The campaign's purpose is to raise $3 million over a three-year period to pay for renovations to the existing church. About $1.9 million has been pledged to date by parishioners of St. Michael's and St. Margaret Church, Jamestown.

"St. Michael's existing structure has served the needs of the Greenville area's Catholic community since its dedication by Bishop Thomas Mullen in 1893," said Monsignor Andrew H. Karg, pastor of St. Michael's, in a press release.

"During this time, minor changes have been made to the building, but nothing of this magnitude has been attempted."

Because of declining religious vocations and the accompanying shortage of diocesan priests, the church will need to reduce the number of weekend Masses from five to three, according to Monsignor Karg.

"In order to accommodate additional parishioners attending each Mass, the church's seating capacity of 325 needs to be expanded," he said.

"This expansion will also provide much needed space for meetings, social gatherings and rehearsals.

"The clergy and parishioners of St. Michael's and St. Margaret's look at this campaign as an opportunity to continue the parish ministry for years to come," he said.

Anyone interested in making a pledge to the campaign can send it to Monsignor Andrew Karg, in care of St. Michael's Church, 85 N. High St., Greenville 16125.