In the Episcopal Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve, the sounds of an organ echoed through the first notes of “Silent Night.”

The pews of churchgoers responded in tune, singing the verses of the hymn in unison, as the priest and his acolyte offered blessings and walked to the front of the sanctuary.

The scene and sounds aren’t all that unexpected for a Christmas Eve church service. But just about eight years ago, it wasn’t clear if the Episcopal Church of the Nativity would ever have a service again.

“(This church) got down to maybe a handful of people, and so they decided to close it,” Presley Hutchens told The Dispatch. “And at that point, I said, ‘Well, I have this 501(c)(3) if you want … (us to) just take care of it.’ So they agreed, and about two years ago I said, ‘Well, you know, if I don’t get started on this project, there ain’t going to be a project.’”

Through his Brooksville-based nonprofit – the Cleveland Community Chapel Association – Hutchens said he spent the last two years repairing just about every aspect of the more than 100-year-old church at 3376 Jefferson St. in Macon.

Robert Cunningham, a former church trustee, said the church no longer had the manpower to take care of the building before the nonprofit stepped in.

“What we basically did was try to get somebody (who) could keep it up,” Cunningham said.

Hutchens said the nonprofit has repaired three other churches across the country, but the Episcopal Church’s repairs have been his most involved project yet.

The repairs – from purchasing the previously sold parking lot and replacing the roof to repairing water damage and installing new electrical and plumbing – cost about $75,000, with funding coming from the nonprofit, private donations and Hutchens’ own pocket.

While the project has been time consuming, Hutchens said it has also been incredibly rewarding.

“It’s been the time of my life. It’s been the most enjoyable experience I think I’ve had in years,” he said. “And what’s been surprising to me, I guess it shouldn’t have been, … is how much interest the community has in this church.”

Hutchens and a team of contractors completed the repairs in hopes of opening the church’s doors again this Christmas Eve for its first service in eight years.

“(The) reason we’re opening (on Christmas Eve) is the name of the church is the Church of the Nativity, and I thought this might be a good time for the first service,” Hutchens said.

If you build it, they will come

Between 4 p.m. Holy Communion and 10 p.m. Midnight Mass services on Wednesday, the church had more than 40 people step through its newly repainted red doors.

Laurin Temkovits, who attended the church before it closed, said she would like to start coming back regularly since the church is reopened.

“I just hope we can get more members and just do more projects and have things like this,” she said. “… That’ll maybe bring some other people in to join the church.”

Cunningham, who attended the 10 p.m. service, said he was amazed by the building’s transformation.

“It’s been a while, it’s been six or eight years since I’ve been in here, and it was in bad shape because we had left it abandoned for several years and hadn’t kept it up,” Cunningham said. “… It was a mad house here, and it’s amazing what he’s done with it.”

Thinking of the community members who joined the Wednesday services, Hutchens took the attendance as a sign that the work he had put in these last two years really did matter to them.

“It was unbelievable. Like wow … this is like a real place here,” Hutchens said. “It was beyond any expectation. I knew there was some community interest. I did know that, but I was just really gratified. … I think everybody expressed that they had a good time. Now, whether they’re going to be back again … that’s up to them. But I’m glad they came to see the church, and they had that desire to just see what’s going on.”

Following the success of these Christmas Eve services, Hutchens said the plan is to start holding regular services again at 8:45 a.m. on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. While he’ll initially lead the services, Hutchens goal is to ultimately pass the church off once a proper congregation is formed and a board of trustees is re-established.

Hutchens said he hopes to see the church “get its life back” in that time and grow to become “a viable part of the community again as it was” years ago.

“That’s my hope, that it’s not just restoring the building,” he said. “It’s giving this building a chance to have another life.”