The Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, swung the first sledgehammer blow into the remains of the old St Barnabas', Broadway, in a special media event on Friday to mark the beginning of the rebuilding process.
The iconic old "Barneys' church building was razed by fire in May 2006.
The first stage of site works involves the demolition and clearance of the remains of the old building which his expected to be complete by the end of March.
Construction of the new building will commence in April.
Bishop Forsyth said it was a poignant moment in the life of this 150 year old church.
"It marks the rebirth of a building which over many years has served its congregations and the broader community well - through many joys and trials, and will again," he said.
The Rev Mike Paget, Executive Pastor at St Barnabas, said the Barneys church community is "very excited to be at the stage where we can start building works on the new church building."
"A lot of work has gone into the consultation, design and approval of this project and we are now fully
engaged with the even greater task of funding the $15 million we need to complete the project", he said. "Thanks to the generosity of our members and friends, along with the insurance monies and corporate support, we have already secured around $11.5 million. We need to raise an additional $3.5 million dollars and we are confident we can do it with your help!"
Barney's received development approval from the City of Sydney in May of last year for the construction of a new church building on the Mountain Street site.
The new building was designed by award winning architects Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT). FJMT was appointed following an extensive design competition.
The new buildings will include an auditorium which will seat up to 600 people, and can be used by other groups for large meetings and conventions. This will be complemented by several smaller meeting rooms, some office space, catering facilities and underground parking.
More information: [url=http://www.barneys.org.au]http://www.barneys.org.au[/url]
