Wesley Covenant Fellowship Church Work begins on exterior of historic church building

WESLEY COVENANT FELLOWSHIP CHURCH on Court Street in Versailles is being restored, with exterior painting and other improvements scheduled to be finished by June, according to Pastor Matt Merrill. The Court Street location was formerly home to Versailles United Methodist Church beginning in 1851. A steeple was added as part of an 1883 remodel of the original church building. A fire caused extensive damage in 1894, and by June 1923, a new church, which still stands, was built. Versailles United Methodist Church had its first service at its current church building at 230 Payne’s Mill Road on Nov. 5, 2017. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

By Bob Vlach

Woodford Sun Staff

Efforts to restore the historic façade and other exterior walls of Wesley Covenant Fellowship Church on Court Street in Versailles have begun, with Amish craftsmen examining exterior woodwork on Wednesday morning, Pastor Matt Merrill told the Sun.

In addition to painting exterior gutters and downspouts on the building, the project will include painting wood portions of the exterior. The stone along the bottom of the building’s exterior is not being painted and will look like the steps into the church’s sanctuary entrance, Merrill said.

The church steeple high above Court Street has an interior light, but thanks to the generosity of a donor, the steeple will also have exterior up-lighting, Merrill said. That will happen when exterior painting moves forward following inspections of the wood portions of the exterior, he explained.

The sign on the church’s façade was put into place last week, Merrill said. “And it is the first of many things that are going to happen to the exterior, and all of that should be done by June,” he explained.

Exterior painting is slated to begin in May, and when the restoration work is complete, “it’s going to look really good,” Merrill said.

Since purchasing the former Versailles United Methodist Church building in December 2023, attendance on Sunday mornings at Wesley Covenant Fellowship Church has been strong, according to Merrill. Easter services were attended by 176, and the recent average for Sunday services has been 133, he said.