Creative•Courageous•Compassionate

We are a church who is Creative.
We believe that God created the world, and invited us to share our gifts as creative people. We recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit as we express our faith in a variety of creative ways - visual, musical, and theatrical. This is true in our worship, our work, and our mission.

We are a church who is Courageous.
We courageously claim our belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Christ's commandment to courageously love God and love one another. We are courageous in our activism, our outreach, and our empowerment of others. This value leads us to be radically inclusive, social-justice oriented, LGBTQIA affirming, and open to all questions and doubts.

We are a church who is Compassionate.
We believe that the Holy Spirit remains with us as a comforting, advocating force in the world. Because of this, we are a church who values service to our neighbors, outreach to the lost, and care for the world. We listen with love, because we are called to be a voice to the voiceless. We work with dignity, because we are called to fight for the marginalized.

Los Angeles First United Methodist Church

A Church Without A Home

We are a church with a long, rich history. Founded in the El Dorado Saloon in Los Angeles in 1853, First Methodist Episcopal Church was a partner with Biddy Mason in the fight for emancipation and integration.

The church swelled to 6000 members in the 1900s, but fell on hard times as Downtown LA's residents moved to the rapidly-developing suburbs. The church moved from its historic site on 8th and Hope Street to our current location.

In the late 1990s, it was clear the building was not serving the needs of the congregation. A courageous choice was made to tear it down, and invest in the most critical need of the community: housing.

Since then, First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles remains a church without a home. We own the parking lot at the corner of Flower and Olympic, which is where we meet for worship.

We remain a church without walls, without borders, without barriers. This reflects our theological openness, and the way we believe God's love should be experienced and shared.