"Along with the usual arguments that property values would depreciate, that parking of cars and singing of hymns would disturb sleep Sunday morning and night, one property owner rebelled at the idea of having to watch funerals being held right across the street," wrote Jeannette VanderPloeg in a church history.

Sixty years later, neighbors had similar concerns about parking and noise when they met with architect Martin Hochroth to discuss Stone Church's pending renovation. (The church's first pastor, the Rev. Tom Simpson, dealt with the other issue raised by promising that "as long as he should remain, no funeral services would be held at the church," VanderPloeg wrote.) The community, however, turned out in force April 16 to celebrate the renovation's long-awaited completion.

There is much to cheer about in Stone Church's new look. Although 600 square feet were added to the church building, its Carmel stone exterior walls, which provide the church's unique look, were unscathed during the renovation. The new interior color scheme now matches the warm browns and tans of the stone. A stained-glass window is the visual centerpiece of the social hall. Hochroth had it moved from a back office, where it had been hidden from public view for years.

Three glass doors link the front patio to the social hall, converting what used to be an exterior walkway into interior space.

"The architects told us we had enough space; we just weren't using it well," says Pat Magee, a member of the church's facilities task force. "There's much more usable space than there was before."

Besides adding space, the architect rearranged existing facilities into a more user-friendly configuration. The nursery was relocated from the Lincoln House next door into the sanctuary building so that parents are closer to their children during services in the sanctuary.

The former office space adjacent to the sanctuary was converted into four classrooms. The church offices and library were moved to the newly renovated Lincoln House, which provides three times the space of the old offices.

A modern kitchen and handicap-accessible bathrooms complete the renovation of the main building.

The kitchen, designed by church member Walter Roach, "is our pride and joy," Magee says. The facility will be used to prepare more than just post-service coffee; the church has an active Presbyterian women's group that will use it for various events.

Magee also points with pride to the new bathrooms, particularly the one designated for the fairer sex.

"There's nothing like a nice ladies' room," he says. "When you're going through construction and all you have are Port-a-Potties out back, you don't get many new church members."

It was a fundraising pledge by Stone Church's 370-member congregation that made renovations possible. To date, church members have raised more than $600,000 of the total $1.35 million needed to cover project costs.

"We'll end up having to carry a bit of a mortgage," Magee says.

"I don't care whether you're a church or what: Fundraising is hard for nonprofits," says former pastor Art Mills, who led the church through the renovation process before stepping down.

Mills says the renovation took more than four years from inception to completion. The church had to defer some of its community service work during construction. The facility was shut down as a polling place for last November's elections and couldn't serve its usual term as one of InnVision's rotating shelters in October. Still, Mills says, the end result was worth it.

"It turned out really nice," he says.

Prior to the renovation, limited upgrades were made, in part because of the church's unique construction.

"It's really tricky to do things when you're working in stone," Magee says.

The Stone Church's sanctuary was constructed in 1955 with Carmel stone, used because materials were rationed during the decade following World War II and wood was scarce.

"The stone is said by geologists to be several million years old, belonging to the Miocene period," Alice Thorn wrote in a 1997 church history. "Imprinted in the many stones of the walls are fossils of prehistoric marine life."

Apparently, even stonemason Manuel Sunyer, who built the church's sanctuary in 1954, believed it was necessary to take special care in constructing the church. According to Thorn, "he slept overnight among the stones to get the feel of them."

The few repairs that have since been made to the sanctuary have been less prosaic. In 1978 church officials had to shell out $18,500 for termite damage. The pests managed to slip through the cracks in the stone and feed on the wood frame underneath.

While no more renovation work is scheduled for the immediate future, the church has long-term plans to construct an elevator to its basement rooms. In the 1950s the basement was used as a recreational room for groups such as the Dads Club of Willow Glen, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, a camera club and a movie club. Over time, however, the space has become less welcoming.

"Going down the old, rickety stairs to the basement is getting difficult," Magee says.

Mills says the church will wait a while before asking the congregation to help with any more work. When that request is made, the former pastor has little doubt that Stone Church members will step up to the plate. "Someday we'll get the basement done," he says.