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Covenanters Assist ABC-TV's 'Extreme Makeover'
By Craig Pinley
PENNGROVE, CA (July 21, 2004) - Parishioners at Redwood Covenant Church
participated in an "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" construction effort
that was completed last Thursday afternoon and will be documented on
ABC-TV in October.
A large work crew demolished the 1,450-square-foot house belonging to a
Sonoma County family, Matt and Caroline Pope and their children Shelby
and Madison. Then the
workers - more than 400 in all - rebuilt a house in its place,
refurbished another building and constructed a swimming pool over the
next five and one-half days.
Many of the workers attend Redwood Covenant and other local
congregations, said Scott
Peterson, children's pastor at Redwood Covenant. The general contractor
for the construction extravaganza, Total Concepts, is owned by a family
that attends Redwood Covenant Church. Family members include Hank and
Gay Rechin, John and Michelle
Rechin, Brad and Kathy Rechin and Mark and Shelly Rechin.
Peterson said that many other people from the church were tapped as
subcontractors for the job - all of the labor was donated. Of the 16
makeovers ABC-TV has completed, this one is the largest, costing more
than $1.5 million.
Shelby Pope has a rare sun allergy that keeps her inside nearly all of
the time. According to a recent article in the Santa Rosa
Press-Democrat, Shelby breaks out and gets headaches when she's
in the sun. The professionals from "Extreme Makeover Home
Edition" and volunteers from all over the area created in a variety of
homey and necessary touches as they helped construct the
2,300-square-foot house.
Sail-shaped pieces of translucent canvas were installed on the path to
the pool to keep Shelby from the sun - workers also constructed the pool
to minimize ultraviolet
rays - and they configured Shelby's bedroom windows so there would be no
direct sunlight entering that space. Other builders refurbished a barn
and turned it into a recreational area. What made the project even more
amazing is the fact that building codes and construction permits were
expedited to accommodate the massive effort.
Volunteers started the work in Penngrove on the morning of July 10 and
finished Thursday, July 15, at 2 p.m. (PST). The Pope family was sent to
Washington D.C.
while construction was in process. Workers labored for 12 to 16 hours at
a time with some crews working around the clock at various points. And,
there were a few
opportunities for local residents to meet some of the show's stars. On
Wednesday, television personality Ty Pennington spoke with some of the
junior high students at Redwood Covenant who had come to witness some of
the work and help with landscaping.
The previous Sunday (July 11), Redwood Covenant Church added its own
personal touch to the construction week with a special sunrise worship
service led by associate pastor Andy
Cater and senior pastor John Strong. Some of the contractors and
laborers were among the 100 in attendance.
"Several contractors put off their other work for one week," observed
Cater, who watched contractors level the house on Saturday before
leading worship Sunday at the
two-acre site. "People were working hard to get this done."
More about the "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" in Penngrove can be found
in articles on the Santa Rosa Press Democrat website at
www.pressdemocrat.com. An
upcoming article in this online Covenant news report (www.covchurch.org)
will document in greater detail some of the ways in which Redwood
Covenant volunteers contributed to the project.
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