CUMMING -- Organ music echoed through the room, and voices rang out at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit on Wednesday evening.
Many attended the newly renovated church’s short dedication service, which was led by the 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, Right Rev. Robert C. Wright, and Rev. Keith Oglesby, the church’s rector since 2009.
Holy Spirit, which sits on Pilgrim Mill Road in Cumming, was expanded with possibility in mind, its mission “building to serve.” Wright recognized the church’s prospects to do good, commending the congregation on its hard work.
The project broke ground in April 2015 to nearly double the size of the church.
The original church building spanned only as large as the parish hall, which was founded in the ’70s.
“When someone goes as far as you’ve gone, to say they’re building for service, now you’ve got my attention,” he said. “And I daresay you’ve got God’s attention.”
Wright opened his sermon calling for the congregation to let their sense of smell take over and allow the scent of the church’s expansion to sink in.
“What do you smell?” he asked. “I’ll tell you what I smell. I smell grace and mercy. I smell generosity. I smell purpose. I smell just a little dab of sin. I smell eternity, because even though we’re here right now celebrating this monumental accomplishment, it’s also a connectivity to the church that’s above us — I smell possibility, and I smell future.”
And although he focused on the church as a holy sanctuary, Wright also recognized the peace and solitude to be found in the new space.
“People can come in this place and get still a moment,” he said. “And [they] can get just enough of something — the something that you have here — to [cross] back over that threshold and displace hell with a little bit of heaven.”
Oglesby echoed some of the Bishop’s words in a letter of thanksgiving.
“We acknowledge our responsibility to share these blessings with others,” Oglesby said. “We commit, as a parish, to do the work God has given us, especially in using this expanded building.
“We are built to serve.”
The ceremony also recognized some who served the church.
The playground and a stained-glass window were dedicated to Bruce Cross, a longtime member of Holy Cross, who passed away in November 2015.
The chapel was dedicated to Ralph Davis, who passed away in April. Davis served on the vestry and was instrumental in bringing about the church’s expansion, Oglesby said.
The church’s worship schedule can be found on its website, as well as information regarding Holy Spirit’s preschool program.