In 1909 Rev. F. L. Glennan, a member of the Mission Board living in Miami and associated with the Methodist Church, rode the Florida East Coast Railroad to Homestead to investigate the possibilities for beginning a church.  After talking with Mr. L. S. Mowry, Sr. and Mr. Sidney E. Livingston, both of whom were Methodists, plans were made for Rev. Glennan to return to Homestead on March 22, 1901 (Palm Sunday) to hold a meeting to organize a church.  This meeting was held in the one-room schoolhouse, and all those who attended became charter members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  In 1913 plans were begun for the erection of a church building.  Rev. W. A. Louder was pastor when the frame structure was dedicated in 1914.  This became the oldest church in Homestead (see Fig.2).  It was complete with belfry and a large bell that rang faithfully every Sunday for all church services until the building was torn down many years later.
 
On June 5, 1914 the Northern Methodist branch organized and in the fall of 1915 construction began for the Methodist Episcopal Church located at 334 N.W. 1st Avenue (see Fig.1) .  In 1928 the Homestead Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South united.  Homestead became famous because this was the first unification of the two great groups that had split over questions of administration and slavery in 1844.  It was the first definite step in the movement that, 10 years later, brought the churches back together across the nation.
 
Church services were held in the “White Stone” building, but Sunday school classes, vacation Bible School, etc., continued to meet in the South Methodist facilities.  On July 23, 1945 a special Conference approved the purchase of property at the corner of N.W. Seventh Street and Krome Avenue (see Fig.3).  In the spring of 1949 construction of the new church began and the first service in the new building was held on Thanksgiving Day, 1949.  A beautiful stained glass window entitled “Gethsemane” along with many of the pews and furnishings were donated as memorials.
 
In the 1950s a private kindergarten was started and then was expanded to include nursery school and kindergarten. The church facilities and the Christian School have been expanded over the years so that we now occupy the entire block between Krome and 6th and 7th Streets.
 
But more important than the history of the facilities are the many dedicated Christians who have worked together for almost a century to live out their faith in the community of Homestead.  We have weathered many storms inherent in a changing community (Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the closing of the Air Force Base) but First United Methodist Church of Homestead still is a beacon of Christ’s light to a hurting world.

 

  Late 1993 - After Hurricane Andrew Remodel