corner of Market and West Streets
Onancock, Virginia
Keeping Faith with History
|
corner of Market and West Streets Onancock, Virginia |
Phase
I: Completed in 2001, at a cost of $31,000 (of which $11,000
was donated as in-kind help)
-Repaired
and painted exterior including roof
-Replace
Plexiglas on stained glass windows
-Installed
French drain on west side of building
-Began
cleaning and repair of tombstones
-Set
up an endowment fund.
Phase II: Completed in 2003 (except for last two stages) at a cost of $26,318.50 (plus in-kind services)* The first two items in Phase III, repairing and painting the ceiling and walls of the sanctuary, were completed in the fall of 2003.
-Installed heat and air conditioning
-Upgraded electrical and plumbing systems
-Reconfigured basement area
-Hung & painted new wallboard in basement
-Began to make restroom handicap-accessible
-Began remodeling of kitchen
-Repaired sanctuary ceiling & painted sanctuary
-Installed multi-media sound system in sanctuaryPhase III: Completed in 2004-Added an auxiliary entrance/exit/fire escape on the northeast corner of the building-Restoration of an 1893 stained glass window in memory of Mr. and Mrs. George Walter Mapp, Jr by their daughters-Purchased an electric piano for teens-Replaced flashing around the base of the towerPhase IV: to be completed in 2005-2007-Replace or repair/paint church roof-Restore eleven stained glass windows-Refinish pews and replace floor covering-Restore Estey pump organ-Refinish basement floor-Complete tablestone foundation repair and restore broken tombstones-Make needed exterior repairs including steeple-Build endowment fund
Latest Renovation
A
new stair tower, appropriate to the 1854 building, was added last summer
(2004) on the NE corner of the church as an alternative entrance/exit to
and from the sanctuary and as an emergency fire exit.
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The mission of the Cokesbury Church Advisory Board, under the auspices of Market St. United Methodist Church, is to transform a sacred, historic structure from a vacant, deteriorating building to a safe and inviting place in which people of all ages can come together for worship, other church-related activities and community functions.
To that end, Cokesbury's Renovation-Revitalization Board has been working diligently for several years. Much more has been accomplished to date that would have been possible otherwise because of the unusual interest and support of the Shore at large, the valuable in-kind work donated by Eastern Shore craftsmen, generous contributions from Eastern Shore individuals, substantial grants from the Widgeon Foundation and the Titmus Foundation, and donations from the Onancock Merchants Association and from OBCA, the Onancock Business and Civic Association.The Cokesbury Board is appreciative to every individual and group that has played a part in helping this historic building extend its reach into the twenty-first century and beyond.
Concerts - Services - Programs - History Return to Top
Christmas 2006 - 7th Annual Cokesbury Christmas Music Festival in conjunction with the Onancock Christmas Homes Tour.Youth Works
The national YouthWorks organization that held a Kids' Club last summer (2004) for children, ages 5-10, at Cokesbury Church will return next summer. Daily Bible study, crafts, games, songs and skits are included in the activities offered to children. The YouthWorks teens also do minor house repair and yard work for elderly residents in need.History
Cokesbury Church and its congregation are an important part of the history of Onancock and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Cokesbury represents the early Methodists who began meeting in 1784 and who had organized themselves by 1788 when the Rev. Francis Asbury visited William Seymour and preached in Onancock. As the oldest church building of any denomination in the Onancock area, Cokesbury was Onancock's mother church.
The Greek Revival structure built as Cokesbury Church in 1854 was true to the architectural trend of the times. The actions of Cokesbury members during the Civil War reflected the dissension felt in the nation. The shore's steamboat era of prosperity prior to the turn of the 20th century is depicted by the building's Victorian additions of the 1890's which, fortunately for posterity, did not over-power the original Greek Revival design. As a result, the present building exemplifies the major 19th century style and construction practices of church architecture between 1850 and 1900.
Cokesbury and Market St. Churches were commended in December 2004 by the Accomack County Board of Supervisors for having reunited after operating as separate congregations for almost a century-and-a-half.
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Christmas in Onancock
2006