The building may only be 69 years old, but the history dates back to 1873.

St. Julia A.M.E. Zion Church on Kerr Street held its final worship service June 28 and is scheduled for demolition Monday.

But the church is not going away. Instead, a new bigger St. Julia will replace her.

"According to what's at the museum, we are in the lineage of being one of the oldest churches in Onslow County," said the Rev. E.C. Dobson, the pastor of St. Julia since 2004 and its first female pastor.

Dobson said the decision to replace the church began with the Rev. Larry Gordon, the pastor who preceded her.

"The membership was already being led to build a new church ... the seed had already been planted ... so I'm just following his orders," she said.

The church, she said, is not stable, according to engineers. The many steps are a challenge for the elderly and other parishioners. And the cost of repairs - $500,000 just to put on a new roof - is excessive.

The church, which has 245 members, seated 186 people comfortably.

The new church will seat 250 to 299 and will be more than 10 times its current size, all on one level. The choir will be handicapped accessible.

Dobson estimates the new church construction will cost $1.5 million.

Features include a memorial room to hold keepsake items. Certain fixtures from the old church, including the large cross facing the congregation, will be used in the new church. However, the pews, windows and a picture hanging at the back of the church will not be.

The congregation was permitted to remove tokens of remembrance Sunday, and some of the bricks from the current church will be used or saved as mementos.

Dobson said many in the community have stopped by to say goodbyes to the church. Former county commissioner Martin Aragona Jr. was among them.

"It's stood here a long time - all my life - and it will sure be missed," he said.

The historically black church was formed in 1873 in Georgetown as St. Thomas A.M.E. Zion.

"(The St. Thomas) members would walk the railroad tracks from Georgetown to Moses Temple," Dobson said. "When Moses Temple burned, Bishop Wood offered the trustee board $1,000 to help rebuild the church if they would name it after his wife Julia, so the church was called Julia's Chapel and somewhere through the years the name changed from Julia Chapel to St. Julia."

The congregation is currently worshiping at Calvary Seven Day Adventist Church on Court Street but hopes to be in the new church within a year.

"(The) Rev. Eugene Mason and his congregation have warmly welcomed us and it has been a good marriage - they worship on Saturday and have Bible studies on Tuesday, and we worship on Sunday and have Bible studies on Wednesday," she said.

She said ground was broken for the new church nearly three years ago, but the planning, design and decision-making took longer than expected.

"We decided not to re-break ground again," she said. "It took this long because we were making sure we were hearing what the Lord was saying to us ... because it's His building and we're just the keepers of it."

While many in the congregation are looking forward to the new building, it took some time for its oldest active male member - Benjamin Wilson, who will be 100 in August - to get used to the idea, Dobson said.

"He was one of the people who had a hard time with it at first," she said.

But, Dobson said, the external changes won't change what St. Julia's means.

"She has been an icon in the community, serving at-risk families, feeding the hungry and taking care of the homeless," Dobson said. "She has been a beacon of light in the downtown community.

"That's why we chose to rebuild it (on the same site)."

Contact Suzanne Ulbrich at 910-219-8454 or sulbrich@freedomenc.com.