Parishioners will be allowed back in the heritage-listed building for the first time this Sunday but it's not the celebratory service they were hoping to attend.

While the much-awaited spire has been completed, Uniting Church Minister The Reverend Julie Lawton-Gallard said more work had to be finished on the tower before full admission could be granted.

"We're ecstatic with the spire. There are no complaints there," she said.

"We just can't go back until such time that everything is done. There will be a time delay with the insurance until we do the next part of the work."

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The Church had organised a service to mark the end of the project this Sunday. The Reverend Lawton-Gallard said while that was now premature, the 2pm service would go ahead as a "one-off" given it had already been organised. Moderator of the Uniting Church in NSW, The Reverend Simon Hansford, was only available at certain dates to officiate and had already been booked.

The spire was damaged during a major storm in December, 2014. At the same time, engineers discovered the spire was not actually attached to its base. The church was subsequently 'condemned' and closed until repairs could be undertaken.

"We are now into the fifth year (since the closure). I had no concept that it would be such a long and arduous process," The Reverend Lawton-Gallard said.

Planning and insurance approvals have held up work. Although now on the home straight, an occupation certificate is yet to be granted.

That won't occur until the tower has been repaired by Advanced Building. The company also completed the spire but had to remove the tower's timber louvres to allow scaffolding to go through. Project manager Matt Gilmore said these had to be replaced and painted.

But their removal allowed pigeons to fly into the cavity and make a "holy mess," The Reverend Lawton-Gallard said. This will all have to be cleaned. Mr Gilmore said the spire's cladding had been completed but it would be now cleaned and the internal and external brickwork detailed.

Adding to challenges, a heavy storm in March flooded the the back of the church, damaging floorboards, and the grounds. This floorboards are the subject of an insurance claim.

"The take home message is that there's still work to be done before the project manager can sign off, so we're still evicted," The Reverend Lawton-Gallard said.

Mr Gilmore told The Post that detailing work would start on Monday. A fire safety assessment would also be obtained, which was essential to an occupation certificate.

He hoped the work could be finished within weeks.

"It looks really good and we're very happy with it. It's been two years of work for our company," he said.

As for the Uniting Church, it is planning a larger celebration for the day it can move back into the historic structure.

Services have been held at Craig's Hill Chapel on Middle Arm Road in the interim.

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