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Adding on to an older church building can be tricky business. Church members who have grown up in the church don't want alterations to make them feel like they're losing the church that they grew up in. And new members don't want construction to change the character of what they have chosen to attend.

St. John Lutheran Church in Romeo, Michigan, about 20 miles north of Detroit, faced the challenge of grafting an addition on to a decades-old building. St. John Lutheran is located west of the downtown area in a historic residential district. Built in the early 1900s, the original building had a sanctuary on the main floor and a fellowship hall in the basement. A two-story education wing was built onto the church in the 1950s, and a small ground-level classroom was added in the 1960s. A bell tower went up at this time, and brick was laid over the original wood siding.

In 1991, St. John did a study of its members and people in the surrounding community. According to Mark Evans, pastor of the church, the study prompted the congregation to write a three-word vision statement: Holiness, Heritage, Hospitality.

Since the existing church structure allowed little room for people to chat with each other before or after services, and the building was not easily accessible for the disabled, church members knew improvements were necessary. They decided a construction project to honor the past and open possibilities for the future was in order.

The congregation hired Hull-Stephens and Associates Architects to design a barrier-free entryway to the church, a new gathering area (narthex), offices, and a new activity room (gymnasium). Ground was broken in June 1996. Less than a year later, the church dedicated the addition. Construction went as planned, allowing Evans to make the rather unusual postconstruction statement: "It was a very good experience."

Upon entering the new addition, which is at ground level for easy access, people come into a 32-by-12-foot courtyard complete with greenery, a waterfall, and a four-foot-deep pond with goldfish. The courtyard was a necessary part of the entryway because it helped preserve a stained-glass window in the old church. A church member who enjoys landscaping completed that project free of cost.

To the left, people go up a small stairway into the new gathering area in the church. A small lift accommodates people with disabilities. The 26-by-44-foot gathering area, directly across from the sanctuary, can accommodate the church's coffee hour, meetings, and small retreats.

The area has gabled ceilings with indirect lighting and is furnished with large oak tables, couches, wing chairs, end tables, and a gas fireplace. Two nine-foot windows with Gothic arches provide lots of sunlight. A small kitchenette is off to the side. Evans says the room has the openness of a great hall with the warmth of a family room.

The new nursery, easily accessible from the sanctuary, is in the basement underneath the gathering area. Formerly, the nursery was at the other side of the building.

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