In an effort to restore centuries of decay and ageing, members of the 350-year-old St. James Church are appealing to the public for donations to cover almost $700,000 worth of upgrades to preserve a piece of Bermuda's history.

Vestry member and former Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service, Lenny Edwards, told The Royal Gazette that restoring the church to its original splendour has become a monumental task and help is needed from the community for it to continue.

The church, pastored by the Ven. Dr. Arnold Hollis, Archdeacon, has been closed since last August to allow for the renovations and services have been relocated to a sister chapel until the repairs can be completed.

And Mr. Edwards anticipated a reopening of the landmark building in Easter, which he said would be an ideal time because that time of year symbolised rebirth and renewal.

"Our membership is an older membership and they are now looking at the twilight of the years," he said. "We are the mainstay of the church - it behoves us to put this church back in a very secure state for the future. We cannot just sit around and say 'okay the younger people will have to come along in due course and rebuild'. If we don't do something now, then rebuilding is going to have to be from the ground up. I and the rest of our committee and congregation view it as a necessary issue."

Originally built in 1653, the church has gone through many architectural transformations, from a wooden structure to stone.

In its existence, it has survived two major hurricanes and being struck by lightening - all of which Mr. Edwards said adds to the uniqueness and endurance of the church.

But what signalled a full scale renovation of the church, was the discovery of a hidden crypt last year near the bell tower entrance of the building.

Mr. Edward explained that the front of the church now, was actually the back of the church 129 years ago and the crypt is actually part of the existing grave site of the church grounds.

The exposed burial crypt according to Mr. Edwards "will rank as one of the most unique finds in the ancient history of Bermuda".

And he went on to note that access to the vault will be incorporated into the renovations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Edwards said he has been very impressed with contractors BCM McAlpine's painstaking care and concern in reshaping and restoring old cedar beams, stone rafters and pillars.

"There has been some of the most beautiful masonry that I have seen in my life," he said. "The cedar has been completely restored. The vestry itself, where the choir sits, has been completely rebuilt. We've added another restroom and we have made it completely wheelchair accessible.

"The church, being as massive as it is, had a problem with dampness in the winter and extreme heat in the summer - so we have included in our restoration temperature climate (control)."

And he said once the completion was done - "sometime around Easter" - it will be an even more impressive structure adding that there is a pride among Sandy's Parish residents to see the church survive for another 350 years.

But the completion, he reminded, was contingent on help from the public.

"We want the history and preservation of this church to make an impact on the community and those who have not delved into their pockets yet," he said. "We've been able to pay off some of our smaller contractors and we are managing to keep the wolves at bay but it's costing us money and we all have to dig into our own pockets but this is a sacrifice that one makes for the future.

"It's your dues that you pay for being here on earth and looking out for your fellow man and the future generation and so it is necessary, and the work has been expensive."

He said once the refurbishment was done, the next phase was to increase membership, saying that a newer church should be filled with new members.

"We want to try and reach out to our former members and certainly the younger portion of the community to return to St. James, which has been a pillar of society for a number of years," he said.

"We also realise that younger people these days are looking for something different in religion, more upbeat and I'm fairly certain that the Archdeacon would agree."

Mr. Edwards encouraged anyone interested in making a donation to contact him at 234-0592.