Before and After: A Sanctuary Renewed

Every sanctuary has a story, and this church’s story is one of patience, resourcefulness, and faithful care.

When the congregation first moved into their building, the sanctuary still had pink carpet and blue padded chairs. Each person often needed an extra chair beside them just to hold hymnals, prayer books, and other materials. For communion, they used a collection of kneelers gathered together as a makeshift communion rail.

Several years later, the church was blessed with a set of pews they found on the side of the road. The owner was happy to pass them along, and the congregation was grateful to have something that looked more traditional than chairs. But those pews came with challenges. The purple padding had to be removed, exposing plywood and particle board underneath. The backs had to be lifted with stained shims, and the pews themselves had been pieced together from multiple broken sections. There were no book racks, no proper kneelers, and the last row still consisted of wooden chairs with stools placed between them for books.

Even with all of that, the church made do. They cared for what they had and used it faithfully.

Design and Installation Details

For this project, we helped transform the sanctuary with new PB-95 pews, Aluma-Kneel kneelers, and frontal screens built to match the pews. The goal was to provide the church with a finished sanctuary layout that was beautiful, durable, and better suited for worship.

The PB-95 pews gave the room a clean and cohesive foundation, replacing the previous pieced-together seating with pews designed for long-term use. The matching frontal screens helped complete the look of the sanctuary, creating a polished and intentional appearance at the front of the room.

We also installed Aluma-Kneel kneelers, giving the congregation a proper kneeling solution in place of the temporary boards and garden pads they had been using. Together, these updates brought comfort, order, and lasting function to the space while preserving the warmth and purpose of the sanctuary.

Key Features

• New sanctuary pews designed for durability and long-term use
• Improved seating comfort and layout consistency
• Built-in book racks for hymnals, prayer books, and service materials
• Proper kneeling solutions to replace temporary individual kneelers
• A cleaner, more unified appearance throughout the sanctuary
• Installation completed with attention to the church’s worship needs and space