By Tim Cherry
Staff Writer
Thursday, January 12, 2012

Belvoir Chapel is temporarily relocating its services to several locations on post while the 55-year-old building undergoes its third renovation in about a year.

The facility closed Monday as a construction crew began working on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and appearance of the church.

“It’s a wonderfully positive move that’s going to give us a facility that’s going to meet worship needs for decades to come,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) James King, deputy garrison chaplain and senior protestant pastor. He estimated the chapel will reopen by the end of February.

The administrative offices will remain open for business during the renovation but the numerous services the chapel orchestrates have been relocated.

The Protestant and Catholic services will continue their normal Sunday worship hours in Wallace Theater.

King said the theater isn’t ideal for worship but “it will certainly make due.”

The chapel has been working with the Multimedia Visual Information Center to improve the conditions within Wallace.

Terry Stott, MVIC chief, said the organization is providing the Sunday services with projectors, speakers and microphones.

“It’s a temporary inconvenience but it’s going to produce some great results with a facility that’s much better suited to provide a good worship experience,” King said.

The Jewish service will maintain their normal worship hour in the Religious Education Center.

The chapel’s weekly activities will be relocated to several locations including the REC and Woodlawn Chapel.

This is the latest renovation to Belvoir Chapel, previous changes include installing new carpet, pews, and refinishing offices, the kitchen and fellowship hall.

The sanctuary also received new curtains and painting with treated mold-resistant paint.

Belvoir still conducted services within the chapel during previous renovations but the current installations make this unfeasible.

Individual heating and air units are being installed in the facility and contractors are also replacing the giant windows on the sides of the sanctuary.

“They’re putting in high quality windows that are going to withstand the strains of weather and time and look beautiful and help maintain this facility that’s a centerpiece on Fort Belvoir,” King said.

King said both changes will make the chapel more comfortable and better looking.

“We will be able to provide a much more pleasant worship environment while creating significant energy savings,” King said. “When we’re finished the entire facility for worship, for religious education, for congregational activities, for all the many things we do is going to be much nicer and better meet the needs of our community.”

To find out the location of a program, call (703) 806-5745 (Catholic), (703) 806-3393 (Jewish), or (703) 806-4316 (Protestant).