For more information about the land on Route 31, see the following link:   http://teamfuture40.wordpress.com/

 

 

  

 

 

 

The following is a timeline of the activites of the Vision Committee, Generation III 

 

Voting Completed!

 

On February 3, 2008, a special church conference was held during which all church members were invited to cast their vote on the question of purchasing the Dvoor property on Rt. 31 in Clinton Township.  Approximately 185 people were in attendance, and the meeting was presided over by District Superintendent Rev. Veronica Palmer.  Members of the Vision and Site Planning teams presented a brief history of the 4-year planning process; summarized the results from all the due diligence investigations, and provided the detailed view of financial obligations.  After an open question and answer period, a written ballot was held. 

 

The results of the voting were:  130 YES;  44 NO.  With this landmark decision, an exciting new chapter for Clinton United Methodist Church begins.  Pastor Galen thanked the congregation for their prayers, their patience with the process so far, and announced that the 2nd Capital Campaign Committee under the leadership of Joel Dobbs and Craig Nace will begin its work immediately. 

 

The purchase of the land positions this church for wonderful opportunities in the long term, but much still needs to be addressed in the short term to keep the church operating and exciting.  Pastor Galen invited members of the church to join the "Dream Team", a new committee which is charged to undertake an in-depth study of the current ministries of this church and to provide recommendations on what can be done to re-vitalize and re-energize the spirit and functioning of this church to meet the needs of all it's congregational members and the community.  If you are interested please see or call Pastor Galen or Pastor Greg.

 

To God be the Glory!

Special Charge Conference Announcement

There will be a Special Charge Conference for Clinton United Methodist Church on Monday, May 21, 2007,

7:30 pm, at 12 Halstead St. The sole purpose of this conference is to:

Name a Site-Planning/Second Phase Committee

Authorize the specific work of that Committee

Elect a new member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee

Elect a new co-chairperson of the Worship Committee

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May 30th, 2007 Letter sent to congregation

 Dear Members and Friends,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Nearly a year has passed since Greg Milinovich and I came among you to journey for a while together in ministry and mission for God and God’s church. You had already journeyed a wonderful route of faithfulness and growth, a growth that led you to explore options for enlarging facilities for the total ministry we are called to do.

As that exploration moves into its next phase, I want to share with you the launching of a new committee to lead us forward. At the May 21 Special Charge Conference, the leadership of our church approved a new Vision Committee. Its full title is Vision Committee–Generation Three to emphasize that we are looking at an unfolding vision God has given us. Each generation of conversation helps us be clearer in God’s direction in our life together.

The enclosed pages share with you my introduction of the committee to the Special Charge Conference, the committee members to date, and the duties given to that committee at the Special Charge Conference. This comes to you because of the desire of this committee to communicate often and everything with you. The plan is to have weekly sharing in the bulletin around any discussions or actions of the committee, and periodic engagement with you for input and direction.

Please read this material, and be in touch with any member of the committee with your input as the task unfolds. Thank you all for your faithfulness, your encouragement of your leadership, and your prayers for us all. Let us all be in a listening mode, even while we are taking action in the months ahead, so that we may hear what God would say to the church!

In Christ,

Galen

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July 3rd, 2007 Update

    

âVision Committee-Generation III

            -Created and approved at Special Charge Conference, May 21

            -Three positions (1 representing Education, 2 representing Worship Ministry) to be filled

            -Communication sent to congregation May 31

â Architects Selection Process

            -Five firms identified, three interviewed

            -Key criteria:  Cost, Experience, Referral

â Architects Selected:  Althouse, Jaffe & Associates (AJA)

-Contract negotiations underway

Why Selected?

-Experience"Specialization in “ecclesiastical architecture,” with more than 140 projects with churches (list available)

            -Christ-centered firm"Builds worship spaces, not just meeting rooms and fellowship halls

-Competitive bid

-Design approach"Sustainable, green architecture

-More information available on firm at www.althousejaffe.com

â What Do You See?

-Congregational involvement is AJA’s top priority"“input can be received by anyone and processed by everyone.”

-Involvement starts with congregation-wide workshop

â You Need to Know

-Need more information?"Contact any member of the committee or call the church office at 908-735-7025

Saturday, July 7, 12 Halstead St.-Leadership interviews with architects, 8:00 am-noon.  Contact the church office to schedule an interview if you'd like to voice your suggestions.

-“Group Design” Workshop – Saturday, July 21"South Ridge Community Church-Activity Center, 7 Pittstown Rd., Clinton, NJ   08809, On-site child care, RSVP to clintonunited@earthlink.net or 908-735-7025.     

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July 15th, 2007 Update

On July 7, Jack Althouse, principle of the architectural firm of Althouse & Jaffe, visited Clinton UMC to conduct interviews with 45 individuals representing about 30 ministry areas. Individuals were organized into 5 groups described below to facilitate the interview process and assure optimum interactive input.

Administration: Trustees, Finance, Ad Council, SPRC, Parsonage

Christian Education: Nursery, Sunday School K-6, Youth, Adult, Children’s Worship Time, Bible Studies, VBS, CBS

Fellowship: Care, Lay Leadership, Parish (Men’s Women’s Singles, Seniors, Youth), Shepherding, Gardening

Outreach: Missions (local & world), Youth, Evangelism, Outreach, Prayer, Stephen Ministries, Counseling, Disaster Relief

Worship: Worship, Music, Drama, Altar Guild, Technology

Saturday was the first of many opportunities for our congregation to provide input in the site planning and architectural design process. the information gathered from this meeting serves to help plan the important and more expansive workshop next Saturday, July 21.

Please participate in the July 21 All Congregational Design Workshop (8:00-Noon at the South Ridge Community Church). The meeting will not be complete without you. The workshop will be fun, instructional, and will guide us as we seek to understand the next phase of unlocking the ministry potential for the land on Route 31. Breakfast served at 8:00. On-site babysitting provided.

Let us know you plan to participate. 

RSVP to the church office: 

clintonunited@earthlink.net              908-735-7025, ext. 100

 

Date:      Saturday, July 21, 2007  Place:     South Ridge Community Church-Activity             Center, 7 Pittstown Rd., Clinton, NJ   08809    (Rt. 513 next to the Clinton Wal-Mart shopping plaza)   Time:     8:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, breakfast & snacks provided

Plan to participate in a congregational workshop for all ages, designed to engage the congregation in feasibility plans to explore the potential for a Ministry Center on Route 31. The workshop will be led by members of the Vision Committee-Generation III along with the architectural firm of Althouse, Jaffe & Associates that has been selected to design the plans necessary to obtain approvals and permits CUMC will need before the final decision date on the purchase of land is reached. 

We need your input; make a difference!

Questions: Contact Katherine Theleman, 908-534-2004,

theleman@patmedia.net, or the church office

RSVP: Church office, 908-735-7025, clintonunited@earthlink.net

  _________________________________________

July 22nd, 2007 Update

Thanks to everyone who participated in yesterday’s Group Design Workshop! The Vision Committee continues to welcome your input.

Did You Know?

                According to Wikipedia, "green building"  is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site selection, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.   In green architecture “passive design” refers to the use of the sun’s energy to heat or cool indoor spaces. Passive design accounts for buildings that save energy, are comfortable to use, and are environment-friendly. It means design that does not require mechanical equipment for heating or cooling.
                The primary concern of passive design is the "building envelope," which refers to the entire exterior surface of a building. It includes walls, doors, windows and the roof, which is sometimes called the fifth façade. Weaknesses in the building envelope can result in moisture penetration, high energy costs, expensive maintenance problems, and architectural and engineering systems failures.

                Long before modern technologies were adopted, protection from the elements was done using simple passive techniques. Courtyards, wide overhangs, high ceilings were features that these structures had in common to bring comfort and health benefits to the occupants.  Today it is still possible to incorporate many of these passive techniques by following some of the basic principles of passive design.

                The practice of green building can lead to benefits including reducing operating costs, using less energy and water, improving indoor air quality, lessening environmental impacts, improving indoor air quality, and reducing environmental impacts.

                If you have any questions or would like to learn more please contact Katherine Theleman or any member of the Vision Committee-Generation III.

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July 29th, 2007 Update

                On Saturday, July 21, some 75 folks participated in a Congregational Design Workshop facilitated by the Architectural firm of Althouse and Jaffe.  In a spirit-filled gathering, we assembled the desires & dreams of the CUMC Ministries to guide design of the ministry potential on the 40 acres we are considering purchasing on Route 31.

                The morning’s energetic activity started up fully fueled by a hearty breakfast buffet (thanks to volunteers) and the workshop tasks ran smoothly.  Participants of all ages broke into ten groups and worked to generate schematic drawings aided with layouts of the land, design element cutouts, scissors, pencils, and tape!  There is little doubt in the minds of the participants that the creativity and imagination were driven by Almighty God.  The task to create an "ideal" long term building plan was accomplished within a 2-hour time limit (forcing right-brain activity). A compilation of the July 7 ministry area interviews provided the spark to ignite creativity. The groups pieced together concepts and then presented their layouts to the entire assembly in 3-minute, timed presentations.  Amazingly, the ten independently created plans bore strikingly similar themes.

                Now the architectural firm will carefully study the workshop input and, in turn, design a proposed initial architectural design. This design will serve as basis for additional input to guide final, fine-tuned proposal.  There is still opportunity to dream and provide input, both for those who attended the session, as well as those who were unable to attend, so stay tuned!

                Our next steps are to: 1) to create near and long term budget forecasts, and 2) to schedule a non-binding Conceptual Architectural Review session with the Clinton Township Planning Board, seeking approval of our planning.   All of this information will be shared with the congregation to enable a firm decision regarding whether or not to finalize our purchase of the land. That decision must be completed by January 2008 when the final escrow on the potential purchase must be paid.

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August 5th, 2007 Update

What does Clinton Township’s Planning Board do?

The Planning Board is responsible for the Clinton Township's Master Plan and controls the development and use of land in accordance with its Master Plan. This includes the selection of land for recreation, open space, residence, and business development. The board determines the use of our unimproved land for now and in the future. Anyone seeking to build a permitted use within the Town must present their plans for approval to the Planning Board to ensure the proposal is consistent with the Master Plan zone designations. Applications for non-permitted uses (variances) go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for approval.  This is process the Vision Site Planning Committee will enter into once the Architects have prepared an Architectural Design and Plan that has been approved by CUMC.  The Committee's aim is to submit a non-binding "conceptual plan" to the Planning Board as a first step.  Since significant fees are associated with submitting plans for approval,  a conceptual plan is an important step to understand if the submitted architectural design is on target with the standards and criteria set up by the Planning Board.  This step will hopefully save on time and expenses for the final and binding approval exchanges between the Township and CUMC. 

To learn more visit: township.clinton.nj.us/planning_and_zoning_dept.htm. This site has a document titled: PRESERVING COMMUNITY CHARACTER: Community design guidelines for Clinton Township, which lay out the design guidelines and criteria that all new construction in the Township must abide, are listed.  Click on the link Government, then Planning Board, and finally the actual document.  The Goals are intended to:

■ Preserve the rural character of the community

■ Preserve natural and open space resources within the Township

■ Preserve cultural landscapes which include scenic corridors and vistas

■ Preserve and rehabilitate historic structures and districts

■ Enhance villages and hamlets as communities of place

■ Provide guidelines for non-residential development that compliment the rural character of the community. 

Demographics of Hunterdon County, which could help in designing future CUMC outreach efforts, may be viewed at: co.hunterdon.nj.us/planning/demographics.htm.

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September 23rd, 2007 Update

As the Vision Committee continues development of a Master Site Plan to present to the Clinton Township Board of Adjustment, four key professionals have been engaged to assist CUMC.  They include our Architect, Jack Althouse whom many of you have already met, an Engineer, a Site Planner, and an Attorney.  Below are very brief professional biographies of the individuals who will be critical in this phase of our work. All of these professionals are located within Hunterdon County and have extensive experience working with the Clinton Township planning guidelines.

LAWYER:  Mr. Jim A. Knox is an attorney with the firm of Gebhardt & Kiefer, P.C., a local firm founded in 1884. His primary practice areas involve the representation of land owners and real estate developers in achieving the land use approvals necessary for real estate development.  Mr. Knox is regularly involved in applications to local planning boards and boards of adjustment, as well as the ancillary applications also often required, for stream encroachment permits, wetland permits, D.O.T. highway access permits, and other specialized approvals. In addition, his practice includes a substantial amount of litigation relating to land use issues.

SITE PLANNER: Mr. John A. Madden JR.  P.P., A.I.C.P. has  36 years experience in professional planning including comprehensive and regional master planning, recreation and open space planning, environmental assessment and feasibility studies, transportation planning, redevelopment, grantsmanship, land development and land use regulations.   Additionally, Mr. Madden has testified on behalf of private and public clients regarding planning and zoning matters.  He has considerable experience in proposing zoning ordinance and other land use regulations.

ENGINEER:  Thomas L. Yager & Associates (TLYA) was founded in Clinton Township in 1983 and has been working on due diligence and project planning activities with Clinton UMC since August 2006.  The firm specializes in Land Surveying, Civil Engineering, Municipal Engineering, and Planning.  The firm is regularly involved in applications to local planning boards and boards of adjustment and possesses a detailed knowledge of local and state planning and zoning regulations.  The primary TLYA staff supporting the CUMC project are Tom Yager, P.L.S., P.P; and Jim Hill, P.E., P.P., CME.

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September 30th, 2007 Update 

& CUMC TOWN MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

We are approaching the final stretch in our Vision Site Planning Process, the finalization of the initial Architectural Design and presentation of the Design and Engineering information to the Clinton Township Board of Adjustments.  The design, as prepared by our Architect, and the decisions from the Board of Adjustment will serve as our guide when we vote on the purchase of Rt. 31 land in January.  Here are 3 key milestones the Vision Committee hopes to maintain assuming that each gate in the review process is successfully achieved: 

September 28: The CUMC Application for a “Height Variance and Waivers” is filed with the Administrator for the Clinton Township Board of Adjustments.

Assuming the application passes a  completeness and waiver request review and is acceptable to the Administrator and the Township Engineer; the application moves forward to:

October 22: CUMC presents our Application to the Clinton Board of Adjustments

The CUMC professional Team (Attorney, Architect, Planner and Engineer), with support from Pastor Galen and others, present our request for a Height Variance and Waivers to determine if all requirements have been satisfied,  and if so, moves forward to:

November 26: The CUMC Height Variance request is formally presented to the Board of Adjustment at a Public Hearing

During this Public Hearing CUMC shares with the public why we believe CUMC is entitled to a variance from the local zoning requirements. The primary issue is the fact that the Township Zoning Plan calls for a maximum building height in this zone of 45 feet. However, if an applicant is able to provide sufficient evidence to the Board that this variance request will not cause substantial “detriment to the public good” or “impairment to the Zone Plan or Zoning Ordinance”, a variance may be granted. 

TOWN MEETING INVITATION

Everyone is invited to our own CUMC TOWN MEETING on Monday, October 15, at 7:30, in our Sanctuary to see, hear, and interact with the Design for our proposed Christian Fellowship Building as presented by Jack Althouse, our Architect.  We encourage you to be a part of this important presentation and dialog.  We also invite you to remain in prayer about what the Vision journey means to you, this church and it's ministries, our community outreach, and fulfilling our Christian mission to share God's love with all.

________________________________________________

October 3rd, 2007 Letter sent to congregation

Dear Members and Friends,

I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and in the hope that unites us. I write to you in the desire to invite you to the next stages of our conversation about our future ministry together.

The Vision Committee-Generation III has taken the work of our Due Diligence Committee, the Affirmation of our Administrative Council, and the sharing of our congregation in its dreaming about future ministry, and has placed in the hands of the Board of Adjustment, on our behalf, a request for a variance that would enable us to establish a Christian Life Center on land on Route 31. It is in their hands now, and their decisions will affect our decisions to buy the land and to proceed with the development of our equipping disciples for Jesus Christ.

The sharing around those dreams and hopes has helped the architects to create a visualization of our possible future. But that conversation has also raised what we believe to be essentials of ministry in our future, regardless of whether the land becomes a reality for us or not. We will be having a very important decision-making Special Church Conference in January around the purchase of the land. I ask you to be in constant prayer around this decision. It is a decision we make not for ourselves, but for a future of disciples we have not even met yet.

I invite you to two very important town meetings in preparation for that meeting. The first is a gathering on October 15, at 7:30 p.m., in which our architects will unveil the possible response to the dreams for ministry they have heard. Although we will be looking for your response to the specific images, we are more interested in seeing what the accumulated desires of our congregation produce in facility needs for the future. It will be instructive information that will identify where our facility assets are inadequate today.

The second gathering is on November 18, at 7:30 p.m. This conversation will be centered on ministries we have identified as a congregation that are essential to our life today, and must be considered for our future. These include vital worship, appropriate in style and sacredness to the variety of worshippers we are seeing in our midst. It includes activities, study, and ministry for a rapidly growing youth population among us. It includes a compassionate outreach to a community of need (the homeless, the poor, the hungry, the spiritually empty). It includes much more, which will direct us in our decisions about future building and land needs, but much of it needs attention immediately.

Our hope is to come together to build a renewed vision for the future, and we need everyone’s input. Please plan to come be a part of these conversations in the sanctuary, 7:30 p.m., October 15 and November 18.

In Christ,

Galen L. Goodwin

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October 7th, 2007 Update

On September 26, the application to waive the height variance was submitted to the Clinton Township Board of Adjustment. Our application will now be reviewed for completeness and will then be subject to review by the Board at their meeting on October 22 at 7:30 PM. Several members of the CUMC Planning Committee will be attendance. If anyone from the congregation wishes to attend this meeting, please speak with Pastor Goodwin as soon as possible. Having successfully passed this review, our request will then be presented at a public hearing scheduled for November 26.

CUMC TOWN MEETING INVITATION

Everyone is invited to our own CUMC TOWN MEETING on Monday, October 15, at 7:30, in our Sanctuary to see, hear, and interact with the Design for our proposed Christian Fellowship Building. Jack Althouse and Matt Jaffe will present the three-dimensional designs developed from the July 7 congregational input workshop.  The Vision Committee shares its excitement in the presentation of the schematics that have been developed as a result of YOUR input. Hope to see you there! 

PRAYER REQUEST

We also invite you to remain in prayer about what the Vision journey means to you, this church and it's ministries, our community outreach, and fulfilling our Christian mission to share God's love with all.

__________________________________________________

October 14th, 2007 Town Meeting Invitation

Everyone is invited to our own CUMC TOWN MEETING on Mon., Oct. 15, at 7:30, in our Sanctuary to see, hear, & interact with the design for our proposed Christian Fellowship Building. Jack Althouse & Matt Jaffe will present the three-dimensional designs developed from the congregational input workshop.  The Vision Committee shares its excitement in presenting the schematics developed as a result of YOUR input. Hope to see you there! 

___________________________________________________________

October 21st, 2007 Update

October 15 was the 1st of 3 town meetings preceding a Church Conference in January 2008 when CUMC members will vote on purchasing the Rt. 31 property. This town meeting was designed to share with the congregation the creative designs our architects constructed for a Christian Life Center, based on input from the July congregational workshops.  Approximately 60 individuals met to experience the first visualization of an evolving plan.  This master plan, enhanced by our engineers and site planners,  will be used in critical meetings with the Clinton Township Planning Board.  Decisions emerging from these review sessions will provide the necessary guidance on our next steps.

The architects, using state-of-the-art computer graphics, led the congregation in a virtual tour.  They shared a "drive through"  of how the buildings could be sited on the 40-acre property; how exterior design elements incorporating "passive" green design could look; and how the internal design of the building could serve our ministries. It is truly exciting to see and  feel  the possibilities of the great ministries that could occur in God's name on this expanded property and facilities. 

The next town meeting will be on Sunday, November 18, at 7:30.  Our focus will center on ministries we have identified as a congregation that are essential to our life today, and must be considered for our future. We need everyone's feedback and everyone's participation so please plan to attend and gather the necessary information for your decision making.

____________________________________________________________

October 28th, 2007 Update

                On Monday, October 22, the Vision Committee-Generation III’s attorney and engineer presented our request for a height variance to the Clinton Township Board of Adjustments.  The board voted a unanimous "YES" regarding our completeness criteria.  The site planning process now moves forward to our next critical date of November 26 when our public hearing before the Township Board of Adjustment will begin.  Thank you to everyone who has worked diligently over the past few years to achieve this vote of confidence.

                At the November 26 public hearing, CUMC will share with the Board and the public why we believe CUMC is entitled to a variance from the local zoning requirements.  The primary issue is that the Township Zoning Plan calls for a maximum building height in this zone of 45 feet and we are requesting a variance for a church steeple approximately 115 feet tall.  Local ordinances indicate, if an applicant is able to provide sufficient evidence to the Board that this “variance request” will not cause substantial “detriment to the public good” or “impairment to the Zone Plan or Zoning Ordinance,” a variance may be granted. In addition to our lawyer and engineer, our architect and site planner will play an essential role in this presentation.

                CUMC’s next Town Meeting to provide updated information and a forum for Q&A will be held on November 18 in the Sanctuary on Halstead Street, at 7:30 pm. Please plan to attend; your participation is vital to discerning what God is calling us to do during this critical time in the life of our Church. At a Church Conference in January CUMC members will vote on what path CUMC should follow regarding acquisition of this property.