Stepney Methodist Episcopal Church (1836–Present)

Welcome back, Monroe history lovers. This week’s historical spotlight takes us to the church located on the northeast side of the Stepney Green. The formal address is 15 Pepper Street, and our first supporting image is a map that shows you the precise location. Today, it’s the Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, but that represents a relatively new chapter in the greater history of this quaint little church in the village. Its origins date back 190 years, making it the oldest church building on the west side of our town. Would you care to learn more about its history? Follow me over to the Stepney Green and we’ll have a closer look.

In 1836, a new Methodist society was established in Upper Stepney, a complimentary society to the long-established Methodist society across town in Monroe’s East Village district, c. 1811. The new society purchased the property on the northeast side of the Stepney Green for seventy-five dollars, and in 1836, erected a meeting house in the district, then known as Birdsey’s Plain. The Stepney Baptist Church across the green to the west is its twin and was built later between 1840 and 1841.

The near identical churches both share Greek Revival-style architecture, and both were erected under the experienced foremanship of Captain Hanford Hull, a respected carpenter and joiner who was responsible for building many of the homes of that era directly around the green and outside the village. The Stepney Methodist Episcopal Church was officially dedicated in 1839. In 1972, the Methodists sold the church at the Stepney Green to a Roman Catholic order that transformed the building into the current Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, where they still celebrate the traditional Latin Mass.

The United Methodist Church of Monroe was formed by combining the congregations of the Stepney Methodist Church and the East Village Methodist Church. In 1973, the new congregation commenced worship in their present church building located at 515 Cutlers Farm Road. The bell that once hung in the church’s belfry on the Stepney Green was moved to the new church grounds and mounted in a cradle on the property for display. The United Methodist Church of Monroe has continued the traditions of the Stepney and East Village Methodist Churches and has developed its own new and dynamic ministries.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s historical spotlight on the Stepney Methodist Episcopal Church. Please share this post with your family and friends, and thank you for your continued support and interest in Monroe’s rich ecclesiastical history. Until next time. Our faith in Stepney is always exciting, from Baptists to Catholics to Methodists uniting. Who doesn’t love options?

Regards,

Kevin Daly
Historian, Monroe Historical Society
www.monroecthistory.org
Our Past is Always Present