CHOCOWINITY — A local church will host several upcoming events to raise money for a fellowship hall it is currently constructing to meet the needs of the community.

St. James Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Chocowinity has envisioned building a fellowship hall adjoining the church for several years, said Pastor Venessa Cannady. On March 30, the church held a groundbreaking ceremony, in which members, several community leaders and others were in attendance to bless the project. A week before, the church held its fourth annual Rainbow Tea event — a dinner banquet accompanied by musical entertainment — at the Washington Civic Center, which raised funds for the fellowship hall project, said Darlene Blount, a member and director of the church’s Evangelism Board.

Blount said Young Missionary Temple of Raleigh will visit St. James and perform liturgical dances as a praise ministry program. YMT Pastor Ronald L. White will also be giving a message to church members at the worship service.

“It’s like a gospel song, and they dance to whatever the person singing the song is saying,” Blount said. “This will be the first praise team ministry.”

The church, which has several programs scheduled to raise money for the fellowship hall project, plans to build the adjoining structure debt-free, Blount said. The first phase of the project has been completed — the pouring of the structure’s foundation.

“We’re actually building it debt-free,” Blount said. “We’re doing it in phases and the foundation has been poured, which is the first phase of the project. We have to do it in phases because we don’t want to go into debt.”

The CME Church has several boards — groups of members — that are responsible for different aspects of the church’s spiritual and business endeavors. Each board is responsible for scheduling a program to raise money that will go toward the project, Blount said. No date of completion has been declared, but the church is confident and faithful that God will see the project through, Blount said.

“It all depends on the monies we receive,” Blount said. “I’m believing God is going to bless us in going ahead and getting it up because he knows the needs of our community. Phillipians 4:13 says ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ Therefore, that building will come up.”

Cannady, who has led the church for the past seven years, said the church envisions the fellowship hall to house classrooms, a dining area and a kitchen to meet a variety of needs in the community, she said. During the summer when school is out, some children in the community have limited means of nourishment. Once, the project is complete, the church plans to supply meals throughout the summer for less fortunate children, host tutoring sessions and more. Some of the church’s members are employed as educators, an advantage toward its vision for the fellowship hall.

“The fellowship hall has been a vision for several years,” Cannady said. “The Lord has said it’s time to build it because we want to do tutoring programs for children there so they are adequately ready for EOGs. In order to do that, we need classrooms. We want to be able to supply meals during summer as well. Most of my members are predominantly schoolteachers or teaching assistants so most of them work at Chocowinity Primary School. They already have the credentials. We have the teachers who are able to do it and know what the kids will need for each grade. We just need the building to be done at this point.”

Saint James Christian Methodist Episcopal Church welcomes donations to its building fund. To contribute, go to www.gofundme.com and type “St. James CME Church Building Fund” in the search box.