Hospitality Center

From KPUMC Staff & Leadership Board

This summer there are exciting changes coming to our sanctuary. The Dunnigan Hospitality Area will transform the back section of our sanctuary, building on the coffee hospitality center that rolled out some months back.

This will involve removing the back three pews from the sanctuary and installing seating and chairs that will allow for more connected fellowship among our members and guests.

This project is being funded by a bequest from the David Dunnigan estate and has the enthusiastic blessing of his family.

Attached you will see a few pictures of the couches, chairs and tables that will make up the Dunnigan Hospitality Area.

Some might ask, why are we doing this?

Kessler Park UMC desperately needs areas where our members can fellowship before and after church, and before and after church events. We have known for some time that most people, guests and members, enter and exit from the 1215 Sanctuary door.

This hospitality area allows for a dedicated space for community connection that will not be subject to the weather. Since it’s at the back of the room, it should be out of sight to all who are worshipping as worship is taking place. And it allows us to accomplish all of this without much more costly and presently unfeasible renovations to the Education Building.

The reality is that sanctuary worship has become a primary driver of visitors to Kessler Park, and we need an elegant way to connect folks together as they are coming and going from our sanctuary. The enthusiastic reception of our weekly coffee hospitality area —especially among younger families and guests— is an indicator that this new concept will further our sense of community and connection together.

None of this precludes creating a fellowship area elsewhere in the church some years down the road as we renovate the Education Building. And, should this concept be deemed unworkable in the future, we are saving the pews so that they can be reinstalled at any time.

But this concept allows us to build and expand our current strengths as we hopefully continue to grow our sanctuary worship experience.

The furniture for this project is being assembled now. The pews will be carefully disassembled and stored. We anticipate the roll out in mid-July. If you have any questions about this project, please contact: Eric Folkerth, Ken Kelley, or Christine Holley.

We realize that this is a big change for some longterm members. But our future will involve many more “outside the box” ideas as we seek to build a sustainable faith community at Kessler Park. Thanks for allowing your church community the space to creatively grow, change and adapt to the future so that we might serve the next generation in North Oak Cliff.