SANDY POINT – Members of the Sandy Point Congregational Church in Stockton Springs already know what they want for Christmas.

The 100-member congregation just broke ground for an addition designed to add some 21st century improvements. The church has mounted a fund-raising drive to raise the $75,000 cost of the project.

If things go according to plan, and the financial support is solid, a 28-by-36-foot addition will become part of the rear of the church and open by the holidays.

“We’re hoping that we can utilize it by Christmas,” member Sarah Bradford said recently. “We’re working very hard on this.”

The white, wood-frame church looks much as it did when it was built in 1839. It has wooden double doors, double aisles and wooden box pews. The building has no indoor plumbing or running water. Bradford said members decided it was time to move forward on modernizing the church.

“We decided it was about time after 164 years and we’re really looking forward to it,” she said.

The new addition will have space for a kitchen, restroom and meeting room. It will enable the church to meet the needs of its congregation.

At a groundbreaking for the addition June 13, the Rev. Ruth Martin of Surry, the church’s pastor, moved the first shovelful of dirt. Members of the congregation then voiced their hopes for uses of the new addition. They formed a circle and prayed for the successful completion of the project.

Bradford said the church has already installed a septic system and hopes to have the addition’s concrete slab poured later this summer. An architect is working with church members on the design of the addition, which will have a peaked roof and wood-frame construction.

Bradford said the church has already raised about $13,000 but will need to do more fund raising to reach its $75,000 goal. Pledge requests have been mailed to members, and the congregation erected a graphic in front of the building to record contributions as they climb toward their goal of $75,000.

“This has been a long-held dream of many present and former members of the church, and it is exciting to see it finally happening,” she said.

Those who want to contribute to the project should contact Sandy Point Congregational Church treasurer Janis McKeen at P.O. Box 21, Sandy Point 04972.

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