The congregation at Ladner United Church will be worshipping somewhere else for the next few months as the current building undergoes a major overhaul.
Sunday will mark the last service in the current building. After that, the church will move across the street to the former home of Ladner Baptist Church at
the corner of 47A Avenue and Delta Street, which also recently underwent a facelift, for the next several months.
Ladner United Rev. Jim Short said he expects construction to take seven or eight months. The church office will relocate to a small house behind the current building.
Ladner United Church has served the community for 120 years. It opened in 1893 as St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church and served that congregation until 1925 when it merged with the Ladner Methodist Church and became Ladner United.
The building has undergone some changes over the years. It was raised in the 1930s to allow for the construction of a basement. A hall was added to the south of the original building in 1938 and in the 1970s, a large, single-storey addition was constructed on the west side of the church.
Despite the changes, the church has maintained its original character throughout the years, however, time and weather have taken
their toll.
Some exterior work to repair the roof has already been completed and with the final approvals granted last Tuesday, construction on the rest of the building started last week.
Work includes restoration and changes to the sanctuary, a community kitchen, new offices, refurbished meeting spaces and a designated space for the extreme weather shelter, which will include its own washroom and shower facilities.
Short said the restoration of the 48th Avenue building has been in the works for several years.
"People have worked very hard," he said, adding that a core group of more than 20 people have been working on the project over the last 14 months.
Short said the last service at Ladner United as it stands today begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday and will include a few special elements.
Following Sunday's service a procession will take some important items over to the church's temporary home.
Photo By Gord Goble / The 120-year-old Ladner United Church building on 48th Avenue is getting a major overhaul.;
