Epworth United Methodist Church

Walking by this church on the way to the Freemason Abbey Restaurant, I really admired its architecture yesterday. There’s a lot of history associated with this church. It’s wonderful that this church is now safely able to offer in-person services. Since I live a couple hours from Norfolk, maybe services still can be viewed online!

The Bible makes it very clear, "You should love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). It's the second commandment and the Bible states that along with the first, there are "no commandment greater than these." (Marc 12:31). Yet, this church, or rather the members of its Board of Trustees, go out of their way to be unkind, unneighborly, and by biblical definitions, ungodly. My interactions with the staff have been pleasant. They seem friendly. Yet the actions that the church takes tells a different story. My first negative experience with this church was when I was moving into my apartment, we had some old furniture to get rid of and scheduled a pickup with Salvation Army, a Christian charity. When they came to pick up the furniture, they realized the only way they'd be able to get it into their truck was to park in Epworth United Methodist Church's parking lot, which was completely empty at the time. Not a single car in the lot. However, taking the responsible route, they decided to call the church's office to request permission to park in said lot. They just needed an hour tops to get all the furniture loaded. Upon speaking to the Church's secretary they were denied this request. Habitat for Humanity also tried and were promptly denied. We ultimately were able to get the furniture to a thrift store by borrowing a truck, but it made life about 10x more difficult. Not to mention, the Salvation Army movers wasted 2 hours of their time that could have been used getting this furniture. While I was incredibly frustrated by the actions of the church, I recognized that this was their property, and while I may disagree with their decision, it was theirs to make. On January 2, at 8:00am they put up a fence that limits the entrance and exit for residents living in 411 and 416 Granby St. It also prevents UPS/USPS/FedEx from getting into the buidling to make deliveries. When I spoke to our UPS delivery guy about this, he said it has added an additional hour to his route. He used to have simple access to these buildings and no longer does. What is most frustrating and concerning is that this causes a HUGE safety hazard for residents of these buildings and kitchen workers of the restaurants below. As you will see in my photos, the gate only allows one person to walk through at a time. In the case of a fire or a medical emergency, emergency personnel would not be able to get gear through this spot (stretcher, hoses, etc.). Furthermore, it prevents anyone wheelchair bound from entering or exiting these buildings. Not only is it inconsiderate, it is downright dangerous. My boyfriend and I called the church to get an explanation why this fence had been installed. As you can see, it serves absolutely no purpose, other than to make life harder and quite frankly, dangerous, for the residents of our buildings and the kitchens below. The Pastor did take the time to call us back, and we appreciate his time; however, there was no real reason for this fence's installation. He said he personally was against the installation, but the board wanted to keep the restaurant workers away. Having lived in the building for some time now, I've never found the staff members of Sweet Teas or Plaza Azteca to be rude or do any harm. They occasionally sit outside their buildings on their breaks to either take a load off or talk on the phone. They present no harm to anyone, in my apartment complex or attending church services. We were told by the Pastor that we could write a letter to the Board of Trustees to voice our concern, but that won't promise action. To put it plainly, I cannot speak for this church's services or inside facilities. What I can tell you is that if I were looking for a church, I would look elsewhere. They clearly do not live out biblical values and have little disregard for their community and they certainly do not treat their neighbors as themselves.

I am so happy to no longer live near this church. On the outside, it is a thing of beauty to be marveled. Also, there is a very nice gentleman (I am assuming the pastor) who often stands outside to provide coffee for passersby, which was genuinely a kind act. However, while living near the church, we experienced very hateful acts from other members. I understand their parking lot is private property, and that they have rules, but they have made nearly every individual living around them's life miserable. With a completely empty parking lot, they abruptly scream out of the door for spending a mere 30 seconds in the parking lot. One woman (shoulder-length brown hair) went so far as to block our vehicle in when we were attempting to move a very heavy object out of our truck. A simple 'Please move your vehicle' would have sufficed. This woman's tone was egregious, belittling, and purely hateful when screaming at us. I have never been so turned off by a church's actions. She should perhaps reevaluate how she treats others, seeing as her business is to 'Love Thy Neighbor'. She screams at Uber drivers, movers, delivery services, so much that she is becoming a nuisance to the community. Also, the installation of the fence (which has no proper purpose, whatsoever) made it very difficult for residents living in surrounding buildings, to pass by with carrying anything in their arms. Imagine having any luggage, groceries, items having to be carried from the parking garage into your apartment, and you're met with a metal blockade. A heavier person may not be able to pass through the small gap provided at all. It is absolutely a safety violation if any of the surrounding businesses/residences were to have emergency evacuations. We tested to see if a friend's wheel chair would fit through the gap, and it was too wide. This is the only entrance to the apartment complex (Metro on Granby) where you can use an elevator after the office hours are closed. We will be complaining to the city and state to have this removed, so future residents will not have to deal with the problems we did for over a year. This church should be ashamed at how it treats the community. Perhaps if you would approach people in a kinder, more loving way (sort of like Jesus would approve of), then you would have more people interested in joining. Any time I have friends/family moving to the area who are interested in church attendances, I steer them clear of this place.

This church is absolutely beautiful. It is home to a beautiful pipe organ, once the largest in the south. The congregation is full of friendly faces, we truly enjoy seeing them on Sundays. We stumbled upon this church and were immediately welcomed and shown such warm love. I highly recommend visiting to be filled with the joys of God and fellowship.

Been a member since 1984 and still love going there even my Family move from Norfolk to Va Beach 3 years Ago and I did try different churches Closed to my new house but end up going back to Epworth United Methodists Church in Norfolk missed the services and the wonderful friendly congregation and have nice day school for infants 6 weeks old through Pre school 😘