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Almost a decade late, a new church takes shape

LANGLEY - Mounting construction costs have forced the Seventh-day Adventist Church congregation to get creative.

They're going to call on the "talents and gifts" of members from the Acts of Kindness Extreme Home Repair team to help with some finishing work on a new 60,000-square-foot church currently under construction in east Langley.Involvement of the AOK members in finishing classrooms and meeting space on the second floor of the new church will make the new digs feel more like home, and save about $100,000, which Acts of Kindness Pastor Michael Dauncey said is critical in a construction project of this magnitude.In fact, AOK is such a huge part of what the Aldergrovebasedchurch is all about, that the $14-million new worship and outreach centre at 23589 Old Yale Rd. in Langley could likely be called the Acts of Kindness Centre."It's such a key role in what we do as a church here," Dauncey said, noting the AOK concept and community outreach initiatives first began in the mid-1990s and has grown dramatically through the years.Planning for a new church actually began almost a decade ago, in 2005, with the purchase of some land off 200th Street.When those plans fell apart, the entire project was forced into limbo for the better part of five years, Dauncey explained.Finally, after purchasing a new five-acre site sandwiched between Old Yale Road and Fraser Highway, the church broke ground in June 2013.The next several months were spent preparing the site, bringing in new fill, and constructingmandated roadways and allowances."We've been looking at dirt for almost a year," Dauncey said. "So when the walls started to tilt up, we started getting very excited."They are expecting to get the keys in April, and while there will still be some work to do to finish off the new "home," Dauncey said, the dream of a new church is very close to being realized."It's a moment. It's a moment we've been waiting for for almost 10 years, and finally, seeing the walls go up, well... It seems real for us now."Right now, Dauncey's focus is also on an upcoming AOK fundraiser.The Adventist church is hosting its annual charity golf classic on Monday, Sept. 15. Registration is at 10:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at noon. Tickets are $200 for golf and dinner and $50 for dinner only. For more information or registration, people can call 778-549-3896.During its 11-year history, the golf tournament has raised almost $500,000 for the AOK programs, including the wellknown Extreme Home Repair, the single mothers oil changes, summer camps for kids, and a breakfast program they run at Shortreed Elementary.The hope is that this year's fundraising tourney will generate another $30,000.


Roxanne Hooper

About the Author: Roxanne Hooper

I began in the news industry at age 15, but honestly, I knew I wanted to be a community journalist even before that.
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