Low-flying planes no longer rattle the windows, and the "Petersham Pause' is a thing of the past as All Saints' ministry takes off in their freshly-soundproofed building.
"We used to have to stop while we were preaching, or praying, or doing Bible readings. Some weeks there would be four planes in a service," said the Rev Antony Barraclough, senior Minister of All Saints, Petersham, in Sydney's Inner West.
"We've been out for three years, "camping' in the hall," he says.
"Some of our members have never even been in the church building! With the fence around the church and scaffolding, we've had to work hard to let people know that we're still in business."
The church is one of the last buildings in the area to be soundproofed by the Federal Government's aircraft noise insulation program.
The $2.4 million renovation has not only fixed the roof, but reinforced the walls and foundations as well to earthquake standards.
"It's given the building a hundred years extra life," Mr Barraclough says.
"We're very thankful to God for the project: if it hadn't happened, I couldn't see the level of excitement being what it is. So it really is a gift in that sense."
Archbishop Jensen to preach at evangelistic series
Now there is great excitement about moving back in, with members of the congregation keen to make the most of the evangelistic opportunities to welcome local people back into the building.
The grand re-opening on Saturday, November 11 from 3pm-5pm will be followed by the church's yearly evangelistic series "Open for Inspection' with Archbishop Peter Jensen as guest speaker.
At the end of November the church will host a jazz concert with acclaimed musician and Christian, Steve Morrison.
"We want to invite the whole of Petersham and the whole of the Inner West to come," Mr Barraclough says.
"It's great that we can say thanks to God for the project, and then invite people to church the next day. We've got a historic church" but we've got a more historic faith."
At the same time All Saints will follow up last year's food collection for Anglicare.
"We received 176 boxes of food, and only managed to collect from half the parish because we were overwhelmed," Mr Barraclough explains.
"We want to do it at this time so that people see our caring face along with our message."
Story by Andrew Robinson
