For a little more than a month now, scaffolding has been erected around the entrance of St. Edmond Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach. The church is in the beginning stages of a full-scale repointing project, but the cross above the entrance is what interests most people.

A storm this past winter knocked the cross off and parishioners want it back up, said Joseph Fuller, one of the church’s handymen, who was standing on the King Charles Avenue side of the church watching two members of the restoration team fit the stone cap on the top of the entrance. The cross has been delivered to be reinstalled, but these guys don’t want to damage it while they continue to work on other parts of the entrance, he said.

Yvonne Bailey, St. Edmond Church business manager, said the church is 87 years old and was last repointed in 2009.

This is the second year in a row the church has done exterior work. Last year, said Bailey, the church replaced a slate roof because of a water leak from the front of the church. The contractor at that time tried to determine the source of the leaks, but was unsuccessful, she said.

This year, the project actually started because the cross on the roof had fallen, said Bailey. The stone base was badly damaged and also needed replacement, she said.

The company doing the work this summer is Pennsylvania-based Masonry Preservation Services.

The team did an extensive evaluation of the damage to both the cross and the entire exterior, finding several serious issues that prompted this massive undertaking, Bailey said. They anticipate work continuing through the end of the year, she said.

In addition to the repointing, Fuller said the team from Masonry Preservation replaced the copper flashing behind the front-facing exterior wall, at the seam with the roof, with lead-coated copper flashing. If there’s a problem with this portion, there will be a much bigger problem with the whole church, he said, speaking to the structural integrity of the new flashing.

Depending on the severity of the weather, the church has been told the work should last 25 to 50 years, said Bailey.

“The cross should go back up this week if all goes well. It was also refinished,” said Bailey. “We are also installing a bell system.”

The repointing project isn’t the only one the church is undertaking. Two private donations will allow the church to replace its original organ, said Bailey. This will happen in June, she said.

There are a few other projects under consideration, but nothing else has been approved yet, said Bailey.