More than 50 parishioners gathered at Mattapoisett Congregational Church on Sunday morning to officially kick off its $664,000 "A Welcome Home" capital campaign. The goal: obtain pledges over the next few months to pay for extensive upgrades to the church's historic meeting house and sanctuary.

Already the church's capital campaign committee is nearly halfway to its goal, with parishioners committing $309,000 to the cause, according to Marc Anderson, the Trustees Committee chair. He said he is hopeful that the committee will be able to secure the pledges by mid-May, which will be paid out over the next three years.

Money raised will support several renovation projects─including the installation of two new lifts on each side of the meeting house and other facility alterations to make the church ADA-compliant. The campaign also supports basic capital improvements and repairs, such as roof repairs, new gutters, new windows and upgraded fire alarm and communications systems.

"Accessibility is the main issue," said Rick Price, the committee's communications team leader. "By making it accessible to the handicapped and disabled, we hope to increase membership." Currently, about 130 to 140 families are active members at the church, he said.

The sanctuary is another area ripe for improvement, according to committee members.

David Kaiser, a co-chair of the committee, said that the sanctuary, in its current form, does not provide ample room for choruses and other groups that perform during services. Opening up the space would allow for a more connected worship experience, he said.

Anderson stressed that any changes to the sanctuary would preserve the current look and feel to the maximum extent possible.

For now, the committee is weighing its options.

In a speech at the event, Kaiser invited parishioners to engage in an "open and honest dialogue" about proposed changes to the sanctuary. Ideally, after feedback and careful consideration of all viewpoints, the committee can determine a path forward by spring 2017, he said.

The campaign is part of a larger goal to take care of the Mattapoisett Congregational Church's resources today for the benefit of future generations of parishioners, Kaiser said.

Without careful upkeep of the building, the church's ability to fulfill its Christian mission "will fall flat on its face," he said.

"We are all in this together. The church is our home, our family," Kaiser said.