Chapel Benches

One of the great joys of Iona House is getting to see elements of the property redeemed and repurposed. This post is about one particular story: the wood stalls in the village barn.

Upon purchasing the property 18 months ago, we inherited a barn that needed some renovation. Within the barn were some stalls / dividers that were made out of rugged, rough-hewn lumber of an unknown variety - perhaps fir. These planks were more than 2 inches thick and as long as 10 feet. They are from slow-growth, high quality trees… beautiful lumber. When we took down the stalls, we set these aside as potential benches.

Fast-forward to this summer: we had a few guests begin to help us refinish a couple of these planks: cleaning, planing, sanding, cutting. But the work was slow. A little over a month ago, a new local volunteer named Kevin Park started coming on campus weekly to assist. I showed him this project and he jumped at the opportunity. Over the past 4-6 weeks, Kevin has poured himself into completing this project. It has been a labor of love and the results are stunning.

We now have 3 new benches with backrests along with two new bench seats. These have found a home in the village prayer chapel allowing us to squeeze in as many as 24 people for prayer. Like our own lives, which God is in the business of redeeming, we are seeking to redeem, restore, and repurpose everything we can on this property. It’s a key part of cultivating a place to reimagine all of life in reference to Christ.