NATCHEZ &8212; The dreams of constructing a church building were far away for the small group of Presbyterians that gathered in 1993 at the Howard Johnson on Seargent S. Prentiss.

Now 16 years later, some of the same members gathered Wednesday evening under a small tent to break ground for the New Covenant Presbyterian Church near the intersection of Duncan Avenue and Homochitto Street.

&8220;It&8217;s a long, long way from the Howard Johnson&8217;s to Homochitto Street,&8221; church elder Frank Heard said to the group.

In October 1993, that small group met at the Howard Johnson bar to begin a Bible study. Because bars were closed on Sunday it made for an ideal place more their small gathering.

&8220;At that point is was our goal to just start a church,&8221; building committee chairperson Kathy Blankenstein said. &8220;We were far from wanting to build a building.&8221;

Then as they moved from the Lutheran Church to the Temple B&8217;nai Israel and then back to the Howard Johnson, the group began to grow and the dreams of finding their own church building were growing with them.

On Sept. 13, 1998, the group moved into their current worship space, the Bank Building on Main Street.

But the limitations of the building they were leasing were becoming apparent. Without a kitchen, a fellowship hall and Sunday school space, the church members began looking at the opportunities of constructing their own sanctuary.

Now eight years later to the date, those aspirations are finally being met.

&8220;Since the founding of the church, it has been the prayer and dream of the membership to someday be able to erect a church of its own,&8221; Heard

said to the group Wednesday. &8220;That dream is being realized today, through the providence of God and the hard work and generosity of many people.&8221;

Almost if on cue, the bulldozers began scraping the earth to begin construction of the small sanctuary and a companion education building.

Building fund chairman, Joe Mitchell introduced Ruth &8220;Babe&8221; Decker, who many in the crowd Wednesday decribed as the inspiration for the project.

&8220;I tried to come up with the word to describe this individual and all I could think of was the word, special,&8221; Mitchell said of Decker. &8220;In recognition of her love for New Covenant&8230; the Session has voted unanimously to name the Educational Building of our new church Decker Hall.&8221;

With the equipment roaring in the background, Decker, the church&8217;s eldest member, stood and turned the first shovel of dirt.

&8220;You may think this is the end of a long road, but it is just the beginning,&8221;

Blankenstein said.