By Andrew Kidd
(Editor’s note: In the first two installments of this three-part series, Andrew identified the problem and discussed the design.)
Church Administrator Marilyn Gonzales and I purchased all the parts in summer 2025. I assembled everything in my basement, knowing careful planning and preparation would speed up installation and minimize costs. Jon Holcombe, a member who runs an electrical company, provided us with a labor quote.
To help with costs, Farzad Shadzik arranged for us to borrow a lift from Mizu, the contractor who built our lobby extension. The lift just fit through the sanctuary’s side door but was too short to reach the area where we needed to work. We also discovered that the power wiring for the existing track lights wasn’t where we had hoped to find it, which meant we would have to reach even higher.
The project would require taller lifts and more labor than anticipated, so we put it on hold for a year while I raised funds.
By early summer 2026, it was back on. This time, we rented two 26-foot lifts, easily tall enough for the job. I also recruited Mike Brock, a carpenter who had done some work for the church. Having replaced many roofs, he wasn’t concerned about being all the way up at the ceiling, which gives me the heebie-jeebies. Jon, by then retired, stepped up to make the final electrical connections as a gift to UUCWC.
We secured a clear week in August when the Sanctuary was empty, and all three of us were available. Marilyn ordered the lifts, and off we went. I had a detailed plan for how we would fill the week: Plan A. Unfortunately, Plan A went out the window when the lift delivery was delayed by two hours due to a truck malfunction. So, we went to Plan B.
After that, everything went remarkably smoothly—mostly! Mike was keen to track our plan revisions over the next three days, and I think he reached G7, or thereabouts. By Wednesday lunchtime, when Jon arrived to start the connections, we’d completed the mechanical work. By late afternoon, most of it was done, but two branch circuits still wouldn’t work. Jon and I decided to sleep on it. Sure enough, he identified the problem Thursday and completed the work. That afternoon, I hung the bulbs in their track heads and aimed them. Done!
Many thanks to Mike Brock and Jon Holcombe, without whom the job would have been impossible. Also, a big thank you to Marilyn for purchasing the product and riding the lifts up and down; to Farzad Shadzik for his support and suggestions; to the Board and Rev. Kim for approving something they might not have fully understood; to Roberto Santiago for testing a theory; and to Steve Saddlemire for moving chairs and helping us get the lifts through the door.