The History of University United Methodist Church
University United Methodist Church Sanctuary
1912 – April: A small Sunday School group of 18 people meet at a vacant house rented for the occasion at 3221 Hemphill Street.
1912 – Spring: The group outgrows the house on Hemphill and erects a large meeting tent where Capps Park is now.
1912 - By June the group had risen to 30 members, They purchased a lot and built a tabernacle
1912 – November: The first pastor Rev. W.S.P. McCoullough was appointed to the Hemphill Heights Methodist Mission
1912-1919 - The tabernacle is expanded as the church goes through a period of rapid growth
1919 – The church moves into George Clark Elementary while the church building on Hemphill is being built.
1923 - The church building on Hemphill was completed.
1934 – Summer: After an extended period of drought causes the subsoil to dry the foundation of the church is weakened and building cracks appear in the masonry. The church hired an engineer to see about repairing the building but he found that he could not make repairs and the only thing that could be done was to have the building torn down and rebuild at a cost of $23,000 a large sum in 1934. A sum they could not raise and could not borrow with a 15,000 lien against the property. The building is condemned
1934 - With the church building condemned, there was a unanimous vote from the members to not abandon thier church family and to rent an unused warehouse to meet for church. Members of the congregation work tirelessly to repair the warehose and move in. For the next two years the congregation worships in the warehouse which was temporary and often uncomfortable. There was no air and no heat. In the winter members heated bricks, wrapped them up and brought them to church to set on the floor and warm there feet during services. A campaign was undertaken to get a new location and build a new church building.
1935 – The conference secures the site of the present location of the church at Berry and McCart. For the next two years funds are raised for the erection of a building at the new location
1936 – May: Ground was broken for the first building at Berry & McCart
1937 – On January 27 the congregation gathered for the first services at the new location, the church changes its name to Matthews Memorial Methodist Church in honor of Rev. W.H. Matthews whose family made a gift to help the struggling church.
1938 – The building that they had started two years earlier was completed and fully furnished.
1940 – Over the years the church had been paying off its debt by 1940 $7,000 remained to be paid.
1941 – It was decided by the Board of Stewards and the Board of Trustees to clear the church of all debt but WWII intervened and the project was delayed. With some advice a plan was put into action to finance payment of their debt through the purchase of Defense Bonds by the congregation.
1943 – The Defense bond plan worked and on Easter Sunday it was announced to the congregation that the debt had been fully paid.
1948 – In the summer of this year the church began to fund raise to add what is now the present sanctuary to the building.
1949 – On April 4 the congregation began worshipping in the beautiful new sanctuary, a sanctuary we still enjoy using today!
1954 – Ground is broken for the new wing at University. The new addition included the current chapel, kitchen, library, fellowship hall and many classrooms.
1975 – The church changes its name to University United Methodist Church
Ministers who have served our church
Hemphill Heights Methodist Mission
1912: Alonzo Monk
1912: H.M. Ratliff
1912-1914: Rev. W.S.P. McCoullough
1914-1916: Roy A Langston
Hemphill Heights Methodist Church
1916-1920: T. Edgar Neal
1920-1923: R.O. Sory
1923-1926: John O. Siceloff
1926-1930: P.E. Chappell
1930-1933: E.H. Lightfoot
1933-1935: Claude P. Jones
1935-1938: Frank L. Turner
Matthews Memorial Methodist Church
1938-1940: E.R. Stanford
1940-1964: Thomas Sterck
1964-1977: N.H. Kupferle, Jr.
University United Methodist Church
1977-1982: Michael Patison
1982-1985: C. Dale Hunt
1985-1987: Robert E. Young
1987-1988: Timothy A. Russel
1988-1996: Don Scott
1996-1998: Glenn E. Jones
1999-2002: J.W. Sellers
2002-2009: Andrew Decker
2009-2010: Bob Weathers
2009-2010: Frank Leach
Current Pastor: Jason Hamilton
