The Mount Calvary M.B. Church congregation has exited to return, leaving behind their church of 96 years as it undergoes a face lift.

The church at 1350 East Ave. will undergo a one-year renovation project that is scheduled to start Aug. 1.

“We’re really expanding so that we can encompass the community,” said Edna Green, who is on the church’s board of trustees and has been a congregation member for 53 years. Green’s parents were married in the church.

The changes will include renovating the 96-year-old sanctuary and adding a multipurpose building that will be used to provide emergency shelter during disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, Green said. Other uses for the new building will include community outreach programs.

If you goMount Calvary M.B. will have a liquidation sale from noon until 5 p.m. Sunday. The church is at 1350 East Ave. “We’re hoping that the church will continue to be viable to the community,” Green said.

The church was built in 1912. The renovations will update the building but keep the structure’s oak ceiling and the original bell from the tower.

To celebrate the upcoming changes, the congregation held an “exit celebration” that included a gospel extravaganza, children’s fun day, health fair, liquidation sale and a special worship service for family and friends. Another liquidation sale is set for Sunday afternoon.

“It was a great success. The fellowship was just great,” Green said.

The liquidation sale offered items from the church that will not be used in the renovated building.

While the renovation is in progress, the congregation of about 100 people will relocate to the Morning Star Seventh Day Adventist Church at 1954 Sky Farm Ave.