‘A lovely place to go’: Zoar Church comes alive again in Odessa with restoration plans

As the oldest living member of Zoar Methodist Episcopal Church, 92-year-old Lucretia Munson has prayed for decades for the historic Black church to reopen.

After 23 years, her prayers may finally be answered.

Located near the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House in Odessa, Zoar Church’s refined brick building was built in 1881 by free Black residents, all of who were successful landowning farmers. The church replaced a meeting house a few blocks away, where they had met as far back as 1845.

The Gothic Revival-style church with vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows and an adjacent social hall, closed in 1998 due to declining membership and deterioration. But members like Munson continued to give money to the church in hopes that Zoar would be open once again.

“It was beautiful. Most of our people, and I, was working people. Old people at that time cooked,” Munson said. “It was fun. Everybody came together. ... Worked together ... in a peaceful way.”

A group of people belonging to various denominations and professions is planning to restore the building and preserve the almost 150-year history it holds.

Friends of Zoar Inc., founded in January, welcomed the public to an open house on Dec. 4 at the church as part of the Christmas in Odessa tour. It was the first time in the event’s 57-year history that a historic Black building was featured.

They want to preserve the history tied to the church.

One of the church's early members was Charles Albert Tindley, widely known as the grandfather of great gospel music. Born in Maryland in 1851, Tindley joined Zoar Church after leaving his position as a sexton in Philadelphia. One of his most famous works includes his composition “I’ll Overcome Someday,” largely credited as the basis for the U.S. civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.”

Munson is looking forward to the church once again becoming a gathering place for the community.

Munson said going to church at Zoar was an all-day affair with parishioners arriving for the first service at 8 a.m. and not leaving until 8 p.m.

Munson’s favorite memories at the church were celebrating Christmas with the congregation. Everyone would pitch in to decorate the church.

“It was just a lovely place to go, that’s all,” Munson said.

Friends of Zoar hopes to fully refurbish the church and keep as much of the building’s original architecture and design as possible.

The first step will be gutting the inside and weatherizing the structure. What cannot be salvaged will be modeled as close to the original design of the church as possible, said Steve Johnson, treasurer of Friends of Zoar Inc.

Once restored, they envision Zoar Church as a way to share the heritage of previous generations of African Americans in the Odessa-Middletown area. Plans for hosting events and ministry services are also in the works.

The nonprofit organization welcomes volunteers and donors who wish to support their mission. Organizers can be contacted directly by emailing friendsofzoar@gmail.com or visiting friendsofzoar.org or their Facebook page.

Standing in front of the altar, Friends of Zoar Inc.’s vice president, Anthony Johnson, looked out across the pews and remembered Munson’s daily prayers for the safekeeping of their beloved church.

“We’re tickled to death to be able to have the opportunity to restore,” Johnson said. “There’s a historical foundation that was planted many, many years ago.”

Aside from the building itself, records from Zoar’s church services dating back to the early 1900s have been archived, including meeting minutes and logs of different clergy members.

For Munson, the revival of the church is less a stroke of luck and more a testament to the faith she has held over all these years, hoping for the return of Zoar.

“I kept praying. Talk about praying, I prayed for this church. This is all God’s work,” she said. “It was all God’s work just being here.”

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Historic Black church shuttered 23 years ago in Odessa may be restored