Bryn Seion Is Building A New Tŷ Bach (Restroom)
& That Is Only The Beginning
Last year we discovered very weak spots in the building out behind the
tea house where the restrooms were built probably more than 50 years ago.
There was no foundation under the restroom building and a lot of dry rot.
We decided to tear down the old building, reserving as much old siding
as possible and start from scratch building a completely new bathroom on
a cement foundation big enough to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers.
An independent building inspection was done on all of our buildings; the
restroom was in the direst need of repair.
The ty te or teahouse was second on the list as it is suffering
from dry rot around the windows and severe weathering on its south side.
The siding is very cracked and dry and also suffers from the lack of gutters
on the building, which allows rain to splash back onto the building.
This building also has no real foundation and has one corner that is sinking
into the ground.
The church is in the best shape of all the buildings. Most of
the bottom two boards of siding are suffering some dry rot because of the
same gutter problem. The windows have some leaking issues as in the teahouse
and there are some repairs needed to the inside walls and ceiling of the
church. The church has a rock foundation that has held up miraculously
over the 124 years of its life.
When the inspection was done it was discovered that a huge fir tree
was felled and leveled and used as the original main beam under the church,
it is in excellent condition. A committee of men of the congregation later
placed several more large wooden beams under the church sometime in the
1960’s. Unfortunately, as time has gone by, the members of the church
have not been able to keep up the needed repairs so we will need to use
building contractors to take care of the work.
When applying to the county for the necessary permits, the inspection
uncovered a septic system made of a 4 foot by 2 foot concrete block and
mortar “tank” with a 4 inch pipe leaving the top of the tank and extending
about 6 feet into the soil.
The county inspectors were dismayed, to say the least. After explaining
our “situation” as to number of congregants and number of meetings we held
at the church per month, Clackamas Co. took pity on us and allowed us to
“repair” our system. We have just finished installing a more modern
septic system on our property. The cost for the septic “repair” is $7,500.00.
The cost of the restroom building itself is $13,000.00
The church bank account reflects the size of our faithful congregation.
We are making every effort to raise the money necessary to do the much-needed
repairs to the church buildings and bringing them up to comply with ADA
Specs, one step at a time.
This year we started a building fund and made a request at our 72nd
annual Gymanfa Ganu, held on June 24th, 2007 for donations to that fund.
We are glad to say that we are over half way to reaching our goal of $20,000
for the first of three phases of fund raising for repairs and improvements
to all of the buildings. We’re sure, that upon seeing the huge hole in
the ground where our restrooms used to stand with “port-a-loos” in their
place, our guests felt our pain and were very generous in giving to that
building fund.
Getting the buildings back into good order is an unavoidable priority,
so that our church will be able to withstand a good many years to come
and we can continue Being the “oldest Welsh Church west of the Mississippi”
where singing in 4 part harmony can be heard through out the neighborhood
of this community.
Bryn Seion is located in Beavercreek Oregon, near Oregon City a few
miles from the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Built
in 1884 by Welsh settlers who wanted to have their services in their Welsh
language and to enjoy the singing of the Welsh hymns they remembered from
their old country, it is the oldest remaining of the many Welsh churches
that once dotted the west coast of America having an unbroken tradition
of services and Welsh singing that continues to this day.
About 15 years ago the congregation started dwindling as parishioners
were dying faster than new faces were replacing them. Thanks to a
few dedicated people who believe in this little congregation, they have
kept things going and we have slowly made advances such as updating the
church’s’ mission statement, rethinking the needs of the congregation and
strengthening connections with the community. In some instances it has
felt as if we were starting a congregation from scratch, as so many connections
and knowledge of “the way we’ve always done it” have been lost in the last
decade.
We are glad to say that our numbers are slowly growing. As more people
find Bryn Seion and think it is just the place for them, there are many
fresh young faces which are a joy to see. Our congregation now consists
of 27 people with the recent addition of 6 &1/2 new members (Rhys Davis
is 6 months old). With the recent addition of Beverly Ratajak as the church
music director there are ideas in the works for more Welsh music programs
and gatherings at Bryn Seion. At our Gymanfa in June it seemed there were
more people than usual inquiring about attending services. Some descendants
of the families who once settled the area are finding their way back, so
the efforts are paying off.
Tax-deductible contributions to the Bryn Seion Building Fund can be
made to: Bryn Seion Welsh Church, PO BOX 484, Beavercreek OR 97004.
If you need more information or have fund raising ideas for Bryn Seion
please contact Janet Figini (503) 630-5317 jpfigini@cascadeaccess.com
