THESE days St Mark's Anglican Church resembles more a bustling work site than a place of holy worship.

What started as a throwaway line has turned into a major restoration project that upon completion will nudge the million dollar mark.

The Rev Rod Winterton said a comment about the stonework started it all.

"One day someone expressed some concern about the cracks in the stonework, so we called in a engineer who was working on the Town Hall for a look," he said.

"He made it quite clear that the place wasn't going to fall down, which was a relief but it started us looking at other things.

"We noticed some crunchy bits in the floor and decided to check that out and discovered a major termite problem."

Mr Winterton said a plan was formulated for a major restoration of the church and fundraising began.

"The first priority was to replace all the wiring in the building, which was installed in the 1940s," he said.

"As well we replaced all the lighting with modern LED lights and added an audio visual system, all which has taken the church into the 21st century."

Mr Winterton said the second priority was the floors.

"We had hoped to only replace the bits we thought were rotten, but as we inspected we discovered the extent of the damage and agreed a complete rebuilding of the floor was required," he said.

"We're working on the nave (main hall) of the church at the moment and hope to have it completed by this Sunday, December 18, so we can hold our annual Christmas carols service."

The next priority will be the stained glass windows, which also need complete restoration and then the stonework will be repainted and repaired.

Mr Winterton said it was ironic the issue that started the entire project has become the last priority.

"We've been very lucky to have a great builder and many brilliant volunteers."