I’m sure you have all read about the new St Barney’s building in this story.

Well, the rector of Barney’s, the Rev Ian Powell, will be online from 1pm to 2pm to answer any questions you may have.

Feel free to with questions or simply post them up here.

Is there any more info available regarding the design?  More photos, descriptions, plans etc? 

With the couple of photos already posted on the SA web site, it’s hard to get a good idea of what it will look like....looks exciting though.

Mike

G’day Mike,
You’re absolutely right that its hard to really picture it from two images.  (It took me ages, even with many more images and drawings to work out that part of the brilliance of this plan is that the halls, offices, meeting rooms are UNDER the church space. I’m hoping to get more diagrams and pictures released asap. Our brilliant wardens make these sorts of decisions and I’m sure will OK the release when they feel they can.
I think it will be a very exciting building to be in and to work with. Although great work can be done without any building it will be a great aid.
ian powell

Hi Ian,
Great to have you on the forums with us.
Thanks for the taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions about the new building designs.
Also, congratulations on your first ever post.
i have a question here regarding ‘old stuff’.

Did anything from the old building survive? If so will it be used?
Or will everything be completely new?

Hi Ian,

I am curious to see what the cultural approach will be to church seating in this new large SydAng church building....

For example, will it be a “lecture theatre” style where the expert/leader’s message is delivered to the largely silent followers
or
will the seating be more flexible and enable people to break into smaller groups for prayer or sharing at times during the gathering?

Grace & peace,

Terry

Hey Joe (good name for a song)
A few folks broke into the site on the Saturday after it burnt and gathered everything they could from within the church.
Sadly marble plaques and some of the metal ones were utterly destroyed especially at the back of the church which was hottest. There were some beauties there - Hammond, Guinness (both metal and a verse the great Howard had painted across the balcony) and one to a man who led the Sunday school for more than 30 years. All gone. Apart form fragments that are in safe storage.
Took down one that survived because it was on tiles (already fired) that trumpeted out 1 Cor 15:58 about “always abounding in the work of the Lord - knowing that your labour in Him is never in vain.” We certainly plan to put that up somewhere in the new.
Oh and I just remembered - ye olde pews - thankfully they survived to torture people for generations to come or more likely to be used tastefully in little pockets of memory to the Old Barneys or a “Naughty Chair” for noisy ministers kids at Sunday School.
It has been suggested that some of the cedar might be used to panel a tasteful Cigar Room - as a fellowship and evangelistic tool.
ian powell

thanks Ian

I would love to hear about meet rooms outside of the “main” meeting rooms.  In particular, what facilities have you guys put in for youth groups, sunday school, and other groups that often meet at the same time as the main meeting…

thanks
Mike

Mike Doyle - 15 October 2007 03:28 PM

thanks Ian

I would love to hear about meet rooms outside of the “main” meeting rooms.  In particular, what facilities have you guys put in for youth groups, sunday school, and other groups that often meet at the same time as the main meeting…

thanks
Mike

Let me just clarify a little....

I think I read your main meeting room will be 600, this may mean a youth in the range of 300 - how have you guys catered for them?

(been thinking about this for several years - love to hear how in practise you guys have worked it out)

Mike

Hi Ian,
good to see Hendrix still lives on in the Diocese.
I’ll leave you to answer these questions.

Hi Terry and thanks for the grace and peace,
Great question.
Hmm - The architects proposal (and thats all it is so far) did have a few diagrams about the way the seating could be varied from standard church rows with aisles through to in the round. If God blesses His work at Broadway as we pray and expect we may need to work out the most effective way to fit as many in as possible.
So yes it is flexible - and I’m not keen on setting the building up to focus attention on the Preacher as star. I did think the set up at Old BArneys had quite a lot going for it - Big Bible on elegant lecturn dead centre - Lord’s Supper table in line with it and the pulpit for the word preached to one side but still obviously terribley important - balanced with the prayer desk on other side of church ....ah the baptism font ... the parish council had sometimes talked about raiding the backyard where it had been moved to long before I arrived at Barneys. Jesus and the apostles seemed to think Baptism mattered (Matt 28, Acts 2 and 8:35-37) Would it go back to where our evangelical forefathers placed it.
(I am intrigued with how my generation seems to know so much better than our forefathers about church architecture etc even though the church under our leadership is hardly turning the world upside down)

On of the reasons I am personally pleased that we are not going down the mini-Sydney Entertainment Centre type chruch is that they are definatley NOT set up for moments of sharing or praying in small groups in church - we have done this sometimes at Old Barneys and done carefully they are wonderful moments of church (even for first time visitors).

Sorry about the long winded answer Terry - Hope that gives some idea of the direction we are travelling - but I have much much to learn about designing churches - I especially don’t want this building to be entriely captive to the momentary prefernces of our generation.
Yours in His happy service - Ian Powell

Okay. To finish off. Two good questions and one stupid one…
Why will insurance only partially cover the cost of the new building?
What new services might this building open to the community and parishioners?
Is it true that you will allow people to skate down the roof on the new St Barney’s? Come on, look at it! you could get some serious air on that…

Hi Mike (I’m wondering if you’rethe Mike I met some years back who was teaching ESL)
Thiis is a good question.
The PRESENT design ( and it will change - we have not even really started any serious consultation-discussions with these amazingly gifted architects)
Under the 600 seat church and foyer space and the open appraoch space will be 200 person hall, a medium-largish meeting room and 7 other rooms for meetings, plus quite a bit of open foyer etc space downstairs - it is our expectation that as our kids and youth work continue to grow the building will be able to cope with a fair bit of growth - in terms of the violent games that can be a useful part of the fun of being with young people - they can always play wide games on Broadway - more eexciting than Bristish Bulldog or French Poodle or whatever
HOWEVER Our Rev Di was talking with some folk from Broadway shops about our biggish Carols in Vic Park for some sponsorship. This led to a very important discussion about the people who seem to think of the shops as their village -while the B’way shops people know they can;t meet alot of the social needs - they don;t have space or the right type of space or people. How do we love our neighbour ?? we have some space..do we have enough....but can you ever have enough. It may be that we will need to strecth the building even bigger than we had planned.
Money is real issue - BUT God is real and terribley rich and able (Ephesians 3:20 is a good check on whether we realy believe the Bible - really) - but we do want to leave to those after us an excellent base of operations.

AT the moment our youth groups meets Sunday afternoon at same time as the 5 congregation - this means we have chruch, youth group and Kidsministry at same time - although my prejudice remains that 5 is a strange time to run a kids minsitry - although the teachers are so excellent at 5 that theyare pullin it off.
Old Barnesy was a messy chock-a-block shambles at that period (oh and you need a room for the band for 7 to practice as well) - we are better off at Moore College.  The congestion can be sorted out in a number of ways. see my coming book - but don’t hold your breath - I don;t have all that much spare time just now.
Hope that helps Mike - if not ring me on 9552 6111 - I converse a little faster than I type.

Ian powell

Dear Joseph,
(been talking with your old mate Moroni of late)
Firstly - Your “stupid question”
Insurance - the policy as I undestand it (which may well not be accurate - our wardens and others look after all this) roughly covers a simple rebuild what burnt down or a negotated settlement if you do not choose to put back what was there. After much conversation with the congregation and prayer and PC discussion the overwhelming Barneys view was not to rebuild our beloved ramshackle place. It would seem frankly irrepsonsible to just put back those old “designs” for the next 150 years (DV)
The Insurance folk have as yet been unable to finalsie some of the costings for the replacement of the old which (as I understand it - operates as the base from which they negotiate a settlement for replacment)
The most just cheque form them will just not cover the costs of the new - ESPECIALLY if we provide car parking which is also something we negotiate with the Sydney Council.

Secondly - new services - For the community - if design stays (which I understand it probably wont) as is
it is - will provide a series of venues to use at minimal rent or less. We were planning a young kids and parents or grandparents play-group kids thing when the building misbehaved and went missing. We will review this as we return to site. Very probably the site will function in a secondary way as a fine convention site for around 500. Most importantly an attractive, unmissable place for the community to come and meet Christ and be saved from hell and from accompanying various sorry personal adictions and habits
For the parishoners much the same only so much better - like fishing out of a modern powered purpose bullt boat rather than an old wooden rowing racing shell. Room for gospel work to be done and planned adn based. It will be designed as a base for many diverse ministries and a beautiful space that feels good to be in to meet together to draw near to our Father and lto ove each other - and to invite and welcome others who are as yet strangers to His love.
We will especially be designing it so that the Uni ministries at UTS nad Sydney Uni have even better space to work from and in, this is more imporatant now than ever with the changes in the way that Unis are working and moving. Many places minsiter to Uni students for diverse reasons and for a season, Barneys does it because we know it to be our God given duty and as we have done it for over 50 years so we will continue to do so. So our new spaces are being designed to support these ministries which are not run for Barneys but for all from many other parishes and denominations. Our office is often happily cluttered by these student minsitreis - frankly often Barneys staff are working around the Uni teams - and we are happy for it to be so.
Hopefu;;y alll will be enhanced - We are also exploring other possibilite suchas doesthe inner set need our band rehersal room to be geared up to be also a recording studio - we need to find if the Christian world needs another studio - if so we may well build one. This will bea team decision - all the leadership at Barneys is ddeply convinced of the importance of music in God’s world and church.

Finally regarding the multi purpose roof - There may be a small war between skate boarders and skiiers - we have some world class crazt ski jumpers etc and they have put a legitamte family claim in - we will seek to do what is best and just - I’d love to see you do the Roof of Death Jo - it could be part of the opening festivities. We might give you a pew or an Old Barneys
Now off to look at 1 Peter 2
ian powell