At St. John the Evangelist Church in Hapeville, parishioners recently moved into their newly remodeled sanctuary and celebrated at all Sunday Masses with the music of a 50-member choir and instrumental accompaniment.

The remodeling of and addition to the church structure are the culmination of more than three years of planning and anticipation, although actual construction has been underway for less than a year.

The upper level of the new two-story addition includes a spacious vestibule, two over-flow rooms with multi-purpose function, one of which is designed as a music room, to be used by both school and church groups. The lower level of the addition has three multi-purpose classrooms and new religious education offices.

The newly renovated sanctuary is highlighted with a cedar-wood barrel ceiling over the altar area. Behind the altar is a brick arched wall with an 11-foot crucifix in its center. The cedar wood is repeated throughout the main body of the church and vestibule.

New cry room and choir areas are designed and situated so as to incorporate them more fully with the congregation. There is also a new sacristy, altar boy room, reconciliation room and tabernacle area.

St. John’s has had, in the past, a 24-hour chapel which is used for daily Mass. This chapel has been redesigned and will feature stained-glass windows created at the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. The exterior has also been restructured to define the new entrance yet blend with the existing building.

One of the special graces of the people of St. John’s has been their deep sense of community and this has been brought to fruition with the building program. The basic design is a combination of ideas brought forth by the parishioners and staff.

Throughout the church, there are special features inspired by Father Michael Woods, pastor; Father Stephen Naas, assistant pastor, designed the new altar and parishioners have contributed their talents and resources with the exterior cross, tile floors, carpeting, plumbing and sound systems. Local artists have been responsible for the altar furniture and cross while the corpus for the cross and the new pews were custom-made out-of-state.

The parish family of St. John’s is looking forward to the formal dedication of the church, with Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan officiating sometime in early November.