Edgehill United Methodist Church

Edgehill United Methodist Church is a church in the Edgehill neighborhood of Nashville.

History

Edgehill United Methodist Church was founded in 1966 in the historically Black Edgehill neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.[1] Rev. Bill Barnes, the founding pastor, served the church from 1966-1996.[2][3] Edgehill UMC is recognized as one of the first (if not the first) intentionally racially integrated churches in Nashville.[4][5][6] The musician Moses Dillard served as an associate minister at Edgehill in the mid 1980s.

Various groups and organizations have been birthed by or in partnership with Edgehill UMC and its members including Luke 14:12, the oldest feeding ministry in Nashville, Empowering Neighborhood Partnership, and Tying Nashville Together (TNT), which became Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH).[7]

LGBTQIA+ History and Outreach

Edgehill was the first United Methodist Church in the southeastern United States to openly affirm and include LGBTQIA+ individuals.[8][9] Members of the congregation were instrumental in founding the Reconciling Ministries Network, a movement advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people within the United Methodist Church.[10][11][12] Edgehill first opened it's doors to LGBTQIA+ individuals in 1971 when it made the then controversial decision to open its doors to a Metropolitan Community Church congregation that needed a place to worship.[13] News of this partnership spread and in 1977, it caused backlash from the Tennessee Annual Conference (now Tennessee Western Kentucky) of the United Methodist Church, which objected and pressured Edgehill to break ties.[9] The church spend a year exploring the issue of LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church after which the congregation voted and reaffirmed its commitment to inclusion. In 1984, the Reconciling Ministries Network was born and modeled it's invitation to churches to discern inclusion on Edgehill's work in the late 70s.

Edgehill UMC was also instrumental in advocacy for and care of HIV/AIDS victims in the early days of the crisis.[1] Much of this work is chronicled in interviews in the forthcoming documentary The Body of Christ has AIDS.

References

  1. ^ a b Meyer, Holly. "Edgehill church's inclusive past informs its future". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  2. ^ "Rev. Bill Barnes Over the Years". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  3. ^ Barnes, Bill (2007). To Love a City: A Congregation's Love Affair with Nashville Inner City. Nashville: Edgehill UMC.
  4. ^ Meyer, Holly. "Edgehill church's inclusive past informs its future". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  5. ^ Simmons, Denny. "Edgehill UMC continues to lead the way for the underdogs of Nashville's society". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  6. ^ Wigdor, Andrew. "Mayor Briley unveils historical marker in honor of pastor, civil rights leader Bill Barnes". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  7. ^ Tackett, Judith (2025-02-19). "Q&A with Mike Hodge". The Contributor. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
  8. ^ Simmons, Denny. "Edgehill UMC continues to lead the way for the underdogs of Nashville's society". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  9. ^ a b Cobb, Alice (1991). Pushing Life: The Story of Edgehill's First Quarter Century 1966-1991. Nashville: Edgehill UMC. pp. 6–12.
  10. ^ betharichardson (2024-05-05). "40 Years Ago - The Birth of the RMN". Beth A Richardson. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  11. ^ "History". Reconciling Ministries Network. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  12. ^ "Wedding ban gone, church honors 3 gay couples | UMNews.org". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  13. ^ "LGBTQ History | Edgehill's Pioneering Legacy of Inclusion". Edgehill United Methodist Church Nashville. Retrieved 2025-10-17.

36°08′36″N 86°47′27″W / 36.14338°N 86.79075°W / 36.14338; -86.79075

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