Historic Christ Church in Church Hill, Mississippi Celebrates a Restoration

The Reverend Sam Godfrey

Christ Church, 1858, in Church Hill, Mississippi, hosted a restoration and rededication ceremony today, December 20, 2025, with a reception following the service at Church Hill Variety, across the road, to honor the artists, workmen and donors who contributed to bringing the old church back to life.  The service was led by the Right Reverend Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, with the Reverend Sam Godfrey assisting.

The Gothic-Revival building looks like something out of old England with its ancient graveyard sitting on a hilltop overlooking the Church Hill community.  It is the oldest Episcopal congregation in Mississippi, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Beautifully restored after many years, the church had at one time been home to a colony of bats that fluttered around its aging, crumbling plaster walls that told stories of times gone by. Even so, it has held services there the second and fourth Sunday of each month, and continues to do so for the families whose lives were spent in and around Church Hill and for members from Natchez, who travel there to attend.

Christ Church has held a special place in my heart since childhood, and I was able to sneak back in after services to take some photos.

Thank you to those who had the vision, the funds, the skills and talents to bring this beautiful old lady back from the ravages of time and give new life to a grand old lady.