From left, Senior Warden Russ Joiner, Bishop Scott Benhase, and the Rev. Walter Hobgood, priest in charge, break ground Saturday for St. Margaret Episcopal Church’s new parish hall.

St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church broke ground Saturday on a parish hall that will be roughly as big as the church itself.

Located behind the church on 15th Avenue, the parish hall will be a meeting place for both the church and the community, according to the Right Rev. Scott Benhase.

“The parish hall will be a place of hospitality for the people in the community,” said Benhase, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.

Benhase said the church has wanted to increase outreach efforts, especially among the area’s Latino population, and the parish hall will provide room to hold events in pursuit of that goal.

The Rev. Walter Hobgood, priest in charge of St. Margaret, said the construction will probably finish in November, weather permitting.

“We’ve had to wait for it to dry out a little bit to get started,” Hobgood said.

Hobgood said the building will include a meeting space, a commercial kitchen, classrooms and a nursery. A playground that was removed to make room for the new building will be replaced on the church grounds, he said.

Hobgood said the building will be a great spot for after-school programs that retired teachers in the congregation have wanted to do.

Founded in 1991 as a mission of the Diocese of Georgia, St. Margaret’s congregation met in various locations for several years before constructing the current building in 2000 and 2001, according to a press release from the church. In 2008, Dr. David Howington, a member of the congregation and the church’s nearest neighbor, purchased the house across the street from the church. He offered it to St. Margaret for use as a parish house and Sunday school.

“In January 2012, St. Margaret started a children’s service to better meet the needs of young families and this service soon attracted new families. The church soon outgrew the house, and began discussions about building an addition,” the press release said. “The opportunity came in 2013 when Dr. Howington decided to sell the house and St. Mark Anglican Church purchased  the former St. John Episcopal building.”

The Standing Committee of the Diocese agreed to make the proceeds from the sale of the building available to St. Margaret, the press release said. That will make up about half the cost of the parish hall, Benhase said in an interview on Friday. The rest of the money came from donations from the congregation and others in the diocese, he said.

“This congregation has stepped up in a dramatic way,” Benhase said. “They want to be good neighbors in the community.”