Hello Patt and welcome to the forums!! First of all, your Art and Lutherie is a nice guitar! I have three of them and find them to be among the best bang for the buck deals out there. As Larry mentioned, Seagull and Art and Lutherie are made by the same company (Godin), which is why they probably felt similar to you, both having the same shorter scale length. Can you tell us if there is something that you don't like about your current Art and Lutherie? Perhaps if there is something that you don't like, we can steer you in a better direction...
That being said, if you like your Art and Lutherie just fine (and there's no reason not to, IMHO
), then perhaps another Art and Lutherie with a pickup already installed? They will fall right in the lower part of your price range. Or, as mentioned Seagull would be nice too as you already have the feel of the Godin necks. I know you mentioned that you wanted this guitar to play for your church, but what exact style(s) of music are you playing? Some guitars are know to have more low end (i.e. bluegrass, country), and some are known to have more high end. Reason I ask is that my Art and Lutheries are not very good at playing the bluegrass genre whereas a nice low end thump is liked, however my Blueridge has that nice low end thump for this style.
Oh yeah, your current Art and Lutherie does indeed have a solid top, with laminated wild cherry back and sides.