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2012-01-02 issue:

Hardwood doors and trim a group effort

by Everett J. Thomas

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The new Mennonite Church USA office building in Elkhart, Ind., features beautiful hardwood trim and interior doors. They were a gift from a group of supporters who contributed expertise each step of the way. The design process began in 2004. The lumber was harvested in 2008 and milled beginning in June 2011.

Stanley Green (left), executive director of Mennonite Mission Network, shows the hardwood doors and trim to Tina Stoltzfus Schlabach in the new Mennonite Church USA offices in Elkhart, Ind., on Dec. 21. Schlabach is a pastor at Waterford Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., where Green is a member. Photo by Everett J. Thomas.

The six kinds of hardwood, which includes black walnut, cherry and maple, came from a 13-acre forest preserve that is part of Southfield Village, an intergenerational community near South Bend, Ind. Three families from the Kern Road Mennonite Church made the contribution: LeRoy and Phyllis Troyer, Eldon (Laverne) and Luella Gerig and Loren and Julie Roth.

The timber harvest was managed by Steve Hite, of Goshen, Ind., who donated his time and materials. The trees were felled, sawn into lengths and delivered to Don Steider, former maintenance director for the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. Steider rough-sawed and dried the lumber and then shipped some of the wood to Summit Wood Industries in Orville, Ohio, which milled the lumber used for the trim. The company is owned by Gary and Victoria Miller of Orrville, Ohio, members of Kidron (Ohio) Mennonite Church.

Other lumber was shipped to Keim Lumber Company in Charm, Ohio, which then built more than 70 solid wood doors, sidelights and transoms. The company is owned by Bill and Eva Keim of Sugarcreek, Ohio. Bill Keim estimated that it took two employees three weeks to build the doors and other pieces. The company also contributed the door hardware and glass.

“We attend Walnut Creek Mennonite Church,” Keim said on Dec. 13. “We support various mission projects, and this is our expertise.”

A spokesman for D.J Construction, contractor for the new building, estimated the value of the trim and doors at nearly $200,000.

Peter Graber, the Mennonite Mission Network administrator who managed the fundraising campaign for the new office building, noted that other companies and donors also provided material gifts for the building. Those gifts included trees, seed and cabinets (see “Fathers Build Furniture for New Elkhart Building,” December 2011).

Leroy Troyer is the architect of record for the new office building. His architectural firm, The Troyer Group, provided the unique design for the doors and trim.

“We trust that the Mennonite churches and members can be inspired to give and support the ongoing mission and ministries of Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA,” Troyer said to Graber, “as you move into your own home.”

In addition to Mennonite Mission Network, the new office building will house staff for Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Board, Mennonite Education Agency, MennoMedia and The Mennonite.

In November 2011, Mennonite Church USA executive director Ervin Stutzman volunteered his time to install some of the hardwood trim.

“Since I am a woodworker,” Stutzman said on Dec. 15, 2011, “I have a particular appreciation for the generosity of all the donors who have made it possible to put top quality hardwood trim in our new facility … The combination of hardwoods in each trim unit reflects the vision for the facility itself, a desire for a unity of the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Most staff members who will work out of the new building moved into their offices at the end of December 2011.

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