NORFOLK, Va. — The historic Norfolk Epworth United Methodist Church is set to close on Jan. 5, 2025, church officials announced.
During a charge conference meeting in November, Epworth UMC officials voted to close the church.
The church was founded in 1850.
"The next steps for conference leadership will be in listening to community needs and identifying spaces in the Norfolk area where the United Methodist mission and ministry would best serve in the future," Madeline Pillow White, the Virginia Conference Director of Communications, told 13News Now.
The church building will remain in the ownership of the Virginia Conference.
Epworth United Methodist Church was founded in 1850 as Granby Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, according to the church website. It was composed of members of Cumberland Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was originally located on the corner of Granby and Freemason streets.
In 1890, the church decided to build a new sanctuary, and a groundbreaking was held in 1893. The new building was dedicated on Jan. 19, 1896, with the new name of Epworth, honoring England’s boyhood home of John Wesley, founder of Methodism.
The church’s architectural features are historic and striking, including 22 original stained-glass windows, angelic features in the dome of the sanctuary, and a pipe organ installed in 1959.
Epworth Day School, which is promoted on the church website, has been listed as permanently closed online.
