McKendree United Methodist in Nashville, Tennessee is one of the oldest Methodist communities in America. First established in 1787, McKendree has played a significant role in both Tennessee and United Methodist history, much of which is recounted in the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference Archives housed within the church building.
UMCOM has created a four-part video series telling the story of this important congregation from its earliest days to the present. We talked with the church's senior pastor Rev. Dr. Stephen Handy and the Executive Director of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference Archives Gratia Strother to help us tell McKendree's story. The series covers McKendree's role in helping establish other Black and white Methodist congregations in the city, its complicated and sometimes troubled history on race relations and its renewed commitment to racial and social justice today.
McKendree: The Early Years
McKendree 2: Methodist Mother Church
McKendree 3: Civil Rights Era
McKendree 4: The Church Today
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