Pearl Memorial United Methodist Church
Encyclopedia
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
. It is located at 2319 Ogden Street in the Miller Park
Miller Park (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Miller Park neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community housing a historic district and several notable historic places. It is located between Sorenson Parkway on the south and Redick Avenue on the north, Florence Boulevard on the east and 30th Street on the west...
neighborhood of north
North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha...
Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. The church primarily serves the Miller Park community, and the current pastor is Reverend Charlotte Abram, who serves in multiple capacities within the Nebraska Conference.
History
In the 1890s a group worshiping in the "upper room of a drug store" at the corner of 24th and Ames Avenue was organized as a Methodist Episcopal congregation. In 1902 the congregation received a gift of land near the commercial intersection of 24th and Fort Streets, upon which they built the first Methodist church in the community in 1905. When Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church moved from its location in the Near North SideNear North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
neighborhood, Pearl became the only church in North Omaha.
Pearl Memorial has long been a home to athletic activities for local children and youth. From the 1910s through the 1950s the church hosted basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
teams that played in church leagues across the city. From the 1970s through the 1990s the church hosted a variety of sports for youth in the local community, as well.
Today the Church offers a variety to residents in the surrounding neighborhood, including a food pantry and social services to low-income families.
The church was involved in a controversial Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
investigation regarding a donation made to an advocacy organization called "Omaha Together One Community". The controversy included threats of losing its 501(c)(3) status. Pearl Memorial is no longer listed as a 501(c)(3) organization.
