To the editor:
The recent flurry of letters opposing the proposed new Stearns Room paints quite a picture—how dare those First Parish people desecrate our sacred space! The low-pitched sections of the roof will be metal, there’s a terrace, and glass windows without shutters! It will be bigger than it is now, and part of the roof will be higher!
Guess what? If we are to make the presently dysfunctional space work, it has to be bigger, and that has been the plan since 2002. We have done our best to design a complementary, respectful addition, revising the plans at least five times in the past six years. Our first visit to the Historic District Commission was in September 2009, with a modern, butterfly-roofed design. Much has changed since then, and architects give the plan high praise.
The letter writers ignore the fact that the new building must have a welcoming handicapped-accessible entrance co-equal to the entrance by Bedford Road. If it does not, the sanctuary itself would require substantial renovation, with a wide ramp to the front door, alterations to the pews, the narthex, the choir loft and more. No one wants that.
The new building will have handicapped-accessible bathrooms and allow wheelchair access to both sides of the sanctuary. It will allow more of us to talk together after the service and to see the field to the west behind us. The new building will be far more functional and attractive and allow us to better serve the community.
Sincerely,
Peter Pease
40 Huckleberry Hill Rd.
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.