WORSHIPERS AT FIRST Presbyterian Church of Jackson will soon have a new and much larger sanctuary in which to attend church services, as a two-year expansion project wraps up.

The $11 million project has not suffered any delays to date and is still on schedule, said building committee member Denny Terry.

Construction on the sanctuary expansion should last another three or four months, with completion of the project slated to be sometime in the summer of 2007, Terry said. Work on the sanctuary expansion began in the summer of 2005.

The church’s congregation approved going forward with the expansion in mid-May of 2005, according to Terry.

“It’s great to have a good architect and a good contractor,” Terry said.

In October, a fire caused by sparks from metal that was being ground damaged a part of the new roof of the sanctuary. Though part of the roof had to be replaced, the fire did not even cause one day of delay. There were no injuries in the blaze.

Much of the outside of the facility has been completed, and workers are now focusing on completing the trimming work, attaching moldings and cornices, to the interior of the structure, Terry said.

The new sanctuary will be wider than the old and will have a seating capacity of 1,500, which is double the current capacity of the existing sanctuary, and will also feature a balcony. The church’s old gym has been converted into a temporary sanctuary to accommodate the congregation during services while the new sanctuary is being built.

FOR OVER A DECADE, church officials have had to hold two separate services because the congregation had outgrown the old sanctuary.

Assembly rooms housed some members of the congregation where the service had to be piped in using a large theater screen. A big screen television was also installed in the chapel to accommodate the overflow.

The project, which is being funded through a capital campaign, also includes a new organ, Sunday school classrooms, a visitor’s center and an expanded library.

Renovations to the First Presbyterian Day School were completed in time for school to begin last summer. In addition to the classroom renovations, new kitchen and bathroom facilities were constructed at the school.

The steeple and the front of the church will not be affected as part of this project.

Harrell Construction is performing the construction work.