St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods Episcopal Church in Freeland will celebrate its new building with a dedication ceremony this afternoon.

The groundbreaking today is for a 9,400-square-foot, two-story expansion that will nearly doubled the size of the church facilities.

The new addition will include an entry, fellowship hall, staff offices, lounge, restrooms, kitchen, storage and mechanical room, plus unfinished space that can be used later.

“It’s magnificent,” Susan Sandri of Langley, chairwoman of the building committee, said Monday.

The architect for the project is Stig Carlson of Coupeville, whose firm also designed the Freeland Library and the new Coupeville Library expansion. The church expansion cost a little more than $1.6 million, Sandri said.

The new building is the first phase of a long-term project to accommodate the needs of a growing congregation.

Sandri said the next phase, still unscheduled, would involve expansion of the church’s sanctuary space. The church, built more than 40 years ago, sits on a little more than four wooded acres.

Today’s dedication ceremony will be at 4 p.m. at the church, 5217 Honeymoon Bay Road.

The featured speaker will be Bishop Gregory Rickel of the Diocese of Olympia.

Refreshments will be served. For information, call 331-4887.