wfn.org | United Methodist Agencies 'Moving On'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

TITLE:	United Methodist Agencies 'Moving On'

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue, Washington, D.C. (202)546-8722    March 5,
1998	{130}

NOTE: 	Two photographs are available with this article,
          along with a short item -- UMNS story #131 --
          that can be presented in a box.
         
United Methodist agencies move out;
construction crews come into building

by Joretta Purdue*

	WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- The grand old United Methodist Building
here is undergoing a $5 million renovation.
For the employees, that means a disruption of work and communication for
a little while.
	However, for people who have contact with the United Methodist
boards and agencies in the building, the construction will mean few if
any inconveniences. Unless they are actually visiting the building at
100 Maryland Ave. NE, little will change.
	Phone numbers and mailing addresses remain the same for the
Board of Church and Society, which operates the building; the Commission
on Religion and Race; and the Washington office of the Women's Division,
Board of Global Ministries.
Phone service, which was interrupted for several agencies during the
move, was largely restored by March 5.
Deliveries are a bit more complicated, depending on which office is the
recipient. (See box.)
	Agency staffs had to decide what should be moved to the
temporary space, what could be placed in accessible storage, and what
could go into inaccessible storage -- out of reach for 10 months to a
year. Of course, some things could be discarded or otherwise disposed
of. And amid all the moving hubbub, the usual work still had to be done.
The building, which dates back to 1923, is across the street from the
nation's Capitol and between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Dirksen
Senate Office Building.
The exterior and floors of the concrete-and-steel structure will be
maintained. The interior of the upper four floors will be gutted, while
the lobby and chapel on the first floor will remain intact.
Several factors influenced board members to decide on a renovation, not
the least of which was the increasing difficulty of maintaining the
75-year-old heating system. The board also wanted to provide central
cooling, meet safety codes and make more efficient use of space.
Approvals from the denomination's General Council of Finance and
Administration were obtained, and the board set about raising money. The
members insisted that no program funds be sacrificed.
The building has housed such past church agencies as the Board of
Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals; the Board of World Peace;
the Board of Social and Economic Relations; the Board of Christian
Social Concerns; and the Department of Christian Social Action of the
Evangelical United Brethren Church.
All along, the denomination's Board of Church and Society and the
Washington office of the National Council of Churches were housed there,
along with the offices of several other denominations and not-for-profit
groups. The United Methodist agencies alone employ 60 people in the 100
building.
The upper three floors and the adjacent 110 Maryland Ave. NE structure
were built as apartments to provide income for the building and
ministries there.
Eventually, most apartments in both buildings became offices for the
many non-governmental agencies that needed a presence on "the Hill." The
last resident of the 100 building moved to an apartment at the 110
address last year.
In February, the Women's Division and the Board of Church and Society
Service Department took up temporary quarters in 110 too. On Feb. 28 and
March 1, movers rolled out the Board of Church and Society's furnishings
and equipment. On March 2, they did the same for the Commission on
Religion and Race.
When the agencies return to the 100 building, some things will not be
going back with them. The move spurred church workers to sift and sort
through 75 years worth of memorabilia and materials. Some of those items
are now in the hands of the Commission on Archives and History.
						# # #
*Purdue is news director of United Methodist News Service's Washington,
D.C., office.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/