platform. What a great day this was to see the excitement growing in the eyes of this community of faith.