About Berkeley

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord
Psalms 78:4

Our History

In 1958, The Board of Missions of the United Methodist Church purchased a five acre tract of land on Berkeley Avenue in south Austin for a future church site.  On March 1, 1972, Berkeley United Methodist Church officially came into being with the appointment of the first pastor, Reverend W. B. Sandberg and with the assistance of a retired Methodist minister, Dr. Sidney McCaig.  The land on Berkeley Avenue was still undeveloped so members held services at Cunningham Elementary School.

In January 1974, construction began and a mere eight months later, on August 25, members held their first worship services in the new building. Additional classrooms were added in 1979, and the Susan Shirley prayer room was constructed in 1993. In 1998 the Christian Life Center (CLC) was added.

Pastors

The United Methodist Church has a unique way of matching pastors and congregations.  Bishops appoint pastors to serve in local churches and other ministry settings using an itinerant system, where pastors move from one appointment to another.  This system dates back to early American frontier days when circuit riding preachers traveled on horseback from town to town.

In standing with this tradition, Berkeley United Methodist Church has been blessed with nine pastors. In order they are Reverend Sandberg, Reverend David Stewart, Reverend Kim Cape, Reverend James Carter, Reverend Rick Ricker, Reverend Patti Herndon, Reverend Dea Eggleston, Reverend Cynthia Kepler-Karrer, and Reverend Jeannie Whitehurst. Our current pastor is Reverend Jeanne Devine, who has been with us since June, 2010.

The Legend of the Bell

When the new church building was completed in August 1974, the congregation was pleased and full of excitement but the one thing they still wished for was a bell to hang in the new tower. After some searching, the pastor discovered one at an abandoned church in West Point, Texas, a very small community on Highway 71 about halfway between Smithville and La Grange.

Church member, Ronny Smith, recruited a friend who owned a crane to go with him to retrieve the bell from the old church building and bring it to its new home. As the men were dismantling the tower to get the bell out, some residents became alarmed that someone was stealing their bell, and they threatened to call the sheriff. It seems that the building had been turned into a domino parlor, and the bell was rung when it was time to play! Only after Mr. Smith produced a letter from the Methodist Board giving him permission to remove the bell did the residents agree to let the men continue. After the bell was removed, Mr. Smith and his friend restored the West Point bell tower to its previous state then hauled the bell to Austin to place it in its new home on Berkeley Avenue.

When it arrived, it was cleaned, refurbished, and hung in its place of honor. It still rings out every Sunday morning and on other special occasions to call the people to worship and celebrate the Lord.