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Highland Park United Methodist Church

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Coordinates: 32°50′14″N 96°47′10″W / 32.837328°N 96.786190°W / 32.837328; -96.786190
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Highland Park United Methodist Church
Map
32°50′14″N 96°47′10″W / 32.837328°N 96.786190°W / 32.837328; -96.786190
Location3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75205
CountryUSA
DenominationUnited Methodist Church
Membership14,852
Weekly attendance4,341
Websitehpumc.org
History
Founded1916
Dedicated1943
Architecture
Architect(s)Mark Lemmon
Roscoe DeWitt
Clergy
Pastor(s)Rev. Paul Rasmussen
Rev. Matt Tuggle
Rev. Walt Marcum
Rev. Chelsea Peddecord
Rev. Camille May

Highland Park United Methodist Church is a United Methodist megachurch in Dallas, Texas, located adjacent to the campus of Southern Methodist University.

History

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In February 1916, a Methodist congregation met on the campus of Southern Methodist University for the first time to worship together.[1] It was organized as a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS). It was initially named University MECS, but by the fall of that year, the student congregation joined Methodists in the newly forming Town of Highland Park and the church was renamed Highland Park MECS. A year later, in 1917, a temporary church building called "The Little Brown Church" was erected.[1]

Highland Park UMC Sanctuary

The current sanctuary was designed by architect Mark Lemmon (1889–1975) and Roscoe DeWitt (1894-1975) and built in 1927.[1][2] The first service in the sanctuary was held on February 6, 1927, when Dr Umphrey Lee served as the pastor.[1] The Great Depression came and it took 15 years to pay off the debt. When it was paid, the church building was dedicated in 1943.

Dr. Lee left Highland Park Methodist in 1936 and was followed by Dr. Marshall Steel, who served from 1936 to 1957. Following Dr. Steel, Dr. William Dickinson served from 1958 to 1972. He was followed by Dr. Leighton K. Farrell, the church's longest serving minister, who was appointed in 1972 and served as senior pastor through 1995.

In 1995, Rev. Mark Craig became Senior Minister.[1] Since 2013, Rev. Paul Rasmussen has served as the Senior Minister.[1]

In 2010, after much restoration, the former Munger Place United Methodist Church located in the Munger Place Historic District, became the Old East Dallas satellite campus of Highland Park United Methodist Church, operating as Munger Place Church. In 2024, Munger Place Church was spun off from HPUMC and now operates once again as an independent United Methodist Church. [1][3]

In 2017, HPUMC launched a new campus in North Dallas, called The Grove Church, located on the site of the former Schreiber Memorial United Methodist Church.[4]

In January 2021, HPUMC launched a new campus, Uptown Church, that met in the House of Blues in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas.[5] It was one of the first churches within the United Methodist denomination that was planted and led by two ordained clergywomen.[6] After almost three years of faithful ministry, the leaders of HPUMC made the decision to close Uptown Church, with Uptown Church's last service being held on November 12, 2023.

As of 2023, HPUMC had 14,852 members and an average attendance of 4,341.[7]

Controversies

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After the United Methodist Church voted at its General Conference in 2024 to remove the denomination's prohibitions on hosting same sex weddings, Senior Minister Rev. Paul Rasmussen announced that Highland Park UMC would continue to prohibit same-sex wedding ceremonies on its property, stating that "For 108 years, through 13 different senior ministers, Highland Park has always maintained the traditional definition and understanding of Christian marriage when it comes to weddings within our worship facilities," he said. "We are going to continue to uphold the traditional definition of marriage in our worship venues." Rasmussen went on to say that clergy could perform same-sex weddings at other venues in the community "based on their conscience." [8]

Notable church-goers

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Highland Park United Methodist Church: Our History
  2. ^ Texas State Historical Association: Mark Lemmon
  3. ^ "Renewal and Hope: The Story of The Munger Place Church".
  4. ^ "Grove Story". The Grove Church.
  5. ^ "Uptown Church launches at House of Blues in Dallas".
  6. ^ "House of Blues is home to new Uptown Church in Dallas". 20 January 2021.
  7. ^ "UMData".
  8. ^ "UMC Megachurch Won't Host Same-Sex Weddings Despite Denomination's Rule Changes". 22 May 2024.
  9. ^ Gary Scott Smith, Faith and the Presidency From George Washington to George W. Bush, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 371 [1]
  10. ^ Denne H. Freeman, Jaime Aron, I Remember Tom Landry, Sports Publishing, 2001, p. 225 [2]
  11. ^ "Interview with Doug Parker". Highland Park United Methodist Church. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
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