This is a list of notable Methodist churches, either of notable congregations or of notable buildings or other places of worship. This very limited list reflects historically interesting sites, and omits most of the very largest Methodist congregations. Since the founding of Methodism in the mid-18th century, the movement has spread throughout the world, and remains a presence in many countries today.
Many church buildings are notable for their historical or architectural significance. Many of the historic churches can be found in the United Kingdom and the United States, but some are also located in Canada, China, Korea and other in countries where there has been a Methodist presence. In some cases the congregation which established the church has since disbanded but the building remains. This list is intended to comprehensively index notable Methodist churches world-wide.
Church | Image | Dates | Location | City or Town | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wesley Church, Melbourne | 26 August 1858 Consecrated | 37°48′37″S144°58′5″E / 37.81028°S 144.96806°E | Melbourne, Australia | Grand Gothic design with high quality architecture |
Ann Gill Memorial Methodist Church, in Fairfield Road, Black Rock, St. Michael, honours the memory of Sarah Ann Gill, the sole female national heroine of Barbados. [1]
Two British Methodist Episcopal Church churches have been designated National Historic Sites of Canada due to their roles in welcoming Underground Railroad refugees to Canada and their historic importance to the Black community in the Niagara region:
Church | Image | Dates | Location | City or town | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
R. Nathaniel Dett British Methodist Episcopal Church | 1836 built | 43°05′15″N79°05′18″W / 43.08750°N 79.08833°W | Niagara Falls, Ontario | Named in honour of Robert Nathaniel Dett [2] [3] | |
Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal Church | 1855 built | 43°09′54″N79°14′24″W / 43.16500°N 79.24000°W | St. Catharines, Ontario | Linked to Harriet Tubman. [4] [5] [6] | |
British Methodist Episcopal Church, Windsor, Ontario | 1854 built, rebuilt 1856, rebuilt 1963 | 43°09′54″N79°14′24″W / 43.16500°N 79.24000°W | Windsor, Ontario | From 1856 to 1963 the BME church was an active church in its original location, 363 McDougall street. [7] |
Church | Image | Dates | Location | City or Town | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primera Iglesia Metodista Unida de Ponce | 1907 | Calle Villa 135 18°00′37″N66°36′58″W / 18.01028°N 66.61611°W | Ponce | Methodist church built in 1907 that was architect Antonin Nechodoma's first commission in Puerto Rico. | |
McCabe Memorial Church | 1908 | 835 Eugenio Maria de Hostos Ave. 17°58′56″N66°37′14″W / 17.98222°N 66.62056°W | Ponce | Another Nechodoma work. | |
Ernesto Memorial Chapel | 1912 | Intersection of PR 486 & PR 488 18°25′59″N66°51′17″W / 18.43306°N 66.85472°W | Camuy | Designed by Albert Munson |
Church | Image | Dates | Location | City or Town | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wesley Methodist Church | 5 Fort Canning Road 1°17′53″N103°50′51″E / 1.297949°N 103.847623°E | Singapore | Oldest Methodist church with an English-speaking congregation in Singapore |
The first Methodist churches were in Norwich (1757), in Rotherham (1761), in Whitby (1762), and in Heptonstall (1764).
About 700 Methodist chapels in the United Kingdom have been identified as significant buildings for their architecture or history by author Ian Serjeant, who has served as Conservation Officer for the Methodist church since 1996. [8]
A list of Methodist churches that are listed buildings was prepared by the U.K. Methodist church's division of property in 1976. [8] A standing committee of the Methodist Church of Britain is charged with having "knowledge of the history, development and use of Methodist chapels, of Methodist liturgy and worship, or archaeology, of the history and the development of architecture and the visual arts, and the experience of the care of historic buildings and their contents", and to advise on about 250 renovation projects per year to the Methodist listed buildings. [9]
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, is said to have had a preference for octagonal buildings, as exemplified by the Heptonstall Methodist Church in West Yorkshire, England. [8]
Appropriate style for Methodist church buildings was debated during the mid-1800s. Architect-trained Reverend Frederick Jobson argued for "beauty and perfection in design and execution without unnecessary adornment"; the governing body of Methodism adopted his works and Gothic architecture "became the predominant style, particularly within Wesleyan Methodism." [8]
Church | Image | Dates | Location | City or Town | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. John's Methodist Church | 1772 built | 56°33′40.99″N2°35′8.54″W / 56.5613861°N 2.5857056°W | Arbroath Angus, Scotland | A listed building in Category B that is identified by Serjeant as particularly notable. It was opened by John Wesley in 1772. Remodellings and other changes in 1882, 1896, and 1946. [8] [10] | |
Wesleyan Church, Aldershot | 1874-77 built Grade II* listed building | 51°14′55″N0°46′3″W / 51.24861°N 0.76750°W | Aldershot, Hampshire | Built to reflect the expansion of the town of Aldershot with the arrival of the Military Camp during the mid to late 19th-century. Now redundant and used as offices, homes, a dental surgery and gymnasium. | |
Altarnum Methodist Chapel | 1859 built | 50°36′10.8″N4°30′39.6″W / 50.603000°N 4.511000°W | Altarnun, Cornwall | A typical building reflecting the values expressed by Jobson. [8] | |
Wesley's Chapel | 1777–78 built | 51°31′26″N0°05′12″W / 51.5238°N 0.0866°W | Islington, London | Known as 'The Mother Church of World Methodism', having been built by John Wesley, and acting as his London base. The portico was added in 1814–15, and there have been other alterations and additions since. The building is listed at Grade I. [11] [12] | |
Methodist Central Hall | 1905-11 built | 51°30′00″N0°07′48″W / 51.50000°N 0.13000°W | Westminster, London | Built in order to commemorate the centenary of the death of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. | |
Heptonstall Methodist Church | 1764 built | 53°45′11.12″N2°2′13.78″W / 53.7530889°N 2.0371611°W | West Yorkshire | Octagonal chapel whose foundation stone was laid by John Wesley. Church was completed in 1764 in symmetric octagon shape, but was extended in 1802 to provide for more space. Wesley recommended the octagonal shape to differentiate from the established church. [13] The building was featured in a 2010 BBC Four series Churches: How to Read Them, [14] in which Dr Richard Taylor named it as one of his ten favourite churches, saying: "If buildings have an aura, this one radiated friendship." [15] See photo here . | |
Moor Park Methodist Church | 1861-62 built | Preston, Lancashire, England | Designed by Poulton and Woodman, opened 1862, seating for 900, closed 1984. | ||
Preston Central Methodist Church | 1817 built | Preston, Lancashire, England | Active, Methodist church whose building was one of the first public buildings in the country to be lit by gas. | ||
Surrey Chapel, Southwark | 1783 built 1881 demolished | London | Independent Methodist and Congregational church, located at first in open fields, then enveloped by industrial development. Circular in plan with domed roof, its design was of interest. | ||
Trinity Independent Chapel | 1841 built 1944 demolished | 51°30′41″N0°1′8″W / 51.51139°N 0.01889°W | London | ||
West Street Chapel | First leased in 1743 by John Wesley | London | |||
West London Methodist Mission | Established in 1887 under Hugh Price Hughes | London | |||
Bethesda Methodist Chapel | 1819 built 1972 Grade II*-listed | Stoke on Trent | [16] | ||
Brunswick Methodist Chapel | 1820 built 1987 Grade II-listed | Newcastle upon Tyne | [17] |
In the United States, numerous Methodist churches are listed on the National Register of Historic Places [18] and on state and local historic registers, many of which reflect the values of plainness, of Gothic architecture, of simple adornment. The Greek Revival style is also simple and came to be adopted for numerous American Methodist churches.
Several, selected significant Methodist churches in the U.S. are:
Church | Image | Dates | Location | City, State | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barratt's Chapel | 1780 built 1972 NRHP-listed | 39°1′28.6″N75°27′34.36″W / 39.024611°N 75.4595444°W | Frederica, Delaware | "Cradle of Methodism", where Methodism first took hold in the United States in 1784 | |
Lovely Lane United Methodist Church | 1884 built 1973 NRHP-listed [18] | 39°18′52″N76°36′57″W / 39.31444°N 76.61583°W | Baltimore, Maryland | Romanesque Revival style, known as the Mother Church of American Methodism | |
St. George's United Methodist Church | 1767 built 1971 NRHP-listed | 39°57′17.9″N75°8′46.82″W / 39.954972°N 75.1463389°W | Philadelphia | The oldest Methodist church worship in continuous use in the United States. [19] | |
Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church | 1794 built 1972 NRHP-listed | 39°56′35″N75°9′9″W / 39.94306°N 75.15250°W | Philadelphia | Romanesque style, The founding church of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. [20] |
For a more complete list, see List of Methodist churches in the United States.
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement in the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.
The Charles Street Meeting House is an early-nineteenth-century historic church in Beacon Hill at 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
Barratt's Chapel is a chapel located to the north of Frederica in Kent County, Delaware. It was built in 1780 on land donated by Philip Barratt, owner of Barratt Hall, and a prominent local landowner and political figure. Barratt, who had recently become a Methodist, wanted to build a center for the growing Methodist movement in Delaware.
John Wesley's New Room is a historic building in Broadmead, Bristol, England. Opened in 1739, it housed the earliest Methodist societies, and was enlarged in 1748. As the oldest purpose-built Methodist preaching house (chapel), it has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building.
Black Methodism in the United States is the Methodist tradition within the Black Church, largely consisting of congregations in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal denominations, as well as those African American congregations in other Methodist denominations, such as the Free Methodist Church.
The former Nast Trinity United Methodist Church, now known as The Warehouse Church, is a historic congregation of the United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Designed by leading Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford and completed in 1880, it was the home of the first German Methodist church to be established anywhere in the world, and it was declared a historic site in the late twentieth century.
The Metropolitan United Methodist Church is a church located at 8000 Woodward Avenue in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was completed in 1926, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1986. This church should not be confused with Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, which is often regarded as a National Church within the United States as it was specifically established by the General Conference to be a "representative presence of Methodism in the nation's capital".
The Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church in Eldersburg, Maryland is a characteristic small church of the period, with uncoursed stone rubble construction and a simple plan. The interior is a single barrel-vaulted room. It was erected to serve one of the earliest Methodist congregations in Carroll County, and hence in the United States, as Carroll County was a birthplace of Methodism in America.
Lovely Lane United Methodist Church, formerly known as First Methodist Episcopal Church and earlier founded as Lovely Lane Chapel, is a historic United Methodist church located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The British Methodist Episcopal Church (BMEC) is a Protestant church in Canada that has its roots in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) of the United States.
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church in Springtown, New Jersey, United States. The church was part of two free negro communities, Othello and Springtown, established by local Quaker families. The congregation was established in 1810 in Greenwich Township as the African Methodist Society and joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1817. A previous church building was burned down in the 1830s in an arson incident and the current structure was built between 1838 and 1841.
Methodist Episcopal Church, currently known as the United Methodist Church in Madison, is a historic church at 24 Madison Avenue in Madison, Morris County, New Jersey, United States.
Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church located at 2013 Broadway in Galveston, Texas. The church's congregation was founded in 1848 by enslaved African Americans and, following emancipation in 1865, the church was organized as Texas's first A.M.E. congregation in 1866. Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church was one of locations of the public reading of General Order No. 3 by Union general Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865 which officially declared emancipation in Texas. The annual celebration of this declaration among African Americans continues today as the Juneteenth holiday.
The British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church, Salem Chapel was founded in 1820 by African-American freedom seekers in St. Catharines, Ontario. It is located at 92 Geneva St., in the heart of Old St. Catharines. The church is a valued historical site due to its design, and its important associations with abolitionist activity.
Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church, whose present-day name is Roberts Park United Methodist Church, was dedicated on August 27, 1876, making it one of the oldest church remaining in downtown Indianapolis. Diedrich A. Bohlen, a German-born architect who immigrated to Indianapolis in the 1850s, designed this early example of Romanesque Revival architecture. The church is considered one of Bohlen's major works. Constructed of Indiana limestone at Delaware and Vermont Streets, it has a rectangular plan and includes a bell tower on the southwest corner. The church is known for its interior woodwork, especially a pair of black-walnut staircases leading to galleries (balconies) surrounding the interior of three sides of its large sanctuary. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1982. It is home to one of several Homeless Jesus statues around the world, this one located behind the church on Alabama Street.
The Rotunda was a Primitive Methodist church in Aldershot in Hampshire in the UK that was completed in 1876 and demolished in the 1980s. While the building took its name from the architectural form rotunda, it was in fact octagonal, and was notable as one of only 14 octagonal chapels built by the Methodists.
Elijah Hoole was an English architect of Methodist churches, settlement halls and social housing. In relation to the social housing, he worked closely with the social reformer Octavia Hill for over 40 years.