History

An active Methodist congregation began at Benn's in 1789. This has been verified by the Virginia Annual Conference Historical Society, and in the year 1964 a citation was presented to Benn's Methodist Church in recognition of 175 years of service to God and to the people of this community.

The cornerstone of the present building bears the date 1800 for the erection of the first actual church building here. In the year 1804, there was a building on this spot, for Bishop Ashbury wrote in his journal on Thursday, April 29, 1804..."at Benn's Chapel, Isle of Wight, we had a decent, but not a feeling congregation." On February 13, 1805, he wrote: "God has wrought powerfully at...Benn's."

In 1813, George Benn, who now lies buried in the lawn in front of this church bearing his family name bequeathed to "the Methodist Connections, to them and theirs forever, land between the roads near the Old Brick Church (St. Luke's) on which the Methodist Meeting House stands, with enough land in the woods back of the church for Camp Meeting purposes."

The church was rebuilt in 1838, again in 1888, and the present building was erected in 1924, with opening services held on Sunday, January 4, 1925. The chancel and nave were remodeled in 1957. The church has been substantially enlarged by the erection of an educational wing which has provided adequate space for the program of the Church School. This wing was completed in March of 1967, and was consecrated at special services, April 23, 1967.

The idea for a new addition, the Family Life Center, was started on 1989 and completed on December 3, 1994.

An active Methodist congregation worships and fellowships at Benn's. You are invited to join us!

Worship Services

The space for this web site has been provided courtesy of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church. The content of these home pages is the responsibility of Benn's United Methodist Church. Please send feedback to bennsumc@yahoo.com (Jane Jones) or cindlou59@aol.com (Cindy Vaughan)