The financial support of hundreds of devout families on North Whidbey Island is about to pay dividends.

After a half century, St. Augustine  Catholic Church located in Oak Harbor on N. Oak Harbor Street will be getting a much-needed upgrade.

The church will undergo a $300,000 renovation starting this month and continuing eight to 12 weeks. The renovation is funded by parishioner donations, which have been collected over the past six years.

The planned interior projects include construction of a new font for full immersion baptisms, a dedicated reconciliation room, a new altar, pulpit and presider’s chair crafted by Oak Harbor resident Tom Dumit. New lighting, flooring, paint, devotional niches and art, including two new icons created by parishioner Jill Reed, are included in the improvements.

“This will bring us in line with the mandates of Vatican Council,” said Pastor Philip Raether, parish priest for the 925 families registered at St. Augustine. “The renovations will allow us to experience God’s saving sacrament of baptism in all its fullness.”

Mass will be held in the parish hall during the renovation period. Raether said this is the first of three planned renovations for the church.

“The parish’s Pastoral Council discerned that now is the time to develop a master plan for the facilities of St. Augustine,” Raether said. After identifying the worship space as their first priority, a multi-purpose space will be built in the area that is now a courtyard located between the church and parish hall. The final project will be the remodeling of the outdated parish hall kitchen.

Before later phases of the church renovation can happen, a capital campaign has to take place, Raether said.

“When done, it will be a beautiful worship space worthy of worshipping God,” Raether said.

A rededication and consecration of the new altar is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 28, the feast day for St. Augustine. Archbishop Peter Sartain will celebrate Mass.