Closer to Heaven?

Yesterday afternoon I was across the road watching two men at work on the ceiling and walls of the Oysterville Church. They were standing on the tallest stepladders I’ve ever seen. Probably irreverently, the gospel song “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” played over and over in my head.

The two, armed with rags and a sanitizing solution of something-or-other, were waging a crusade against mold. Even though they weren’t in scary protective gear, I couldn’t help but think of them as the Holy Hazmat Team as they gently, yet firmly, wiped and scrubbed at the offending fungus.

Mold (or perhaps it’s mildew) is an ongoing winter problem at the Oysterville Church. The historic building’s single-wall construction is no match for our wet climate and the Oysterville Restoration Foundation would need much more than “Pennies from Heaven” to afford heating it twenty-four/seven.

Church Work

This year, matters have been compounded due to a leaky area of the roof. Hopefully, a temporary patch is keeping the water at bay (so to speak) while we explore funding possibilities for a new roof. And, in the next year or so, we need to think about replacing the tired old wallpaper that not only gets moldy in winter, but is beginning to loosen at the seams. (Aren’t we all?)

Those familiar with the church know that both walls and ceiling are papered and that the ceiling is very, very high – maybe more than twenty feet. In theaters, especially in the UK, the seats up near the ceilings are called “the gods” – probably because traditionally theaters had beautifully painted ceilings, often with mythological themes. (The seats up near “the gods” are always cheapest.)

I’m not sure what you might call the area of the church where the men were working yesterday. Perhaps, “The Heavens.”  Whatever… I definitely feel blessed that they had tall enough ladders and could reach all those wretched moldy spots. Here’s hoping that the problem is solved for at least another year. The clean-up is sinfully expensive!