History and Mission
In The Beginning
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.
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.
What United Methodists Believe
The United Methodist Church is a global denomination that opens hearts, opens minds and opens doors through active engagement with our world. The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
A United Methodist is someone who joins in that mission by putting faith and love into action. We believe that God loves all people, and that we share in expressing that love. So the United Methodist tradition emphasizes God's grace and in serving others. We believe that Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of God's love--showing us the fullness of God's care through Jesus' teachings, death and resurrection.
John Wesley started the Methodist movement in 18th century England. His teachings on practical divinity (living out our faith) and appeals to reason and experience form important aspects of United Methodist practice today.
We invite you to learn more about our rich theological heritage by visiting the United Methodist Church website umc.org or the Rio Texas Conference at riotexas.org