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A great deal of building was occurring at this time due to the development of Venice by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers who offered us land but it came with the stipulation that the Church must be used for all denominations. The pastor and members of our Church decided against accepting the land with these restrictions.

In 1927, Dr. Fred Albee donated land close to Dona Bay free of any restrictions and construction of a new Church began. It is believed that our Church was officially named Venice-Nokomis United Methodist Church at this time. Today our Sanctuary stands on the exact spot as the 1927 church. The flooring and plaster on the walls was not added to the Church until 1942 due to financial constraints.

For years, some of our members use to pole their flat bottom boats down the shallow bays (traveling as much as 10 to 15 miles) to the Boathouse on Dona Bay each Sunday to hear Rev. Jesse Knight preach. They used the Boathouse to change into their "Sunday best" before walking the short distance to the Church. The property and boat dock where the Boathouse once stood is still owned by Venice-Nokomis United Methodist Church.

Boathouse

In 1949, a tower was added to the Church and chimes were installed. The chimes play hymns three times per day and can still be heard throughout the area. During the 70’s, after considerable effort, our cast iron bell was returned to us. It now resides in a small tower built especially for it. The bell is one of only two church bells in the area that still actually rings. The cast iron bell is the oldest article we have representing our heritage.

Chime Tower

Bell

Venice-Nokomis United Methodist Church presented a unique Christmas Pageant for the congregation and community for sixty years. The Pageant told the Christmas story through sixteen silhouettes “Living Pictures.” The cast did not move or speak during the scenes. The scripture was narrated and the Sanctuary Choir sang Christmas carols. To view four of our most popular scenes and to learn more about the history and the wonderful traditions that were part of the Pageant, please click on the link below.

Pageant History

Silhouette Photographs

In 1965, the Sanctuary underwent extensive remodeling. The Choir loft was enlarged; the pews and altar furniture refinished, and twelve beautiful stained glass windows were installed. The windows consisted of a series of pictures about the life of Christ. The United Methodist Men built a Boy Scout hut on the Church property in 1966. Several years later, a new Fellowship Hall was constructed.

The VNUMC logo, used on the front page of our Newsletter was designed for our Centennial Celebration in 1969. The new emblem was used for the first time on a special bulletin cover dated January 5, 1969. A member of the Church drew the logo. It has 3 symbolic circles:

(1) An inner circle with a cross and open Bible to represent our faith, (2) Birds above the clouds, a palm branch, sun, sea and fish are reminiscent of our Baypoint location and (3) our Church name printed around the outside circle.

In 1978, it was determined that repairs and enlargement to the Church building were impractical and extremely costly so the decision was made to build a new Church. It was erected on the exact spot where our 1927 Church once stood.

Present Day Sanctuary

The Church was designed to be very similar to the old one and many items, such as, the ceiling lights, stained glass windows, and some of the pews were incorporated into the new Sanctuary. A beam from the old Church was used by Roy Bernius Sr. to make a remarkable cross to hang over the altar.

In 1979, a section of the old Fellowship Hall was turned into a Memorial Chapel. It was named the Blalock Memorial Chapel in honor of two members whose lives and efforts have meant so much in the history of our wonderful Church. The Chapel was designed to capture as much as possible the tone and atmosphere from our 1927 Sanctuary. It contains some of the pews, altar rail, pulpit desk, lecturn, chairs, and beautiful altar, the brass and brocaded satin paraments from the old Church. On Christmas Eve, of the year 2000, Venice-Nokomis United Methodist Church celebrated its 132nd Birthday. That can be broken down to 132 years or 48,213 days, 1,157,112 hours, 69,426,720 minutes or 4,165,603,200 seconds! On September 14, 2001 our Church once again sustained damage from a storm. This time it was from Tropical Storm Gabrielle. A large and very beautiful oak tree on the Church property was destroyed. The tree was approximately 70 years old and considered an area landmark in Nokomis. On the first Sunday after the storm the congregation worshipped with only partial electrical power inside the Sanctuary. There were a few lights, no air conditioning or water, and the pipe organ was silenced. A palm tree located at the entrance of the parking lot (close to the oak tree) was also uprooted by the storm. This palm tree was considered “unique” by many horticulturists because it had seven heads.

There is more of God’s work for us to do. We honor the past! We serve the present! We look forward to the future!

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