Our Church History

It was a hot summer day in 1844 when about 15 members of the “Methodist Society” stood in a shady grove outside the schoolhouse listening to the Reverend James Porter.  Porter finished his sermon and then issued a challenge:  Anyone willing to form the area’s first Methodist Church should come forward and sit on a nearby log.  Five people made the commitment.  They took their places on that log, and Central United Methodist was born.

In 1852 the congregation built their first brick building at 5^th and Wyandotte ¾ the first Methodist Church in Kansas City.  Men and women entered through separate doors and the church bell doubled as the town fire alarm.  During the Civil War Battle of Westport, the church was transformed into a makeshift hospital.  Church pews became beds.  Area women became volunteer nurses.  This experience prompted the city to begin planning its first general hospital.

As the town grew, so did the church.  The congregation moved to 9^th and Walnut in 1875, to 9^th and Lydia in 1881, to 11^th and Paseo in 1908, and to 59^th and Kenwood in 1933.  Finally in 1939, Central Church claimed the corner of 52^nd and Oak as its home.

Fire devastated that home on July 18, 1965.  It devastated the building, but not the people or the spirit of Central United Methodist Church. Glorious new stained glass windows replaced the old.  The congregation rebuilt the memorial tower ¾ this time to even greater heights.  The original tower was constructed and constrained by a Depression-era budget; the architect’s plan had to be scaled back.  The new tower exceeded the old by 35 feet, fulfilling the original vision.  Typically, the people of Central turned adversity into opportunity, despair into inspiration.

Today the carillon bells in that magnificent tower fill the air with a reminder of God’s presence.  The church calendar is crowded with activity.  Children romp and roam in the playground during Kids’ Day Out and Preschool; seniors gather for enriching programs at The Shepherd’s Center.  There are community meetings, drama and dance rehearsals, choir practices, potlucks and ice cream socials, summer children’s programs and youth trips,  retreats and mission work teams, support groups and study groups, art lessons and organ recitals, and always “Coffee Plus” fellowship after worship.  And of course, there are the celebrations of Christmas, the palm fronds of Palm Sunday and the joyous renewal of Easter – each and every Sunday with awe-inspiring music.

As longtime members share their sense of the church’s history with the many young families joining us, we look back.  We review with pride the things this church has accomplished and inspired:  Shepherd’s Centers of America, the Della Lamb Community Services, Kingswood Manor, Scarritt College, and Saint Paul School of Theology, to name just a few.  Most recently, in 1991, it was Central UMC that joined efforts with its then-associate pastor, Rev. Adam Hamilton, to plant a new church, now named United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.

In 1994, with our theme “Reclaiming our Heritage – Reaching For Tomorrow”, we celebrated a glorious and fun-filled 150 Sesquicentennial year with a series of art events. We celebrated spirituality through the idioms of jazz and dance, played together at ice cream socials, and had a church-wide reunion with “Centralites” coming from all over the country to celebrate with us.

Today Central United Methodist Church is a family that believes in serving its community.  Out of this understanding, Thanksgiving 1999 found us beginning an annual ecumenical music festival with neighboring churches. In the same year, our choirs joined together to perform musical selections from “Godspell” as a worship celebration on a Sunday morning in June. This year finds us presenting a special Palm Sunday evening dramatic cantata, re-enacting the ministry of Jesus from his temptations in the wilderness to a glorious resurrection morning. Central seeks to continue to grow and respond to the place and the times in which we live.  And to welcome all God’s children!