The past few months have been great! I’ve seen so many people at the church that I am starting to feel normal again. 

Unfortunately, with so many people at church now, our bathrooms aren’t faring so well. First, we had problems flushing toilets in the bathrooms by the Sanctuary. We called the plumber out and they found that a pair of panty hose had been flushed and clogged up the pipe to the pump… We didn’t ask to see them or check the size, but we do know that the item was not on the list of things that shouldn’t be flushed… So, NO panty hose or other garments in the toilets in addition to the other items on the list! If something is soiled, please wrap it in paper towel and throw it in the trash or get a plastic garbage bag from the closet near the kitchen. FYI – Since our property is in a hilly area, the pump helps to move sewage to where it needs to go.  If you hear a siren and see a flashing light near the walkway to the minister’s office, it means that the pump is clogged… please let someone on staff know, especially if you happen to be at the church when staff is not on-site. (Phone numbers are near the Office Administrator’s office).

This past Sunday, I checked on the women’s bathrooms near the nursery and heard water trickling in a toilet… uh-oh! Something wasn’t right. I found the toilet, lifted the lid to the tank and saw that the flapper was broken, so I turned off the water to the toilet.  It’s been a few years since the plumbing parts have been serviced, and while we’ve flushed the toilets to make sure things were working, this one broke. Plans are to do a better check on the plumbing and to get all the toilets serviced.  The big loss for us is that the toilet had been leaking for a few days and many gallons of water were lost, which means that we will likely have a high water bill next month. 

So, with all this bathroom drama going on, I have a huge favor to ask you and would like to empower all who use the bathrooms at the church to please pay attention to our plumbing. If you go into a bathroom and hear water running or trickling, please find the source.  If it is a faucet, please shut it off. If it is a toilet, jiggle the handle and see if that makes a difference. If you are okay with lifting the lid to the tank and doing a quick check to see if the chain needs to be untangled or the flapper is not seated correctly, please make minor adjustments.  If this doesn’t work, there is a valve under the toilet near the wall that will turn the water off.  Turn it to the right until it shuts off. Please find a staff person or fill out a work order to notify staff about the toilet. Work orders are in a file holder on the wall near the Manna on Meridian food bin. Fill out the form and put it in the Sexton’s mail slot located in the closet where the hymnals are stored. Please put an Out of Order sign on the door of the stall.  If you are able to help with these minor plumbing tasks then we can stop major expenses from happening.