The Kessler Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was organized by 38 charter members on August 14, 1925 after an open-air revival.  Following denominational mergers, it officially became known as Kessler Park Methodist Church in 1939 and subsequently as Kessler Park United Methodist Church in 1968.

For 25 years the congregation occupied a frame sanctuary and temporary educational buildings at Windomere and Stewart Drive. The first service at our current location was celebrated on Palm Sunday, 1951. The church’s popular Day School was inaugurated in 1961, and a large education wing was added in 1963.

Other high points in the history of Kessler Park UMC include the first performance of a fine Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ on Christmas Eve, 1966, and a “note-burning” of the church mortgage in 1975.

In 1999, Kessler Park UMC helped to initiate The Kessler School, which subsequently merged with the church’s Day School and continues now as a separate private school that includes over 70 students from pre-K through fourth grade meeting in the church building.

In 2004, the church added an outdoor Prayer Garden and 40-foot diameter pavestone Labyrinth. The congregation also maintains Roberts Forest as a largely undeveloped oasis for people, pets and numerous neighborhood events.

In 2005, the church undertook its largest project since construction of the original sanctuary – a $1.3 million dollar replacement of the air-conditioning (HVAC) system, along with a number of related renovations and improvements to the building and grounds. As a result, the facility shines with the promise of a bright future in the new millennium.

The people of Kessler Park United Methodist Church remain committed to embracing the beautiful diversity and unique qualities of our neighborhood while also serving and welcoming the larger surrounding community and beyond, thereby striving to fulfill the mission statement adopted following the church’s 75th anniversary in 2000: