After more than a year of planning and input from parishioners, the makeover of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church got underway this week.
The remodeling project – referred to as “Update 2013” – has long been anticipated by the members of the church in Riberas del Pilar.
Almost every area of the church will be affected by the work. The overhang and roof at the main entrance are being replaced and an open area between the church and the present office building will become a new, modern kitchen, convenient to the garden where St. Andrew’s shares most meals and fellowship.
The present kitchen and sacristy will be reconfigured as office space, with a new, more secure weekday entrance through the gate on Calle San Luis.
One wall in the present meeting area will be pushed out to provide an expanded sacristy with direct entry into the church, along with a larger choir rehearsal area with storage for robes and music.
The present office building will be transformed into a large meeting area with an open passage into the new kitchen and new bathroom facilities at the opposite end. The present storage units will be expanded.
The 200-seat worship area, already expanded and remodeled in recent years, will be only minimally affected by the project. Once completed, St. Andrew’s will be more efficient, attractive, and usable by community groups, as well as by the many groups and ministries of the parish itself.
The remodeling should be completed within four to six months.
Besides a place of worship for parishioners, St. Andrew’s has been a go-to location for concerts, community meetings and functions. The church was started in 1947 by two groups of Anglicans and a priest of the Mexican Anglican Church, Father Melchor Saucedo. Saucedo later became the Bishop of the Western Anglican Diocese of Mexico and is still a member of the St. Andrew’s congregation. The congregation met in the homes of parishioners and, for a time, at the present Little Chapel by the Lake. The property that the church now occupies was originally a gym and was purchased by St. Andrew’s parish in 1990. Since then it has been the scene of constant religious and community activity.