Tuesday, August 3, 2010

UPDATE: Emanuel Lutheran Church

The lift is gone. The workers are gone. The job of covering Emanuel Lutheran Church with vinyl siding is finished. John Mason reports in today's Register-Star that the twenty-five active members of the congregation think the church looks beautiful: "Parishioners happy with siding on church." Unfortunately, there are probably at least twenty-five active members of the community who would disagree.

4 comments:

  1. From what I understand a good portion of the church (the original parishioners) didn't want this either.

    The article demonstrates, and makes very clear, that the parish was hoodwinked by those vinyl shills. A. It is common knowledge that vinyl siding has No energy conservation value whatsoever. Its sad they would spend 60 thousand dollars and not perhaps just do a quick internet search on vinyl & insulation. B. They clearly don't understand that the paint wasn't sticking (most likely) due to moisture issues - which will now be accelerated ad nauseam as its clothed in polyvinyl chloride. At best the original clapboards will rot.

    Its disgusting, the whole thing, just plain disgusting. The vinyl, the petition, the HPC screw up, the misinformation. All of it.

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  2. As I pulled into a parking spot in front of the church today, I encountered a man who was intensely examining the vinyl shingles on the church. When I came back to my car after making my bank deposit I asked him if he was looking at the new vinyl. The answer was that he was looking at the job because he had called the same company who had sided the church and was most likely going to use them to do his own house. I talked a little about the problem of rot, etc., but it slid right off his back. His wife chimed in and said that there would be no rot because the company was going to remove the wooden shingles and put a layer of styrofoam (if I remember correctly) behind the vinyl. It is very difficult to get people to change their minds on this issue. They will listen to their friends before they will listen to the likes of me.

    --Ellen

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  3. The only person quoted in the article is the Church's president. I guess finding one of the 25 parishioners was too much work. That's like asking George Bush if he did a good job as President and reporting it as the verdict of 100% of the American people.

    This vinyl job cost about $3,000 per active parishioner. How about spending more like $500 each to hire some local painters, and giving the rest away to the poor? I remember some Jesus guy saying something like that, only he would have left the paint peeling and given it all away.

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  4. Ellen: Did you ask him where he lived? I hope not in one of Hudson's historic districts!

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