Faith had its beginnings over a century ago when the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South was begun in South Jacksonville. It was not too long before the name was changed to Hendricks Memorial. Buildings were put up, and expanded, and the ministry did well.
Jacksonville experienced a rapid expansion during WW.11, and that expansion was expected to continue on the south side of the St. Johns River. New suburbs were extending out down San Jose Boulevard, along Emerson Street, and out The Beach Road. A new church, Ocean Roads Methodist, had been started, and Hendricks Memorial began the process of leaving downtown San Marco and relocating to the new suburbs. An overture was made to join the Ocean Roads Church, but it was rejected, so plans were made to relocate to Spring Park Road. A group of the membership wanted to start another church on San Jose, and, as the story goes, the church had a friendly split, with many of the professionals- starting Southside Methodist, and the working class continuing with Hendricks Memorial, in a WWII surplus building that was moved to the newly purchased property on Spring Park Road
While this was all going on, the Ocean Roads Church was booming, with the expansion of homes in the St. Nicholas neighborhood. The Beach Road became Atlantic Boulevard, and, with the expansion of the membership of the church, a new, much larger building was planned. It was sometime in this process that the Peeler family, members at First Methodist downtown (where there is a Peeler Hall today), offered to substantially fund' this expansion, asking only, that the name of the new church would be Peeler Memorial.
Both Peeler Memorial in St. Nicholas and Hendricks' Memorial in Englewood prospered, with active ministries during this period of the American baby boom. Two demographic changes had strong implications for the future. The children grew up, and often did not choose to live in these two neighborhoods, and as their economic conditions improved„ many families moved to larger homes near other Methodist churches. This began a decline in attendance and membership in both churches in the 1970's, that extended and expanded in the 1980's and 90 Ps.
In 1995 the Jacksonville District began the process of a voluntary merger of the two churches, choosing to sell the Peeler Memorial property and form a new church, to be named Faith United Methodist Church, at the former Hendricks Memorial campus. So it was that in March 1996, Faith United Methodist Church was chartered.
The last 20 years have seen much change, with an emphasis today in reaching out to the immigrant populations around us. The Florida Annual Conference appointed, at our request, a Hispanic associate here, and we also have several Burmese congregations that meet here for worship. We've become actively involved in the NOMADS ministry, and continue to have a strong presence in the Jacksonville Emmaus community. We look forward to brighter days ahead.
Jacksonville experienced a rapid expansion during WW.11, and that expansion was expected to continue on the south side of the St. Johns River. New suburbs were extending out down San Jose Boulevard, along Emerson Street, and out The Beach Road. A new church, Ocean Roads Methodist, had been started, and Hendricks Memorial began the process of leaving downtown San Marco and relocating to the new suburbs. An overture was made to join the Ocean Roads Church, but it was rejected, so plans were made to relocate to Spring Park Road. A group of the membership wanted to start another church on San Jose, and, as the story goes, the church had a friendly split, with many of the professionals- starting Southside Methodist, and the working class continuing with Hendricks Memorial, in a WWII surplus building that was moved to the newly purchased property on Spring Park Road
While this was all going on, the Ocean Roads Church was booming, with the expansion of homes in the St. Nicholas neighborhood. The Beach Road became Atlantic Boulevard, and, with the expansion of the membership of the church, a new, much larger building was planned. It was sometime in this process that the Peeler family, members at First Methodist downtown (where there is a Peeler Hall today), offered to substantially fund' this expansion, asking only, that the name of the new church would be Peeler Memorial.
Both Peeler Memorial in St. Nicholas and Hendricks' Memorial in Englewood prospered, with active ministries during this period of the American baby boom. Two demographic changes had strong implications for the future. The children grew up, and often did not choose to live in these two neighborhoods, and as their economic conditions improved„ many families moved to larger homes near other Methodist churches. This began a decline in attendance and membership in both churches in the 1970's, that extended and expanded in the 1980's and 90 Ps.
In 1995 the Jacksonville District began the process of a voluntary merger of the two churches, choosing to sell the Peeler Memorial property and form a new church, to be named Faith United Methodist Church, at the former Hendricks Memorial campus. So it was that in March 1996, Faith United Methodist Church was chartered.
The last 20 years have seen much change, with an emphasis today in reaching out to the immigrant populations around us. The Florida Annual Conference appointed, at our request, a Hispanic associate here, and we also have several Burmese congregations that meet here for worship. We've become actively involved in the NOMADS ministry, and continue to have a strong presence in the Jacksonville Emmaus community. We look forward to brighter days ahead.