BOULDER, Colo. — A Boulder church is abuzz because of some bees.

The attic of the Pine Street Church near downtown is swarming with them. The bees have built a giant hive in the rafters that is almost 10 feet long and about 3 feet wide.

Because the church is not only home to a faith community but also a number of community arts, nonprofit and 12-step groups, officials said they want to make the church a safe space for all who visit and to preserve the historic building, which is currently subject to honey dripping through its walls.

The church has hired a beekeeper to rescue and remove the beehive to a new location. The trouble is, the hive is maybe 10 to 15 years old and there’s no telling how many bees call it home.

“I’m pushing this one to 80,000. Looks like there’s a ton of bees. But we are pushing toward the end of the season. Population has come down. It was a big hive at midsummer,” said Greg McMahan with Rocky Mountain Bee.

The real sting is the cost of removing the hive. The 95-year-old church doesn’t have the money for the job.

It has set up a GoFundMe account to cover some of the cost.

“Pine Street Church in downtown Boulder is home not only to a warm community of faith, but also a number of community arts, non-profit and 12 Step groups that use the facility,” the account reads.

By Thursday night, the church had raised more than the $2,000 it was seeking and said it would begin removal of the hive on Friday morning.