Air Conditioning Operational

Tomorrow promises to be hot. It may be an ideal time to test the new air conditioning in the church. The new air handler, which will service the undercroft nearest Washington Road and the nave nearest Washington Road, is in the storage area at the back of the undercroft. The new air conditioner has a greater capacity that the one it is replacing. Below are pictures of the new installation.

The new compressor outside is hardly larger than the old one and sits on the same concrete pad.

The installation in the storage area is impressively neat. The insert
shows the electronic controls not visible in the main photo.

This switch controls what area is air conditioned. Of course the “Parish Hall” label should read
“Undercroft” and the “Sanctuary” label should read “Church” or “Nave.”

Servo-controlled dampers have been installed on undercroft registers, so that air flow can be decreased to the
undercroft and increased to the nave. Cosmetic additions will make this look more attractive eventually.

Finished installation at the back of the nave. A new electronic thermostat can be seen at the right above the
literature rack. There is also a new thermostat on the landing at the bottom of the circular stairs.

For tomorrow at least, all three portable air conditioning units will be used. It is not clear whether the one at the back of the nave will be needed. The last few pews in the church may be very cold (or not).
   

“Earth and All Stars” Revisited

Last Sunday, we sang “Earth and All Stars” (Hymn #412) at the 10:45 service. Some love this self-conscientiously “modern” hymn that was written for St. Olaf’s College. Others loathe it. I am in the second category. The tune, however, isn’t at all bad. Frustrated that we sing “Earth and All Stars” much too often—at all, in fact—I decided to offer a different text for the tune, keeping at least some of the ideas behind the existing hymn.

I have added my hymn, which I call “Heavens and Earth, All of Creation” to my Web site here. On that page, you can all listen to a rendition of “Earth and All Stars” and find links to my blog posts about that hymn and mine.

Comments on my latest effort at hymn-writing effort would be greatly appreciated.