Work is moving along to restore Scranton's Covenant Presbyterian Church, 550 Madison Avenue, to its original design.
Steve Carter, a parishioner and volunteer who has been working since July on the project, said he and his crew of volunteers have restored and uncovered most of the church's original mosaic floor, restored the wood flooring underneath the pews, repainted the walls and upgraded the lighting.
So far, what's given Mr. Carter the most trouble is sourcing the marble that is right in front. Most of the original quarries where the marble was taken from have long since disappeared.
"But if they (church authorities) want to give me a ticket to Italy to source the marble, I would be willing," Mr. Carter said with a laugh. "So far, however, I haven't seen a plane ticket."
Mr. Carter has not been able to do everything that he has wanted to do, however. He was hoping to have the church's reredos, or ornate oak wall behind the altar, installed before the advent season, but that seems unlikely, he said.
"You can't do everything all at once," Mr. Carter said.
By March, he said, he hopes to have that done as well as have a new audio system installed.
The Rev. Scott Loomer said that members of the church have been amazed. For several members, they have been with the church long enough to remember what it looked like before wall-to-wall green carpeting and velvet drapes were installed in the 1960s.
"It's been a great time for remembrance," the Rev. Loomer said.
Once the reredos is installed in March, there will be a rededication ceremony of the sanctuary. In the summer, the church will refinish its organ and host another rededication ceremony around Labor Day in 2013.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter