Rooted in Faith is an opportunity to invest in our PHPC campus.
This campaign is addressing some long-standing drainage issues around our grounds, install a beautiful Prayer Garden outside the chapel for individual prayer as well as small memorial services and weddings, and reimagine our Playground with safe, age-appropriate equipment and engaging layout to benefit the children of PHPC, the preschool, and community groups who use our campus.
By investing in our campus in this way, we are planting seeds to grow strong roots, assuring our future will include and bless all people: from families with young children to members and visitors of all ages and stages who will be nurtured and welcomed by our entire campus, inside and out.
Budget
$150,000 – Playground
(includes equipment, drainage, and mulch)
$50,000 – Prayer Garden
$50,000 – Additional drainage
$25,000 – Contingencies
$25,000 – Mission tithe
Total = $300,000
Current Area Photos
Prayer Garden
Playground
Drainage
Prayer Garden $50k
It has long been a dream to transform the space outside the Prayer Chapel into a Prayer Garden. Picture a lush space tucked away with plantings, flowing water, and seating, accessible to all from the portico by a paved path. With a curved wall to reduce street noise, the Prayer Garden will offer our members and neighbors an opportunity to rest in quiet reflection in God’s creation.
Landscape architect Spencer Tunnell (Tunnell & Tunnell) has captured this vision in a stunning design that will be visible from our Prayer Chapel as well from the Sanctuary, converting under-utilized empty space into something beautiful. The plantings and features are designed to be sustainable and low maintenance, so that they may thrive for years to come as we watch this space grow and bloom over time.
Rooted in Faith will create PHPC’s Prayer Garden to be
- a sacred space for small outdoor services like memorials and weddings
- a quiet place to meet a pastor or friend for prayer and conversation
- an open invitation to all members and friends of PHPC to come and sit quietly and pray, reflect, or read in God’s beautiful creation, any time of day, any day of the week
- a glimpse of beauty and a point of interest outside the Sanctuary windows during Sunday worship, inviting visitors to explore PHPC further
- a reflection of PHPC’s commitment to provide for the spiritual nurture of our members, offering yet another way to connect faith to everyday life.
Playground $150k
PHPC is committed to welcoming, nurturing, and including children and their families in the full life of the church, and that includes play. Providing a safe, age-appropriate, and exciting playground is a significant way we communicate that children are important to us and welcome in our congregation. PHPC’s playground is used by member and visitor children on Sunday mornings, by our preschool during the week, and by community groups meeting on our campus, like MOMS Club of Duluth, Brownies, and AA.
Our current playground equipment served us well for many years, but was graded only for residential use, and the wear and tear of commercial use made several of the pieces unsafe. As we look toward resuming a full slate of church activities including Church School, childcare during worship, and Vacation Bible School, as well as reopening Pleasant Hill Preschool for the 2021-22 school year and inviting outside groups to meet onsite once again, taking action is necessary to ensure our children have a place to play that reflects PHPC’s commitment to young families.
Rooted in Faith has provided a bright and welcoming playground renovation by
- removing damaged and unsafe equipment
- addressing drainage issues
- redesigning the play area by moving the outer fence and retaining wall, enlarging the play space for trikes and free play, and installing a low wall with fence for safety
- installing new commercial-grade equipment geared toward a variety of ages with a focus on both safety and engagement for our younger children.
Drainage $50K
PHPC’s long-standing outdoor drainage issues are more than inconvenient: our facilities are at risk of water damage, standing water makes our grounds unsafe, and the rising expenses of landscaping and maintenance in problem areas are costly.
Rooted in Faith will provide comprehensive drainage renovation as downspouts are tied into underground drains and new drain lines are installed to direct water away from our buildings. As a result, we will see less standing water, less mulch will be washed away, and grass and landscaping can recover and grow to cover previously-saturated areas, improving the safety and appearance of PHPC’s grounds. Resolving these campus-wide drainage issues will clear the way to address two other important areas – the Playground and the new Prayer Garden.
If you’ve visited PHPC’s campus after a rainstorm, these will be familiar scenarios:
- stepping and leaping over large puddles as you gingerly make your way into the choir room
- squelching through standing water and mud as you carry a bag from the kitchen to the dumpster
- seeing disappointment on your children’s faces as they have to skip the playground because it’s become a series of small lakes, or imploring them to stay out of the culvert-turned-mosquito breeding grounds
- feeling frustrated by the rainwater standing against the education building blocking access to the storage shed.
How to Give
- Click the button above and choose Rooted in Faith in the drop down menu
- email your commitment to pledges@pleasanthillpc.org
- complete a commitment card and mail to or drop off at the church office.
We hope to have all gifts received by June 30, 2022.
Campaign Team
Dick LoPresti – Campaign Co-Chair
Shawn Badinger – Campaign Co-Chair
Jeff Milway – Project Coordinator
Kristen Ching – Playground Team
Robin Prater – Prayer Garden Team
Colin Ching – Facilities Committee
Katie Day – Senior Pastor
Project Teams
Prayer Garden Team: Tiv Ray-Alston, Gail Funderburk, Robin Prater, Keith Funderburk
Playground Team: Margot Ashley, Kristen Ching, Gina Maguire, Jennie Sankey
Questions?
3700 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
770.497.0233
office@pleasanthillpc.org
