An overgrown suburban lot on the outskirts of Wagga will be transformed into an extravagant church if a development proposal submitted to council is successful.
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The Church of St Mary and St John The Beloved is looking to build a new $4.8 million Coptic Orthodox Church in Lloyd.
The concept development application includes plans to turn an empty 12,000 square metre lot at 12 Waterhouse Avenue into a religious complex.
The proposal includes a 400-seat church, a Sunday school building with the same capacity, a basketball court and a playground.
There are 71 on-site car spaces included in the development.
The primary services of the church would be Sunday morning liturgy from 8am to 3pm and several smaller services on Friday and Saturday.
Documents submitted with the application suggest an upgraded church is necessary to cater the growing congregation at the existing Church of St Mary and St John The Beloved in Turvey Park.
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"The Coptic Orthodox Church in Wagga has grown from a congregation of 25 in 2003 to approximately 210 in 2020," the application states.
"The anticipated growth of the congregation in attendance of a regular Sunday liturgy is expected to be 400 persons at any one time, noting, that this level of congregation size would not be reached for more than 10 to 15 years."
As well as the main hall, the proposed church will also include a baptism room, family rooms and amenities.
The proposed Sunday School services building includes 13 classrooms, two offices, two units for residential accommodation, a commercial kitchen, an ancillary shop, bookstore, storerooms, an audio-visual room and amenities.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is the main Christian Church in Egypt as well as other parts of Africa and the Middle East.
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