SABATTUS — Twice, the Rev. Catherine Sabine dismissed the suggestion of turning a vacant convenience store into a church.

Located in Sabattus, it was too far away, the 75-year-old spiritualist figured. Remodeling would be difficult. And the purchase price would be too high.

Then a third person asked, “What about the old Village Store?”

“I believe if you hear something three times, it’s a message from spirit,” said Sabine, who leads the Spiritualist Church of Eternal Life. Donations appeared from as far away as Florida. One person made a $100,000 gift. Still, the minister was worried.

Sabine dug into town records and discovered the store was valued at almost $250,000. Her church had far less to spend.

She met with the owner, who’d bought the building after the store had closed. As he showed her around, he named his price: $65,000.

“I had all I could do not to laugh with joy,” Sabine said. “As we walked around and he showed me, I said to him, ‘Tell me again. What’s your bottom price?”

He repeated himself.

“I said, ‘I’ll take it,'” she said. “That was it.”

About six months later, there is little to remind visitors of the convenience store. The orange-topped booths remain in the kitchen, but everywhere is fresh paint, new furniture and bright lights.

In the sanctuary, a wide mural portrays an angelic figure in the clouds. It was painted by churchgoers, who scrubbed the long-vacant building, built the sanctuary’s platform and podium and performed dozens of smaller chores.

“It was amazing how everybody rolled up their sleeves and went to work,” Sabine said. “We’re manifesting, and it just happened.”

Sabine founded the Spiritualist Church of Eternal Life in 2009. She was ordained in June 2012 in a ceremony officiated by the vice president of the 113-year-old National Spiritualist Association of Churches.

Regular weekend services at the church typically include readings that seek out friends or family who have died but, the minister believes, have hung around. Services also include talk about staying healthy and positive.

The congregation of a few dozen people had been meeting in a rented hall above Lisbon Street, but it wasn’t working. Getting there meant climbing a pair of steep staircases. Too many people attended less often, or not at all, because of those stairs, Sabine said.

In Sabattus, there are no such barriers. Services began here in January. A formal dedication is planned for April 7. Sabine is planning workshops and more services.

Meanwhile, the congregation grows.

“I love it,” said Mona Guertin of Sabattus. “It’s really working out.”

She loves the way the sun comes in on mornings, and she likes the spot, positioned on the corner where Crowley Road and Old Lisbon Road meet.

“Physically, it’s a crossroads,” Guertin said. “But also, spiritually, it’s a crossroads.”

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