2621 Second Street was the
first church built after Santa Monica was founded in 1875. Like the city
of Santa Monica, the Methodist Church society was a young organization.
Within months of the town's founding, Senator John P. Jones had donated
two lots at Sixth and Arizona. Church members diligently worked on this
Gothic Revival structure. Craftsmen in the congregation offered carpentry
and glazing skills, others offered doors, lamps, and seating - others
donated funds towards the $683.98 cost of the structure.
When it was dedicated on January 2, 1876 one member noted, "The
Methodist Church Society now have a nice little church edifice…It
is true that the building is not a very stately edifice, but it meets
the present demands very well."
The building offered a pleasing simplicity - its Gothic Revival
style is accented by the triangular shapes over the windows and doors,
and the stained glass panels reinforce its spiritual purpose.
After its founding, the City went into somewhat of an economic decline,
and the
Methodist Church had to deal with a declining membership. The structure
was moved to a more central location at Fourth and Arizona, in hope of
attracting more congregants. A bell tower was added for good measure.
Membership grew, and a new church was built in the front of the lot. This
structure was shifted to the back of the lot and used primarily for meetings.
In 1899 the Methodists donated this church to the South Santa Monica
Methodist Church, and the structure was moved to its current location
in Ocean Park. The location was permanent, but the building underwent
additional changes. In 1923, a brick and masonry building was attached
to the church and the entire building was sold to the Stephen Jackson
Women's Relief Corps. The Methodist Church was renamed "Patriotic
Hall" and again was a place for meetings.
When the City was young, almost everyone in Santa Monica had relocated
from somewhere else. Clubs, groups and congregation created community
unity among this group of transplants, and many groups congregated at
the former Methodist Church - including a club called Grand Army
of the Republic.
In 1971 the building was sold to private parties, and has since become
a private residence. It is believed to be the oldest surviving wooden
structure in the City of Santa Monica.
**
Not knowing much about the principles of the Methodist Episcopal Church
we went online. The closest thing we found was the Mission Statement of
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
“The Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to
the spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional, and environmental
needs of all people by spreading Christ's liberating gospel through word
and deed. At every level of the Connection and in every local church,
the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall engage in carrying out the
spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the A.M.E. Church
evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and serve the needy through
a continuing program of:
1. Preaching the gospel
2. Feeding the hungry
3. Clothing the naked
4. Housing the homeless
5. Cheering the fallen
6. Providing jobs for the jobless
7. Administering to the needs of those in prisons, hospitals, nursing
homes, asylums, and mental senior citizens' homes; caring for the sick,
the shut-in, the mentally and socially disturbed, and encouraging thrift
and economic development.”
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