Making a manse a home

I have now owned my own home for 10 years. By the time I have finished training and am called to a church, that figure may be pushing 13 years. During that time, Spot and I have taken a special* house and turned it into our home. Almost all the work which has needed done, from painting the rooms to changing the nicotine coated light switches to designing and fitting a new kitchen we have done. Actually, the only thing we've got a 'professional' to do was fitting our cooker and that was only because it was gas!

Not only do we enjoy DIY, having seen the way some 'professionals' can and do (I also worked on building sites at one point...) botch jobs or cut corners, we realise many things we do to a higher standard. It has also saved us a small fortune. There's also the benefit that often if something does go pear shaped we can deal with it pretty quickly ourselves, rather than having to wait for a tradesman to be able to come along to deal with it.

So, once we go into a manse, the change of it no longer being ours will be a shock. My first couple of supervisors told me how they have done work on their manses and their congregations were happy with that. It kept their minister happy and saved the congregation money, so everyone was happy. Yet I know of congregations where shelves cannot even be put up without permission (Where am I to put my books? Yes, I do have bookcases, but given the weight of the books they need to be bracketed onto the walls for safety. So, I can't unpack for 3 months until after the next board meeting...I hope not to have that conversation).

And decoration. Now, given the horror stories I know of about churches not maintaining their manses at all for years and their minister effectively living in a hovel, I can understand why the rules state 1 room per year should be decorated. That seems to be very different from the real world. Spot and I decorated over the first 3 or 4 years of living in our house. Occasionally the bathroom needs touched up, but the rest is still absolutely fine. Thinking of a reasonable range of my family and friends, the average rate of decoration is probably closer to 1 room every 2-3 years. Wouldn't that be a better target, as it would reflect society? And if it's just been decorated for my arrival that's, what, 10 years of not needing decorated by my rough calculation. Besides, knowing how long it can be to get quotes and co-ordinate a diary with the decorators I couldn't be bothered with the annual decorating hassle.

More importantly than that is being allowed to do a wee bit about the manse. Then, if a small thing went wrong I or Spot could just deal with it and inform the relevant person as necessary. We'd save the church money, we'd be happier knowing it could just be dealt with (a happy minister - whatever next - humour in church?). It would also feel more like our home. I know it's not our house, but it will be our home. I pray for a congregation who will respect and support that.

*How do I explain special? Well, I have a friend who was doing a major house re-fit, with a bit of help from his friends. As he lifted the cap for the sewer pipe, you can imagine the smell. His reaction - "Oh, that's a bit special."