WORCESTER-- With much fanfare and jubilation, members of the First Unitarian Church will march in procession into their newly renovated sanctuary Sunday morning.

Completion of the $800,000 project will restore church members to their traditional worship space, which was heavily damaged in a fire on June 17, 2000.

Members will begin the service at 10:30 a.m. in Unity Hall, the church social room, where services have been held since the fire, and then go in procession outside and enter through the front door. The Sunday school children will also participate.

“The snow isn't expect to start until evening,” said the Rev. Barbara Merritt, senior minister.

Although this will be the first worship service in the renovated space at 90 Main St., the formal grand reopening will be Feb. 3, when everyone in the community will be invited to an open house.

The church membership intends to honor all those who supported the church during its difficult time and helped restore the sanctuary and Sunday school. A similar celebration is planned for early March for members of the congregation.

“And by September, the organ will be back,” Rev. Merritt said. Another grand ceremony is planned for the organ restoration. The organ sustained some fire damage and much water damage during the fire, and it cost $1 million to restore, Rev. Merritt said.

Members will go in procession Sunday with their pulpit candles and hymn books. Rev. Merritt and the Rev. Tom Schade, associate minister, will preach on the theme “Crossing the Threshold.”

The church was fortunate that Travelers Insurance covered the cost of the restoration, but renovation took longer than expected because several kinds of mold were found growing in the sanctuary. Water used by firefighters to squelch the fire dripped into the cellulose insulation, which provided a good medium for growth. All the mold had to be removed before renovations could proceed.

Rev. Merritt said the oak floors are a little lighter and the woodwork is a little whiter than before. “We are ecstatic about moving back to the sanctuary,” she said.

Meeting in Unity Hall worked out well, she said. “The congregation proved to be more resilient than even I thought,” she said. “We all found out we can have weddings, funerals and Christmas services anyplace.”

Church members have been holding Christmas services the past two years at Mechanics Hall. Rev. Merritt was pleased that a special collection taken up at Christmas yielded about $7,500 for the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which provides housing and help to homeless families.