Building on faith
The Rev. George Garancosky Jr. and Gayle Stahlman, office manager, stand in a hallway of Abundant Life Baptist Church’s new addition. The stained-glass windows were saved from the church’s original building at Allison and Maple avenues, Washington.
The church’s new addition includes office space and allows for a larger gathering area.
The Rev. George Garancosky Jr. likes to say, “This is a beautiful church, and the building is, too.”
Lately, the saying rings especially true for the senior pastor of Abundant Life Baptist Church, Washington, as the church celebrates a new building addition that allows more opportunities for worship, fellowship and education.
The sanctuary at 269 Cameron Road remains unchanged, but the addition includes offices, classrooms, storage and fellowship spaces.
Growth has been a theme for the congregation. The first church, built in the early 1900s, was constructed at the corner of Allison and Maple avenues.
Natalie Reid Miller/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. George Garancosky Jr. sits in his new office.
The land on which the church now sits was purchased in 1994, and the first service of Abundant Life Baptist – previously Allison Avenue Baptist – was held in January 2000.
Christian education classes and youth programs are well-attended, leading to a need for more classrooms and meeting spaces.
“We were maxed out,” said Garancosky during a tour of the facility. “Sunday school rooms were overcrowded. We couldn’t begin a new class because we didn’t have anywhere to put them.”
The downstairs fellowship hall had to be used for bigger classes, meaning students in the adjacent classrooms had to occasionally wait so as to not interrupt them.
“You could see little faces looking out, waiting for their parents to finish up,” said Kim Ahrens, an assistant in the church’s office.
In addition to classrooms, the church was short on storage and office space.
Previously, offices for Garancosky, Discipleship Pastor Dr. Jeffrey Diedrich and office workers Ahrens, Gayle Stahlman and Jane Charlton were shared and dispersed throughout the lower level. What’s more, the offices also acted as classrooms and storage spaces.
Now, everyone has a designated office upstairs, and items are stored in a large, dedicated space downstairs.
Removing the downstairs offices also allowed for an expansion of the fellowship hall.
One of the most popular areas, though, is a great room that has been claimed by the youth of the church.
Natalie Reid Miller/Observer-Reporter
Natalie Reid Miller/Observer-Reporter
The Rev. George Garancosky; Kim Ahrens, office assistant; Gayle Stahlman, office manager; and Dr. Jeffrey C. Diedrich, discipleship pastor, take a look at the new multipurpose room, where the church youth groups congregate and which can be divided by room partitions.
The multipurpose room, which can be divided by retractable room partitions, has tables, screens, ping-pong and foosball tables.
“It’s a great draw for the kids,” said Ahrens. “They come early to play games. It’s a safe space for them to be able to socialize with each other.”
The downstairs restrooms were also renovated and expanded, and the previous men’s facility was transformed into a restroom for the nursery.
Upstairs, in addition to offices, there is a large reception area, library conference room and hallway connecting the sanctuary to the new section. The building’s lighting and heating and cooling systems were also updated, allowing for increased efficiency.
“We are so thankful,” said Stahlman, the church’s office manager. “It’s new, but it’s very welcoming.”
An open house will be held at Abundant Life Baptist Church, 269 Cameron Road, Washington from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, with a short dedication service at 3:30. The public is invited to the celebration service and a time of fellowship. Light refreshments will be served and tours of the new addition will be given. For more information, call 724-225-5355 or visit www.abundantlifebaptistwashpa.org.