Thanks to the 106 people who tried out the chairs we were testing and provided us with feedback. The winner is the Lumin chair (white one with the orange cushion). Please keep in mind we will not be using those colors, those were only sample chairs. However this is not the end of the story. We listened to some of you who had further concerns and questions. Here are our answers and actions.

Wood Chairs

There were questions raised about why there weren’t any wood chairs in our group. During our extensive research we found wood chairs, however the majority of them were too expensive or too heavy (30+ lbs). We are trying to stay close to 12 pounds because we move our chairs so much. There is one chair style that is a more feasible weight (16-18 lbs). And it falls within our price range. So we’ve decided to bring that option back to ask your opinion, so you can see how you like it from the aesthetics, weight and comfort point of view.

Another Chair Testing Opportunity

We will be asking your opinion in a comparison of a wooden chair style to the Lumin style. We will be ordering each chair style with arms & without. Each will have upholstery/cushion on the seat and back. This will probably be in late June.

Why Do We Need New Chairs?

Our chairs are 55+ years old and are breaking. Over a 7 year time span we repaired (glued) 132 broken chairs. There were more broken chairs than that, but we couldn’t afford any more repairs. During Covid, two of our members assessed all of our chairs. At that time, there were 57 which were designated as broken and 30 that were broken beyond repair. Chairs break while people are sitting in them. Some people have gotten injured. For the safety of our congregation and rentals, we need to have safe chairs.

Difference Between Capital Campaign Funds and Operations Funds

Four years ago we had a Capital Campaign Drive to raise money for 10 projects that were chosen for repair, renovation or completion by our congregation. New Sanctuary Chairs was one of those projects. The Capital Campaign funds cannot be used for or shared with our Operations Funds, which go for annual operations such as paying staff, utilities and other maintenance items. The Operations Fund is supported by our annual Pledge Drive, where the Capital Campaign is done every 5-10 years. Each fund has a different purpose. If you have any questions or seek further information, contact any of the New Sanctuary Chairs Team members: Janelle Brittain, Kristin Larson or Carla Williams.