The shape of St Barnabas', Broadway's new building is still a mystery, but a revelation is coming soon.
Last month, five architects submitted their design applications to a panel featuring rector the Rev Ian Powell, Archdeacon Deryck Howell and a professor from the University of Sydney. The final design should be chosen at the end of August.
Mr Powell says the parish did "a lot of research" to come up with the brief for the new building. At the top of their "wish list' is a building which would have twice the capacity of the original, which was destroyed by fire in May last year.
Churchwarden Iain Hespe says this means a central space seating 600 people, and "the necessary infrastructure around that.”
"With the growth in residents in the area and students at the universities, it would be foolish not to look at maximising the space we have,” he explains.
Mr Hespe adds that the remains of the original building would probably not be incorporated.
Will the 1880 pipe organ be replaced?
"We don't want to constrain the architect into designing a building around a pipe organ," says Mr Hespe.
However the parish council has been exploring the possibilities of a new organ or achieving a sound better than the old one, so that traditional hymns can be sung as they were before the fire.
The parish also hopes to incorporate a car park with 80 spaces rather than the previous 17, as many parishioners were reliant on car parks nearby.
The congregation continues to meet in Moore College's Broughton Knox lecture theatre.
Mr Powell says Barneys has appreciated the college's generosity in allowing them to use the theatre and he believes the large foyer area has been a better location for the congregation to gather after the service.
"Many have found it to be better than it was at the back of the old church where it was crowded and dark," he says.
However having a temporary "home' has put pressure on some members of the congregation, says Mr Powell, especially in setting up and packing up after services.
"You take for granted how easy it is to have your own building with your own soundboard."
The congregation has been split, with half meeting in a theatre downstairs watching the sermon on screen.
Mr Powell says particular challenges are practically carrying out communion and starting new ministries during the week, when the parish doesn't have access to a building.
Barneys has also been missing their regular stream of visitors walking in off the street.
Some ministry plans, such as a new preschool group, have had to go on hold, but Mr Powell asserts that the need for a mission mindset is as strong as ever.
"What not to do is to think "we can't do that till we move to our own space'."
